| 5 | 2 |
| Pegula Ice Arena | University Park, Pa. | 6,033 | |
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Feb. 6, 2015
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - No strangers to a deficit, the Nittany Lion men's hockey team overcame Wisconsin, 5-2, on Friday night at Pegula Ice Arena in front of 6,033 fans. Casey Bailey (Anchorage, Alaska) had a game-high three points including an absolute blast in the third period to pace the Penn State offense.
Sparked by Bailey's offense and the expert play by defensemen Connor Varley (Lansdale, Pa.) and Nate Jensen (Shoreview, Minn.), Penn State (14-7-4, 6-2-1-0 Big Ten) were able to down the Big Ten's last place team, Wisconsin (2-17-4, 0-7-2-2 Big Ten).
The Nittany Lions scored four unanswered goals for a second straight game, overcoming a 2-1 first-period deficit as the team's three leading scorers--Bailey, Eric Scheid (Blaine, Minn.) and David Goodwin (Des Peres, Mo.)--mounted a comeback and finished off the Badgers.
Tommy Olczyk (Long Grove, Ill.) put PSU ahead early in the first period with his sixth of the year, while Taylor Holstrom (Yorba Linda, Calif.) added an empty netter.
"The (Goodwin-Holstrom-Bailey) line played very well," Penn State head coach Guy Gadowsky said. "I really liked how they got things going with David [Goodwin]'s goal. All three of them were buzzing around the net and had shots. David was able to clean it up, Taylor going hard to the net, but boy that was a big-time goal by Casey Bailey wasn't it? I mean...it was just a big time goal."
In net, PJ Musico (Orange, Calif.) saved 35 shots for his second straight win in as many starts, stopping 17 Badger efforts in the third period alone. The senior netminder improved to 3-1-1.
"It ended up looking good because we got ahead but you have to give him credit," said Gadowsky. "I thought there were two big ones for sure, maybe a third that should have been goals and he stood tall. He had a very consistent game. It's nice he got it. To let two in early, to come back he looked very, very poised. I thought he played the puck well and helped us move the puck out of the zone.
Down 2-1 entering the second period, Penn State used less than 90 seconds to even the score as Scott Conway (Basingstoke, England) found Scheid in front of the net for his 13th goal of the season. Conway took a saved Varley shot behind the goal line and dished to his linemate for the easy goal. Conway and Scheid extended their respective point streaks to four games.
The Nittany Lions would regain its lead through another gritty goal in front of the net with less than five minutes remaining in the period. Holstrom's initial shot was saved as Bailey dug it out of the right corner and threw it on net. The rebound fluttered to open ice as Goodwin came rushing in off the left wing and poked it in as he fell to the ice for his 12th goal of the season.
Penn State finally opened some breathing room midway through the third period as Dylan Richard's (Sherwood Park, Pa.) pass from the right corner found a wide open Bailey who uncorked a rocket into the top left corner of the net past UW netminder Joel Rumpel (32 saves) for a 4-2 lead. The goal was Bailey's 19th of the season. Conway notched his second assist on the play.
Wisconsin would ratchet up the pressure, putting 17 shots on frame, but Musico stood tall to earn his third win in his past four decisions.
Penn State iced the game on a Holstrom empty-netter as he beat the Wisconsin defense down the ice on a chipped puck by Jensen from his own blue line. Bailey registered his 11th assist of the season on the play, while Jensen captured his fourth. The game opened with Olczyk scoring off a Varley shot from the right circle. The right-pad rebound found Olczyk in the slot as he scored in his second straight game.
Wisconsin freshman Cameron Hughes responded five minutes later with a wrister past Musico to even the score. He'd double his goal output off a Morgan Zulinick rush to put the Badgers ahead, 2-1, after the first period.
Penn State would eventually muster the comeback victory, their eighth of the year. The Nittany Lions have trailed in 10 of their last 11 games, going 5-3-2 in that stretch. PSU is on a seven-game unbeaten streak (5-0-2), which is tied for the longest with Robert Morris.
The final shot tally was even, 37-37. Neither team was able to generate a power-play goal, UW was 0-for-2, while Penn State was 1-for-2. Faceoffs favored the Nittany Lions 40-28 with Holstrom (13-6) and Conway (13-6) dominating the dot.
GAME NOTES
• The Nittany Lions improved to 9-1-3 at Pegula Ice Arena, which saw its 12th sellout of the season.
• Penn State's record this season is 13-0-2 when giving up two goals or less. PSU held an opponent to two goals or less for the fifth time in seven games.
• Penn State has out-scored Wisconsin 14-6 this season. The Nittany Lions have scored four or more goals in seven of their last eight games.
• Bailey recorded his fourth three-point game of the season, 10th multi-point game of the year and 18th career multi-point outing. Bailey became Penn State's first 30-point scorer and leads the team with 19 goals and 32 points.
• Scheid tallied his 20th point tonight on his career-best 13th goal, matching his point total from last season, which was achieved in 36 games. Scheid has appeared in 19 games this year.
• Conway posted his fifth multi-point game of the year. Four of those performances have come in the second semester.
• Penn State is an even 10-10-2-0 in its past 22 games against Big Ten competition. The Nittany Lions struggled to a 0-9-0-0 record against its conference foes.
NEXT TIME OUT
PSU won its third straight contest against the Badgers and will look to sweep the season series Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m. The game will be shown live by American Sports Network on local television throughout parts of Pennsylvania including WJAC in Central Pennsylvania, CW 15 in the Mid-State Region and MyTV in Pittsburgh. The game will also stream live on BTN2Go for cable customers whose providers have the service.