UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Sophomore Connor McMenamin (Collegeville, Pa.) tied the Penn State single-game record for points as he factored in every Nittany Lion goal during a 5-4 victory over No. 12 Wisconsin on Friday night in Big Ten Conference action at Pegula Ice Arena.
Penn State pulls back to .500 on the season improving to 8-8-0 and 6-8-0-1-0-0 in conference action while Wisconsin falls to 9-7-0 overall and 7-5-0-0-1-0 in the Big Ten with the setback.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- After just one goal on 46 shots last night the Nittany Lions wasted little time opening the scoring on Friday with a pair of goals in just 13 seconds early in the first period.
- Junior Aarne Talvitie (Espoo, Finland) went five-hole off a beautiful feed from McMenamin at 2:54 followed by a bad angle goal from sophomore Kevin Wall (Penfield, N.Y.) as he fired the puck from behind the goal line on the far side that went off Badger netminder Cameron Rowe's left pad and trickled behind him for the 2-0 score at 3:07 of the first period.
- Talvitie then extended the lead with a goal off the rush during the powerplay as he skated along the near boards and fired a wicked wrister from the left circle that went bar down over the shoulder of Rowe for the 3-0 Nittany Lion lead at 15:40 of the opening frame.
- Dylan Holloway got the Badgers on the board midway through the second period as he skated in on a breakaway beating PSU junior goaltender Oskar Autio (Espoo, Finland) past the glove for the 3-1 score at 7:09 of the stanza.
- Penn State got the goal back as senior Clayton Phillips (Edina, Minn.) sent a shot from the right point through traffic and into the back of the net for the 4-1 advantage at 9:14 of the second period.
- Wisconsin cut back into the deficit midway through the final period as Roman Ahcan finished off a feed from Anthony Kehrer on the doorstep for the 4-2 score at the 10:26 mark.
- Just under two minutes later it was Ty Pelton-Byce finishing a feed from Holloway to cut the deficit to a single goal, 4-3, at 12:02 of the third period.
- McMenamin would then hit the empty net off a feed from Wall at 18:25 of the third period making the score 5-3. The goal proved to be the game-winner as Cole Caufield snuck one by Autio from a bad angle with just 45 seconds remaining in the game for the 5-4 final.
GOALTENDING
- Autio improves to 7-5-0 on the year after making a season-high 35 saves including 21 in the second period.
- Autio's 21 saves in the second period mark a new single-period career-high and are just one shy of the Penn State single period record.
- Rowe did not factor in the decision after 13-of-16 shots over the first 15:40 of game action before being lifted for Robbie Beydoun who absorbs the loss falling to 5-6-0 after making 21 saves over the final 43:03.
NOTES
- Both teams had an equal number of shots with 39 apiece while Penn State went 1-for-2 on the man-advantage and a perfect 4-for-4 on the penalty kill.
- Wisconsin held the slim 37-36 advantage at the faceoff circle with Holloway going an impressive 22-for-34 (64.7 percent).
- Penn State clogged shooting lanes all night blocking 21 shots compared to 13 for the Badgers.
- The Nittany Lions improve to 7-1-0 when scoring first and a perfect 6-0-0 when leading entering the third period.
- With three first period points on two goals and one assist, Talvitie secured his fourth multi-point game this season and the 13th of his career while collecting his second career multi-goal game, both of which have come this season. Talvitie has now registered three points, tying his career-high, for the fourth time in his career.
- McMenamin had a hand in all three first period goals tying the Penn State single-game record for assists in a period joining senior Alex Limoges (Winchester, Va.) and Evan Barratt who each accomplished that feat back in December 2018.
- For McMenamin his five points and four assists are both new career bests and mark his third multi-point game this season and the fourth of his career. His four assists also tie the Penn State single-game record for assists joining Limoges and Andrew Sturtz while his five points tie him with Sturtz for the single-game program record.
- With one goal and one assist, Wall registers his fifth multi-point game of the season and the sixth of his career while his 15 points (8G, 7A) in 14 Big Ten games this season move him into a tie for second in the conference with Michigan's Thomas Bordeleau.
- Talvitie is tied for sixth in scoring during Big Ten play with 12 points on six goals and six assists.
NEXT UP
Penn State remains home as they close out its six-game homestand with another Big Ten Conference series against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish next Thursday and Friday.
For more information on the 2020-21 season presented by the Penn State Bookstore: the Official Bookstore of Penn State Athletics, visit the men's hockey page at GoPSUsports.com or call 1-800-NITTANY Monday-Friday from 8 a.m. – 5 p.m.