MADISON, Wis. – Wisconsin scored three unanswered goals in the second period as Penn State dropped a 4-1 decision to the Badgers in Big Ten Conference action on Friday evening at the Kohl Center.
The Nittany Lions fall to 10-8-0 on the year and 2-7-0 in the Big Ten while Wisconsin snaps a seven-game winless streak and improves to 5-11-1 on the year and 3-6-0-1 in conference action.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- After a scoreless first period, Wisconsin opened the scoring as Tarek Baker was left alone in the low slot and he wristed a feed from Sam Stange from behind the net past the glove of PSU senior goaltender Oskar Autio (Espoo, Finland) for the 1-0 lead at 7:02 of the middle frame.
- The Badgers doubled their lead taking advantage of a major penalty as Mathieu De St. Phalle finished off a crisp passing play with a one-timer on the backdoor for the 2-0 lead at 12:47 of the second period.
- Just under two minutes later, Autio lost track of a loose puck and Brock Caufield fired the biscuit into a yawning net for the 3-0 margin at the 14:23 mark.
- The Nittany Lions finally got on the board as junior Tyler Gratton (Pottstown, Pa.) finished off a rebound in front of the crease for the 3-1 deficit at 13:35 of the third period.
- Roman Ahcan hit the empty net at 19:10 of the third period for the final score.
GOALTENDING
Autio drops to 7-6-0 on the year after making a season-high 38 saves in the defeat while his counterpart, Jared Moe improves to 3-6-1 after stopping 34-of-35 shots in the victory.
NOTES
- With Wisconsin scoring the opening goal, it marks just the sixth game this season Penn State hasn't scored first and it's just the second time the Nittany Lions have been scored on first in back-to-back games dating back to the series against Michigan. Penn State now just 1-5-0 in those games.
- Friday night marked just the fourth time this season the Badgers have scored three or more goals and the first time in their last seven games.
- The Badgers are now 6-1-2 in the last nine meetings against Penn State in Madison, including four-straight victories, dating back to the 2018-19 season.
- Both Connor MacEachern (Brooklin, Ontario) and Tyler Paquette (Collegeville, Pa.) see their career-best point streaks of four games snapped as they were each kept off the stat sheet.
- Wisconsin held the 42-35 edge in shots on goal including a 34-21 clip over the final two periods. The Badgers also went 2-for-5 on the powerplay including two goals during the five-minute major penalty. Penn State was 0-for-1 with the man-advantage.
NEXT UP
Both teams return to the Kohl Center tomorrow night to conclude the weekend series with a 6 p.m. puck drop.
For more information on the 2021-22 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.