MADISON, Wis. – Junior Xander Lamppa (Rochester, Minn.) collected a goal and an assist to help No. 16 Penn State complete the weekend sweep of Wisconsin with a 3-0 victory in Big Ten Conference action on Saturday night at the Kohl Center.
Penn State improves to 8-0-0 to start the year and 2-0-0 in conference action with the victory while the Badgers fall to 2-6-0 on the year and 0-4-0 in Big Ten play.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Penn State opened the scoring early in the first period as senior Connor McMenamin (Collegeville, Pa.) had his initial shot from the left slot blocked before he gathered the puck back and circled behind the net before lifting it short side and high over the left shoulder of Badger net-minder Jared Moe for the 1-0 edge at the 2:59 mark.
- The Nittany Lions thought they doubled their lead midway through the second period as a one-timer from the slot by junior Tyler Paquette (Collegeville, Pa.) was ruled a goal on the ice before being reviewed and overturned as the puck clanked the cross-bar and never fully crossed the goal line.
- Penn State would eventually extend its lead early in the third period with a man-advantage tally snapping a streak of 15-straight unsuccessful powerplays as senior Ashton Calder (Sault Ste. Marie, Mich.) laced one short side over the blocker of Moe off a nice passing sequence from sophomore Ben Schoen (Maumee, Ohio) and McMenamin for the 2-0 advantage just 56 ticks into the final frame.
- The Nittany Lions extended the lead further midway through the third as Lamppa cleaned up a rebound in the crease for the 3-0 score at the 9:35 mark.
- Senior Connor MacEachern (Brooklin, Ontario) hit the empty net to put the game out of reach at 18:19 of the third period.
GOALTENDING
- Junior Liam Souliere (Brampton, Ontario) improved to 6-0-0 on the year following a 32-save shutout, the first shutout of his career.
- Moe stopped 39-of-42 shots he faced but falls to 2-5-0 on the year with the setback.
NOTES
- The 8-0-0 start for the Nittany Lions increases its best start to a season in program history as Penn State is the last team this season to remain unbeaten and untied.
- The shutout for Penn State is its first since a 4-0 victory against Niagara last October and it's the first road shutout since a 1-0 win at Michigan State on January 3, 2021. That game against the Spartans was also the last time the Nittany Lions had a shutout in Big Ten play.
- With one goal and two assists on the night, McMenamin collects his second multi-point effort this season and the eighth of his career.
- McMenamin's goal stands up as the game-winner marking the eighth of his career to tie for the second-most in program history just two shy of Denis Smirnov's program record.
- With one goal and one assist on the night, Lamppa ties his career-high of two points collecting just the second multi-point game of his career and first this season and with points in each game this weekend, he has now registered a point in back-to-back games for the first time in his career.
- The Nittany Lions held the slim 43-32 edge in shots on goal while going 1-for-4 on the powerplay and a perfect 3-for-3 on the penalty kill.
- Penn State has now won five-straight games against the Badgers dating back to last season and improve to 26-18-3 all-time against Wisconsin.
- Penn State is now 47-14-4 all-time in the month of October.
- The Nittany Lions eight-game winning-streak is the second longest in program history behind the 11-game streak from the 2016-17 season.
NEXT UP
Penn State returns home next weekend for a weekend set against the No. 4 Michigan Wolverines on Friday and Saturday. Friday night's contest will air live on the B1G Network at 8 p.m.
For more information on the 2022-23 season presented by the Penn State Bookstore: 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.