UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – A four-goal opening period for the visiting Wisconsin Badgers was too much to overcome as a valiant comeback bid fell short for the 18th-ranked Nittany Lions in a 6-3 loss in Big Ten Conference action on Saturday evening inside Pegula Ice Arena.
Penn State drops to 4-5-0 on the year and 0-4-0-0-1-0 in Big Ten play with the loss while the Badgers improve to 4-8-0 overall and 3-5-0-1-3-0 in conference action with the victory.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Wisconsin grabbed the early 1-0 lead just 40 ticks into the opening frame as Kyle Kukkonen fired a shot from the near halfwall that found the corner of the net after Nittany Lion junior goaltender Arsenii Sergeev (Yaroslavl, Russia) was caught out of position after playing the puck behind the net.
The Badgers extended the lead to 2-0 just over two minutes later as Quinn Finley slipped in a loose puck by the far post after Logan Hensler’s initial shot was blocked down in front at the 3:02 mark of the first period.
The visitors pushed the lead to 4-0 before the halfway point of the opening period as Christian Fitzgerald and Tyson Dyck netted goals just 42 seconds apart at 7:38 and 8:20, respectively.
Penn State cut into the deficit just 48 seconds into the middle stanza as junior Jarod Crespo (Seven Lakes, N.C.) led a 3-on-1 rush skating below the right dot before beating Badger net-minder Tommy Scarfone low on the blocker side for the unassisted tally and 4-1 score.
The Nittany Lions added a second as freshman Charlie Cerrato (Fallston, Md.) crashed the net to rip home a rebound after senior Simon Mack’s (Brockville, Ontario) initial shot was blocked down in front for the 4-2 score at the 13:38 mark.
Penn State continued to push and pulled within one goal after Cerrato feathered a beautiful, backhanded pass to a streaking Aiden Fink (Calgary, Alberta) and the sophomore sniped shortside from the right dot for the 4-3 deficit at 8:26 of the third period.
A late major penalty ended the hosts momentum leading to a pair of Badger scores as Ryland Mosley lit the lamp off the rush at 11:48 of the third period and Cody Laskosky found the back of the net at 15:28 to account for the 6-3 final.
GOALTENDING
Sergeev didn’t factor in the decision as he stopped 2-of-4 shots over the opening 4:14 before being relieved by junior Noah Grannan (Germantown, Wis.). Grannan falls to 0-1-0 on the year with the loss after making 23 saves over the final 55:46 of game action. Scarfone improves to 3-4-0 on the year after stopping 30 shots in the victory.
NOTES
Penn State held the slim 33-31 edge in shots on goal while going 0-for-2 on the man-advantage while Wisconsin potted a pair of powerplay tallies during a late five-minute major to finish the night 2-for-5.
With two assists yesterday and a second period assist tonight, Mack moves past Christian Berger ’24 for 10th on the all-time points list for defensemen at Penn State as he now has 43 for his career while his 34 assists break a tie with Berger and move into a tie with Paul DeNaples ’23 for ninth on the all-time defenseman assist list. He is also now just one point shy of tying DeNaples for ninth.
Cerrato has goals in back-to-back games for the first time in his career after scoring in both games this weekend. After adding an assist in the third period Cerrato secures his third multi-point effort of the season.
With a pair of assists, sophomore Matt DiMarsico (Wexford, Pa.) secures his first multi-point effort of the season and the seventh of his career.
The Nittany Lions controlled the dot again winning 60.3 percent (38-for-63) of the draws with Cerrato leading the way again going 14-for-21 (66.7 percent).
Penn State has now lost seven-straight against Wisconsin, but maintain the slim 27-25-3 advantage in the series.
NEXT UP
Penn State remains at home for its second of three-straight series as the No. 5 Michigan Wolverines come to town next Friday and Saturday.
For more information on the 2024-25 season, visit the men's hockey page at GoPSUsports.com or call 1-800-NITTANY Monday-Friday from 8 a.m. – 5 p.m.