Reidler Strong as No. 8 Men's Hockey Sweeps No. 5 Wisconsin Following, 3-1, VictoryReidler Strong as No. 8 Men's Hockey Sweeps No. 5 Wisconsin Following, 3-1, Victory
Mark Selders

Reidler Strong as No. 8 Men's Hockey Sweeps No. 5 Wisconsin Following, 3-1, Victory

Penn State completes its first-ever sweep of a top-5 opponent with 7-2 and 3-1 victories in Madison

Box Score

MADISON, Wis. – Sophomore goaltender Kevin Reidler (Gavle, Sweden) stopped 40-of-41 shots as No. 8 Penn State used three unanswered third period goals to defeat No. 5 Wisconsin, 3-1, and complete the weekend sweep in Big Ten Conference action the Kohl Center on Saturday evening.

Penn State sees its winning streak move to seven games as the Nittany Lions improve to 18-6-0 with the victory and 10-4-0 in Big Ten play moving into a tie with Michigan for the top spot with 31 points. The Badgers fall to 15-7-2 overall and 8-6-0 in conference action with the loss.

The Nittany Lions have now won seven-straight Big Ten games, along with their current seven-game winning streak, the longest such regular-season streak in program history.

The sweep for Penn State is the first-ever by the Nittany Lions over a top-5 opponent and marks their fourth Big Ten sweep of the season tying their single-season record for conference sweeps from back in 2016-17.

WIS_WIN

HOW IT HAPPENED

  • The Badgers opened the scoring for the second-straight night this time with a shorthanded tally as Christian Fitzgerald slipped behind the defense and snuck the puck through the legs of Nittany Lion sophomore goaltender Kevin Reidler (Gavle, Sweden) on the breakaway for the 1-0 edge at 6:50 of the first period.
  • Penn State evened the score as sophomore JJ Wiebusch (Verona, Wis.) knifed his way between the rings and ripped a wrister through traffic and past the glove of Wisconsin net-minder Daniel Hauser for the 1-1 score at 4:54 of the third period.
  • Junior Reese Laubach (San Jose, Calif.) netted the eventual game-winning goal as he deposited a rebound at the far post after classmate Matt DiMarsico’s (Wexford, Pa.) initial chance was turned aside for the 2-1 lead at 13:08 of the third period.
  • Freshman Gavin McKenna (Whitehorse, Yukon) then sealed the deal with an empty-netter for his fourth goal of the weekend with just 53 ticks remaining for the 3-1 final.

GOALTENDING

Reidler moves to 10-3-0 on the year with his 40-save performance while Hauser drops to 13-5-2 overall after stopping 30 shots in the loss.

NOTES

  • Wisconsin held the 41-33 edge in shots on goal and neither team was able to capitalize on the powerplay in this one with the Nittany Lions going 0-for-3 and the Badgers 0-for-2.
  • McKenna has now registered at least one point in five-straight games to tie his career high while scoring a goal for the third-straight game, a new career-best streak.
  • With a pair of assists, Dowiak secures his third multi-point effort of the season and the eighth of his career.
  • DiMarisco also added a pair of assists marking his seventh multi-point game of the season and the 19th of his career while pushing his point streak to seven games, extending his career long.
  • Head coach Guy Gadowsky registers win No. 249 as Bench Boss of the Nittany Lions, one shy of 250.
  • The win is the fifth of the season for Penn State when trailing entering the third period after not registering a single third period comeback last season.

NEXT UP

Penn State returns home to Hockey Valley for a series against No. 2 Michigan State next weekend with Saturday’s contest being played outdoors at Beaver Stadium.

For more information on the 2025-26 season, visit the men's hockey page at GoPSUsports.com or call 1-800-NITTANY Monday-Friday from 8 a.m. – 5 p.m.