Penn State hockey grabs emphatic win over Wisconsin to open series

Behind two goals each from Connor McMenamin and Ryan Kirwan, Penn State hockey claimed a straightforward 4-1 win over Wisconsin at Pegula Ice Arena Friday night.

The Nittany Lions outshot the Badgers 47-41, jumping out to a 4-0 lead before the Badgers grabbed a third-period consolation goal.

The defining moment

The big moment in this game came early. With time winding down on a lengthy 5-on-3 advantage, it seemed like Penn State would remain in its power-play rut.

They’d missed an open goal from point-blank range, hit the post, and saw a great chance denied by Wisconsin netminder Jared Moe.

Then, forward Ryan Kirwan slid what looked like an innocuous shot under the pad of Moe. The goal gave the Nittany Lions a 1-0 lead in the first period.

It was a much-needed boost after an 0-for-7 showing on the power play in last week’s series against Michigan proved costly in a pair of one-goal losses.

“It was really big because of the situation,” Penn State coach Guy Gadowsky said. “It’s always good to get the first one, but because of where our power play has been and the chances we’d had, I was worried that, if we didn’t score on the 5-on-3, the momentum might shift.”

One big thing

The final score in hockey is often an imperfect indicator of how a game really went.

The Nittany Lions felt positive about their performances last week, pushing an elite Michigan team to the brink. In a balanced world, they might have left Ann Arbor with at least one win.

On Friday, the Nittany Lions got the rub of the green, taking the chances they needed to while the Badgers failed to make the most of theirs.

Gadowsky lauded his team’s offensive performance, but expressed concern about what he saw defensively.

“I do think that we created chances and maybe could have had more because of it,” Gadowsky said. “I did like a lot of offensive aspects of our game, but defensively we weren’t that good.”

The shot count finished 47-41 in Penn State’s favor, with the Nittany Lions dominating the beginning of the game before the Badgers came into it later on.

PSU created countless chances on the rush. They cycled the puck well, too. Penn State’s passing was as crisp as it’s been all season. The Nittany Lions played with the creative flair we saw from the best Penn State teams from 2016-2020.

For a program trying to relocate its identity, this sure looked a whole lot like a step in that direction — at least on the offensive end of the ice.

Gadowsky was less pleased with the defensive effort, but Nittany Lions got an excellent performance in goal, which hasn’t always been the case this season.

Liam Souliere — typically the backup to Oskar Autio — stepped in to stop 40 of the 41 shots he faced as he earned his fourth win of the season.

“He deserved [the start],” Gadowsky said. “He’s an excellent teammate and worked extremely hard. You know, we’d been playing well and hadn’t quite got a win. Sometimes you just need to change things up.”

Penn State and Wisconsin goal-scorers

PSU: Ryan Kirwan (6) at 10:42 of the first period from Kevin Wall (8) and Danny Dzhaniyev (10) (PPG)

PSU: Connor McMenamin (3) at 15:31 of the first period from Christian Sarlo (4) and Connor MacEachern (10)

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PSU: Connor McMenamin (4) at 9:08 of the second period from Christian Berger (9) and Chase McLane (9)

PSU: Ryan Kirwan (7) at 17:07 of the second period from Kevin Wall (9) and Ben Copeland (14)

UW: Corson Ceulemans (5) at 5:13 of the third period from Tarek Baker (11) and Mathieu De St. Phalle (4) (PPG)

Up next for Penn State

The Nittany Lions go for the sweep on Saturday at 6 p.m. at Pegula Ice Arena.