Following a series with back-and-forth offensive chances and momentum shifts, Wisconsin men’s hockey now hasn’t won a regulation game in 10 straight tries.
The Badgers (0-8-2 Big Ten, 2-18-4 overall) matched the Nittany Lions (7-2-1 Big Ten, 15-7-4 overall) in shots in the first contest, but failed to keep its first-period lead, allowing PSU to score four unanswered goals to secure a 5-2 win.
A disallowed goal in the second game prevented Wisconsin from tying the score, and Penn State’s two power play goals and 43 shots helped them to a 4-1 victory.
“Results aren’t always an indicator of effort,” head coach Mike Eaves said after Saturday’s loss. “[In terms of] overall effort, [the team] knows they busted their fannies for each other, so that’s what we’ll have to continue to build on.”
The Badgers’ freshman class continued its impressive performance from the Minnesota series against Penn State, with freshman forward Cameron Hughes lighting the lamp twice in the first period of Friday’s game to put Wisconsin ahead, 2-1.
But Wisconsin’s lead was erased when redshirt junior forward Eric Scheid scored his 13th goal of the year.
13 minutes later, Penn State struck again with a goal that senior goaltender Joel Rumpel claimed was interference. The review went in the Nittany Lions’ favor and freshman defenseman Jack Dougherty was penalized for interference instead, giving PSU its only power play of the game.
Both teams exchanged chances in the first half of the third period, but the Badgers’ hopes for a comeback were further diminished when PSU junior forward Casey Bailey fired a slapshot past Rumpel.
Penn State’s final goal was an empty-netter with nine seconds remaining in the game to hand Wisconsin its 17th loss of the season.
The second game of the series was more unbalanced, with PSU registering 43 shots to Wisconsin’s 28 and converting on two of its five powerplays. Comparatively, the Badgers went 0-5 on the powerplay, scoreless even with 1:15 of a 5-on-3 advantage in the first period.
The Nittany Lions got on the board first, scoring two goals in 23 minutes before the Badgers responded midway through the second period. Freshman forward Adam Rockwood notched his second goal of the year with a top-shelf tally on a 3-on-2 rush.
Momentum shifted back to the Badgers when sophomore forward Aidan Cavallini scored what he thought was his first career goal, but the goal was disallowed after an official review revealed that Cavallini had tipped the puck in with a high stick.
Less than two minutes later, the Nittany Lions scored their third goal to put themselves ahead by two. A late goal prevented any Wisconsin comeback, and PSU handily swept UW with a 4-1 win.
The Badgers will seek their first conference win again Feb. 13 at 5:30 p.m. and Feb. 14 at 6 p.m. at Ohio State.
