‘We did it to ourselves,’ coach Guy Gadowsky says as Penn State hockey falls to Wisconsin

Unable to find its groove Thursday night, Penn State hockey started its series against Wisconsin with a tough 4-1 loss at Pegula Ice Arena.

Penalties were key in the Nittany Lions’ loss, as Penn State allowed seven power play opportunities — the most all season.

“We weren’t a very disciplined team, in our play or after the whistles,” head coach Guy Gadowsky said. “That’s certainly on me and on us — we weren’t prepared to play a good, disciplined game. And we paid for it.”

The Nittany Lions started out strong, going on the power play two minutes into the start of the first period when the Badgers’ Ryder Donovan was sent to the box for slashing. But Wisconsin’s goaltender Cameron Rowe made a big double save during a scramble in front of the net, putting a halt to Penn State’s scoring chances.

The first period was full of energy from both teams. Penn State’s Sam Sternschein was sent to the penalty box at 8:22 for interference, which would end up as the first of his three penalties of the night. Wisconsin was unable to get the puck past goalkeeper Oskar Autio, but as soon as Sternschein was released from the box, he was sent back in on another interference call.

Two minutes later, Penn State would go on its second power play of the game. Ending the period 2-0, the Nittany Lions had an opportunity to bounce back in the second period, assisted by the remaining 50 seconds left of the prior period’s power play.

A goal from Kevin Wall exactly one minute into the second period — and 10 seconds after the man advantage finished — cut the Badgers’ lead in half and made the score 2-1. Despite the goal and a tie game in reach, Penn State began to unravel during the second period.

The game tilted back in favor of Wisconsin post Wall’s goal, and the Nittany Lion’s were unable to get the puck past Rowe and the Badger’s defense, who expertly blocked shooting and passing lanes.

With 8:23 left in the second period, Wall was sent to the box for a roughing call. Wisconsin was unable to capitalize on the power play, though, as Autio kept the puck out of the net.

Late in the period, junior forward Aarne Talvitie hit the end boards hard, and headed down the tunnel into the locker room. With a minute remaining in the period, Sternschein was called for hooking and headed to the box for the third and final time.

Against a team as skilled as Wisconsin, amassing seven penalties in a game greatly set the Nittany Lions back.

“We did it to ourselves,” Gadowsky said. “We were undisciplined, we gave them seven power play opportunities — including a 5-on-3 and it’s really tough to expect a better result when you do that to yourself. I don’t think we especially played disciplined with the puck, either.”

Starting off the third period with the return of Talvitie, and Wisconsin having a minute left on the man advantage, the Nittany Lions were able to keep the Badgers at bay with a strong power kill, keeping the score at 2-1. With 14:22 remaining in the third, Wisconsin’s captain Ty Emberson was sent to the box for interference, giving the Nittany Lions another chance to tie the game.

Wisconsin’s defensive efforts and Rowe’s prowess once again resulted in an unsuccessful Nittany Lions man advantage. With just under seven minutes remaining in the period, Mason Snell was sent to the box on a hooking call. This gave Wisconsin the opportunity to slip the puck past Autio in a shot from Cole Caufield about a minute into the power kill, giving Wisconsin a 3-1 lead.

Wisconsin’s Dominick Mersch was sent to the box on a slashing call about 20 seconds later. Autio was pulled from the net, and the Nittany Lions were given a two-man advantage. The minute Mersch left the box, he got the puck on his stick and shot it in the back of Penn State’s empty net, giving the Badgers a 4-1 lead.

With under two minutes remaining in the game, Penn State freshman defenseman Jimmy Dowd Jr. was sent to the box for slashing. Able to kill the power play, the night ended with a Badgers 4-1 win and a disappointed Nittany Lions team.

“I don’t think anybody had an outstanding performance. I don’t,” Gadowsky said. “I know Kevin scored — and I think he was great, but I think he can play better. I don’t think that anybody had an outstanding game.

“It is a team game, and what happens is when you have a five-man unit that are playing well, then individuals are going to stand out. I don’t think we had too many times that we were working together as a five-man unit. Even if some individuals were playing well and giving a great effort, if you don’t have that five man unit doing it all together, it’s tough to look good.”

Despite the loss, the team is confident that it can get back to playing its “game,” true Penn State-style hockey Friday night.

“This one stung. We didn’t play our game in the beginning,” captain Alex Limoges said.

“Gads came in the locker room and said all the right things. … We know how to play our game and it’s been working the past however many games, so it’s not a surprise. Our system works, it’s just tonight reiterating what Gads was saying in the locker room and coming out and having a better performance tomorrow.”

This story was originally published January 21, 2021 at 11:07 PM.