Box Score MADISON, Wis. — Close just wasn't close enough for the Wisconsin men's hockey team against Penn State on Friday night.
 
The Badgers (6-17-8, 1-12-4-2 Big Ten) came up empty on several quality scoring chances, and Penn State's Tommy Olczyk scored the game winner on a breakaway at the 7:04 mark of the second period to give the Nittany Lions (20-9-4, 10-6-1-1 Big Ten) a 2-1 win at the Kohl Center.
 
"The kids did what we asked them to do," UW head coach Mike Eaves said. "We got a great effort from [Adam Miller], we had scoring chances, we hit posts again which has kind of been…I don't know how we cleanse that out of our system, but we did the things that we wanted to do and came up without that timely goal again."
 
UW just missed the go-ahead goal in the second period when the puck was inches from crossing the goal line, and 30 seconds later PSU goaltender Eamon McAdam just managed to get a piece of Grant Besse's breakaway shot.
 
Olczyk then scored in the wake of both missed opportunities to give the Nittany Lions a lead they wouldn't relinquish.
 
Wisconsin continued to battle after Penn State took the lead. Despite getting outshot 11-2 at one point more than halfway through the third period, the Badgers buckled down and made a push in the final minutes of regulation.
 
"Going into the third period, the thing that we shared with our kids when you're in games like this—and this won't be the last game they're in in their lives where you play well and you're not rewarded for your efforts by a goal—and that is to stay patiently persistent," Eaves said.
 
After UW held the offensive zone for a two-minute stretch in the last four minutes of the third, the Badgers followed that up by drawing a penalty to set up their only power play of the game with one minute in regulation. Eaves pulled netminder Adam Miller for an extra attacker to give UW a five-on-three advantage.
 
The Badgers had a flurry of chances in the final 60 seconds, as Luke Kunin had a shot deflected wide and two other shots stopped by McAdam, while McAdam just managed to get a piece of Tim Davison's shot from the low left circle to preserve PSU's lead.
 
The last minute was a microcosm of the game for Wisconsin, which rang a post and the crossbar— one by Besse and the other by Ryan Wagner — in addition to missing an open net and Besse's breakaway.
 
Penn State took the initial lead on Andrew Sturtz's power-play goal at the 14:32 mark of the first period.
 
But Wisconsin responded less than two minutes later on Kunin's 16th goal of the year to draw the Badgers even at one. Cameron Hughes created a turnover behind the PSU net, and then set up Kunin, who rifled the puck home from just outside the crease.
 
Wisconsin nearly took the lead at the 13:50 mark of the second period when McAdam misplayed the puck in the left corner and sent the puck in front of an empty PSU net. Will Johnson tried to spin and shoot the puck from the slot, but missed the net.
 
The play wasn't over though, and Jedd Soleway got to the loose puck behind the goal and banked it off of McAdam's pads, while he was still out of position. The puck trickled along the goal line, but never fully crossed the line, eventually upheld by an official review.
 
After that chance, the two shots that hit iron were the closest Wisconsin would get to finding the back of the net the rest of the way.
 
Miller, starting his first game since Oct. 16 at Boston College, played big in net for Wisconsin, including stopping all 11 shots he saw in the final period to keep UW right with Penn State.
 
"I hope he has the chance to play again in a competitive situation, but if not, what a nice [way to go out]," Eaves said of Miller's likely final start. "I thought the kids really jumped up and played hard for him."
 
"He was the best player for us tonight," Kunin added. "I don't know how long it's been since he's played, but to step up like that and be the best guy for us and to lead the team, we can't say enough good things about him."
 
Miller finished with 28 saves.
 
"To their credit, they had a hot goalie and they weathered the storm," captain Eddie Wittchow said of McAdam. "It is frustrating when we play that way and we don't get rewarded for it, but nobody is getting discouraged by it. Everybody understands that we need to just keep playing that way and things will fall.
 
Wisconsin will vie for a series split when it takes on Penn State tomorrow night at 7 p.m. at the Kohl Center.