UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The No. 15 Wisconsin men's hockey team got a slow start to the new year, falling 5-1 to No. 14 Penn State on Friday night in its first game after nearly a month-long break.
 
The Badgers (10-10-2, 4-6-1-0 Big Ten) allowed a power-play and short-handed goal in the loss to PSU (12-7-2, 5-4-2 Big Ten), who outshot UW 32-26 through three periods.
 
Penn State took a 2-0 lead by the 9:00 mark of the first period, scoring one of its goals on the man-advantage 1:36 into the game.
 
PSU held the two-goal lead into the intermission, then kept the momentum going by scoring 11 seconds into the second stanza. Senior goaltender Kyle Hayton came in to play relief for sophomore Jack Berry after the Nittany Lions scored a short-handed tally to make the game 4-0 at the 3:45 mark of the second period. Hayton made several key saves to not allow a goal for the remainder of the game, ending his night with 17 saves.
 
Freshman forward Tarek Baker scored the Badgers' only tally at the 11:54 mark of the final period, sending home puck past Jones after senior Ryan Wagner centered while driving past the net.
 
Penn State topped off the 5-1 win with less than a minute in regulation with an empty-net goal from Nate Sucese, his third tally of the night.
 
Notes to Know
- Wisconsin allowed its second hat trick of the season, and gave up its second short-handed goal this year.
- Senior Cullen Hurley led the Badgers with four shots on goal, followed by Cameron Hughes and Seamus Malone with three apiece.
- Jack Berry made 10 saves in the loss, moving to 3-3-0 on the season.
- Wisconsin was without sophomore alternate captain Trent Frederic, who helped Team USA win bronze at the World Junior Championship in Buffalo. Frederic had four goals on five shots in the 9-3 win over the Czech Republic on Friday, earning Player of the Game accolades.
 
Straight From the Rink,
Head Coach Tony Granato
On the game
"They were good, we weren't as good as we needed to be. They skate well, they put a lot of pressure on us with their speed and we didn't handle it very well. They made the most of their chances, they made some nice plays, don't get me wrong. I don't think Jack (Berry) was at fault, but we needed to make a change to try to one, just get Kyle (Hayton) into the game and two, try to break their momentum.
 
"We never got going in the game tonight. They did a really good job of not allowing us to get to our game."
 
On what makes the matchup so difficult
"Their speed. I don't think we did a good enough job pressuring their D, especially early in the game. That allowed their forwards to get skating and get into the game. They had flow all night, a nice rhythm to their game. Pretty much right throughout their lineup, they took it to us."
 
On Penn State scoring three goals off the post
"Those were good shots, that's why I say you can't blame Jack on those goals, those were nice shots.
 
"They're the highest-scoring team in the nation for a reason, that's a heck of an offensive team and we have to be better in certain areas to be able to keep the game close, especially early. We'll look tomorrow to be better and we certainly need to play better tomorrow."
 
Senior forward Ryan Wagner
On the game
"Obviously, not the start we wanted. I thought we had a great little break at home to see our family. Then we came back and we were working hard, pushing each other, and I didn't think it was the start we wanted and things need to change. We'll be ready tomorrow."
 
On what makes the matchup so difficult
"They're a good team. Something that's challenging is they fly a lot, their forwards have great speed and defense move the puck up really really nice to them. On us, as defensemen and our first forward back, we have to get back quicker. They dumped the puck quite a few times, so that's on us to talk to Berry or Kyle, whether it goes to them or just to be there to support a defenseman."
 
On wanting to get off on the right foot
"It hurts a lot. This isn't the feeling we want. We've felt it too many times this season. The great thing is, we get to come back tomorrow and start all over, regroup and get a better outcome."
 

Up Next
Wisconsin closes out the series with Penn State on Saturday at 6 p.m. (CT) at Pegula Ice Arena. The game will be broadcast on WIBA 1310 and televised on BTN.