Penn State's against Wisconsin on Jan. 21, 2022. Penn State defeated Wisconsin, 4-1. Photo/Craig Houtz
Craig Houtz
2
Wisconsin UW 8-15-3, 5-10-1
7
Winner Penn St. PSU 14-12-0, 5-11-0
Wisconsin UW
8-15-3, 5-10-1
2
Final
7
Penn St. PSU
14-12-0, 5-11-0
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 F
Wisconsin UW 0 0 2 2
Penn St. PSU 0 3 4 7

Game Recap: Men's Hockey | | Clara Boudette

Badgers knocked off by Nittany Lions

Bantle scores twice in Wisconsin defeat

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — A scoring-heavy third period squashed the Badgers' come back efforts in a 7-2 loss to Penn State at Pegula Ice Arena on Saturday.

The Badgers (8-15-3, 5-11-1 1-1-0) hoped to even out the series with the Nittany Lions heading into their final matchup of the regular season.

After a scoreless first period, Penn State (14-12-0, 5-11-0 1-1-0) scored three unanswered goals in the second period.

Ryan Kirwan broke the ice at 4:28 in the first period when he let off a one-timer from right in front of the crease. Jimmy Dowd Jr. got the puck down low in the Badgers' zone and slotted the puck across to Ben Copeland who then found Kirwan for a quick shot out front.

Kirwan scored his second goal of the game and fourth goal of the series towards the bottom quarter of the period on a three-on-one rush from Christian Sarlo and Paul DeNaples.

Penn State pulled ahead to 3-0 with a goal from Tyler Gratton in the final minute of the period. Ben Copeland led the rush into the Badgers' zone and pulled up at the hash marks to hit Kevin Wall with a pass as he entered the play. Wall stick-handled his way through two red jerseys and found Gratton on the doorstep for a tap-in goal. 

The third period brought about a flood of scoring. 

The Badgers got on the board just 1:10 into the third period courtesy of Carson Bantle. Brock Caufield sped into the offensive zone to win the race to a loose puck and passed to Mathieu De St. Phalle behind the net. The shifty sophomore threaded a pass to Bantle in the slot for a quick release shot that riccoched off the goal post and into the net.


Bantle, determined to close the gap, netted his second goal of the game unassisted less than two minutes later to make the score 3-2. Bantle robbed a Penn State defender in the offensive zone and drove to the net to slip the puck past goaltender Oskar Autio and put the Badgers within one.



With Wisconsin chomping at their heels, the Nittany Lions scored three goals in four minutes thanks to a couple power-play opportunities. 

Ben Schoen scored on the man advantage at 5:07 on a long low angle shot, assisted by Dowd Jr. and goaltender Oskar Autio.

Danny Dzhaniyev was next to add to the tally just 43 seconds later on a feed from Wall.

Connor MacEachern scored on the power-play at 8:27 to make it 6-2 Penn State. Dowd and Schoen worked the puck across the Badgers' zone up high before finding MacEachern for a wrist shot.

Schoen scored his second goal of the game at 11:27 in the third to make the final score 7-2 on a tight angle shot from Xander Lamppa and Clayton Phillip.

Jared Moe made 30 saves in net and Cameron Rowe made 13 upon entering the game in the third period. Wisconsin posted 22 shots on net.

Notes to know:
Next Up: The Badgers host the Michigan Wolverines on Friday and Saturday, Jan. 28-29, at the Kohl Center. Puck drop is set for 6 p.m. CT on Friday and 8 p.m. on Saturday. Watch live on Friday Bally Sports Wisconsin and follow along on Twitter and Instagram at @BadgerMHockey
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