Penn State swept by Wisconsin; Host Ohio State this weekend to close out the regular season

PSU goalie Matt Skoff stops Wisconsin's Jedd Soleway during the Badgers’ 3-2 win last Saturday night. (Photo c/o of Abby Drey of the CDT)

Penn State (6-24-2, 2-15-1-0 B1G) hosted the No. 5 Wisconsin Badgers (21-9-2, 12-5-1-0 B1G) last Friday and Saturday night. Penn State dropped Game 1 by a 4-2 score but it was Mark Zengerle’s goal with 20.3 seconds left in overtime last Saturday that lifted the Badgers to a 3-2 win and a sweep of the weekend series.

Kenny Brooks forced overtime with his fourth goal of the season with 2:44 left in the third period. Defenseman Connor Varley fired the puck around the boards, where Curtis Loik tapped it behind the Badger net. Brooks picked up the puck, circled around the net, and sent the puck toward into slot, where it went off a Badger defenseman and into the net.

Penn State had visions of another upset, but the duo of Nic Kerdiles (ANA) and Zengerle worked its magic one last time and spoiled the upset bid.  

Overall, I thought PSU played a very good game as a team. After Friday’s lackluster effort, Penn State jumped out the gate with some jump and energy. They outshot the Badgers by a 7-0 margin in the games first three minutes. It’s a tough on to swallow to give up a goal with 20 seconds remaining in overtime, but hopefully this is a game they can build upon and look back at for the Big Ten Tournament and next season.  

The Nittany Lions had just finished killing a penalty when the Badgers struck first. Keegan Meuer’s wrist shot from the top of the faceoff circle beat Matt Skoff on the Badgers first shot of the game.

Penn State would respond just about a minute later on the power play. Dylan Richard found David Glen at the top of the crease, where he sent a no-look, backhand pass to the left circle to Casey Bailey, who one-timed the shot past Wisconsin netmider Joel Rumpel.

In the second period, Kerdiles scored shorthanded goal to give the Badgers a 2-1 lead. Mark Zengerle gathered a loose puck at Wisconsin's offensive blue line and found a streaking Kerdiles behind the Nittany Lion defense. Kerdiles gathered the puck, moved it between his legs and scored on his forehand. It was a pretty nifty goal for the Anaheim Ducks prospect.

Here is video of his goal.

Joel Rumpel made 41 saves for Wisconsin, while Matt Skoff turned aside 26 shots. Penn State wore special blue-and-white camouflage jerseys that will be auctioned off with the proceeds supporting the Keystone Wounded Warriors.

Penn State hosts Ohio State this weekend in the final home series of the season, with games at 7 p.m. Friday and at 3 p.m. Saturday. Ohio State salvaged a tie last weekend against No. 1 Minnesota.

The Buckeyes sit 15-12-3 overall and 5-8-5 in conference play. OSU is a dangerous offensive team.  Ohio State is now 4-1 in shootouts this season. Ryan Dzingel (OTT) leads the Buckeyes and the Big Ten with 18 goals, 22 assists and 40 points this season. Max McCormick (OTT) has 17 assists and 27 points on the year, while Nick Oddo has 18 helpers to rank third on the team and is fourth on the team with 25 points.

OSU torched PSU back in late January/early February and swept the Nittany Lions by a combined score of 10-3. It’s crucial for Penn State to finish the regular season strong. Not only is it the last home series of the year, but it’s the last series before the Big Ten Tournament next weekend in St. Paul.

I was wrong once again on my predictions last weekend but I do have a good feeling PSU will bounce back and split with OSU. After losing a heartbreaker like they did versus Wisconsin, I expect the Lions to come out and give their faithful a show for one last time this season.