(UW ATHLETICS) UNIVERSITY PARK, PA -A three-goal second period and two goals from Oliver Tulk propelled the No. 11 Wisconsin men’s hockey team to a 5-2 win on Friday evening at Pegula Ice Arena, wrapping up the regular season play with a sweep at No. 6 Penn State.
Wisconsin (21-11-2, 14-10-0 Big Ten – 39 points) got on the board first, 11:37 into the first period, with a goal from Quinn Finley. Twenty-two seconds into the second, Gavin Morrissey doubled UW’s lead, before Oliver Tulk and Blake Montgomery added tallies at 1:29 and 4:52, respectively, to make it 4-0. Penn State (20-12-2, 12-10-2 Big Ten – 41 points) scored its first goal of the game at 12:43 on the power play. It scored again at 13:56, making it a 4-2 game heading into the third. At 1:59 into the final frame, Tulk notched his second goal of the night to seal a 5-2 win for the Badgers.
How it Happened
First Period
The Badgers had the first power play of the night at 3:37, but Penn State got the kill.
At 11:37, junior forward Finley opened the scoring for Wisconsin, putting home a cross-ice pass from Gavin Morrissey.
UW got its second man-advantage of the period at 16:54 but did not light the lamp to double its lead heading into the second.
Second Period
Wisconsin wasted no time in the second period with sophomore forward Morrissey making it a 2-0 game just 22 seconds into the frame.
Less than 90 seconds into the period, at 1:29, freshman forward Tulk deflected the puck home from in front of the net to make it two goals in 1:07 for the Badgers.
Freshman forward Blake Montgomery scored UW’s third goal of the frame at 4:52 with a shot from the blue line.
PSU got a chance on the power-play at 10:57, before Wisconsin took another penalty at 9:13 to give the Nittany Lions 17 seconds of a five-on-three before 1:43 of additional five-on-four power-play time.
At 12:43, Penn State capitalized on the power play, with Shea Van Olm finding the back of the net.
The Nittany Lions cut the deficit to two goals at 13:56 with a goal from Reese Laubach to make it a 4-2 game heading into the third.
Third Period
Tulk scored his second goal of the game, 1:59 into the third period, off a cross-ice pass from sophomore forward Ryan Botterill.
UW had another power-play chance at 3:17, but PSU got the kill to remain perfect on the PK tonight.
At 6:44, each team took a penalty, but no one found the back of the net during four-on-four play.
Wisconsin took a major penalty at 10:11, but did not allow a goal to kill off its second major penalty in as many games. Freshman goaltender Daniel Hauser stood strong on the kill, including making a diving save in the dying seconds of the power play to keep it a 5-2 game.
Neither team scored in the final 10 minutes of the contest as the Badgers claimed a 5-2 victory to complete the sweep and finish the regular season on a high note.
Wisconsin went 0-for-3 on the power play and 1-for-3 on the penalty kill. UW finished the contest with a 37-25 advantage in shots on goal, including 14 in the first period and 16 in the second.
Notes to know
– Wisconsin won for the seventh consecutive time at Penn State, dating back to Feb. 25, 2023
– The Badgers killed major penalties in back-to-back games this weekend
– With his goal tonight, Blake Montgomery broke a 15-game scoring drought dating back to Dec. 6 at Notre Dame
– Freshman defenseman Luke Osburn’s 20 points are the most for a UW freshman defenseman since NHLer K’Andre Miller posted five goals and 22 points as a rookie during the 2018-19 season
– Oliver Tulk posted his first-career multi-goal game
Up Next: The fourth-seeded Badgers return to Madison to begin postseason play as they’re set to face fifth-seeded Ohio State in the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals on Wednesday, March 11, at the Kohl Center. The single-elimination contest starts at 7 p.m. CT
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