Offensive Onslaught Leads Penn State Over Wisconsin
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Coming off a tough series loss to No. 1 Minnesota, a big bounce-back weekend was needed from No. 10 Penn State to try and host a home playoff series for the Big Ten Tournament.
The Nittany Lions started off their weekend in the best way possible, with a dominating 6-1 victory over the Wisconsin Badgers.
For the second straight game, Penn State opened the scoring in the opening minute, as Danny Dzhaniyev cashed in on a wide-open net to give the blue and white the early lead.
Dzhaniyev’s marker would set the tone early for Penn State, and the team never looked back from there.
“I think that we were able to ride that momentum,” head coach Guy Gadowsky said. “In the past, when we have scored early I think we took our foot off the gas a little bit and this time I don't think it happened.”
Gadowsky’s combination of Dzhaniyev, Ashton Calder and Ture Linden had a field day at Pegula, with seven points between the three forwards.
On a night where everything went right, so did the special teams for Penn State.
Ture Linden blasted home a one-timer right from the left circle on the man advantage early in the first period to give the Nittany Lions a two-goal lead.
That power play marker comes as the first one since Jan. 28 against Michigan, snapping a four-game streak without such a goal.
Even with the monkey off their backs, Gadowsky still isn’t satisfied with the special teams play.
“We had a couple of power play shifts that weren’t great but also a couple that gained momentum,” Gadowsky said. “It was nice to see one go in. It’s a start.”
In a weekend dedicated to the seniors, said players came out hot to start the series, including Kevin Wall.
The Carolina Hurricanes prospect had two assists for his fifth multi-point game of the season and surpassed Casey Bailey for 10th all-time in points with 81.
The offensive depth has been praised all season long for this Nittany Lions squad, and they showed out in full force against the Badgers as 12 different skaters found the scoresheet.
“All lines will kick in at any point in time and give us a game plan to win,” senior forward Ashton Calder said. “It’s a good time to have it going and hopefully it rolls into the playoffs.”
Liam Souliere had another stellar performance in net following his 29-save performance against Minnesota the previous outing, with 24 saves on 25 shots.
The junior netminder now has 17 wins on the season with a .910 save percentage and a 2.53 goals against average.
With one final game before the postseason, and so much on the line for the Nittany Lions, Gadowsky’s squad will look to secure the sweep and home ice advantage in the Big Ten Tournament.
“It’s a lot of motivation, the crowd helps us a lot,” senior forward Ture Linden said. “I think we really rely on them and we plan on that tomorrow too.”
Joshua Bartosik is a second-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email jsb6137@psu.edu.
