Penn State Hockey Faces Defining Test in Weekend Showdown at No. 5 Wisconsin
Penn State hockey didn’t exactly get a soft landing to start its Big Ten schedule. The Nittany Lions were thrown straight into the fire - three of their first four conference series were on the road, including matchups with then-No.
17 Ohio State, current No. 1 Michigan State, and perennial powerhouse Minnesota.
The only home series in that stretch? A visit from then-No.
2 Michigan. Not exactly a welcome mat.
Through that early-season gauntlet, Penn State managed to hold its own, finishing with a 4-4 conference record. It wasn’t dominant, but it was competitive - and given the caliber of opponents, it showed this group wasn’t backing down from anyone. Still, for a team that reloaded in the offseason with a healthy dose of highly touted talent, the results felt like a team still searching for its identity.
Head coach Guy Gadowsky and his staff used the December break to hit the reset button. The focus: getting back to what has long defined Penn State hockey - relentless puck pressure, high shot volume, and a commitment to structured, disciplined defense. That identity has started to resurface in a big way.
Since returning from the break, the Nittany Lions are 4-0 in Big Ten play. The wins have come against Notre Dame and Minnesota - two programs currently navigating their own struggles - but they’ve been convincing enough to push Penn State into a tie for second place in the conference standings heading into this weekend. Momentum is building, but the biggest test of the second half is now squarely in front of them.
Penn State travels to Madison for a two-game set against No. 5 Wisconsin, with puck drops set for 7:00 p.m.
Friday and 8:00 p.m. Saturday at the Kohl Center.
Saturday’s game will be televised on Big Ten Network.
This is the kind of series that tells you where a team really stands. Wisconsin is coming off back-to-back losses to Michigan State - a reminder that even the top teams in the country can stumble - but the Badgers are still among the elite in college hockey. For Gadowsky, it’s the exact kind of challenge his squad needs right now.
“We’re excited for it for a couple reasons,” Gadowsky said this week. “One, to get points at this time of the year.
Two, because it’s an excellent, excellent opponent - one of the top teams in the nation - and we do feel like we’ve made some improvements. So internally, we’re excited about it for those reasons.
But more importantly, it’s after January. We’re in a spot to fight our way into the tournament.”
Translation: The stakes are real now. Every point matters, every shift counts, and every game is a chance to shape the postseason picture.
One player who’s been making the most of his opportunities is junior forward Matt DiMarsico. He’s been on an absolute tear, notching a hat trick in last weekend’s 4-1 win over Notre Dame - his third of the season.
That’s not just impressive; it’s historic. DiMarsico is now the only player in Penn State program history with multiple hat tricks in a single season.
He’s also riding a five-game point streak, and his offensive spark has been a major catalyst for the Lions’ recent surge.
This weekend, though, the spotlight isn’t just on individual performances. It’s about whether Penn State’s recent improvements can hold up against one of the nation’s best - on the road, in a tough environment, with postseason implications looming.
The Nittany Lions have shown flashes of what they can be. Now, it’s time to find out if they can do it against the best.