As the well-overused saying goes, close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades. If anyone is sick of hearing that classic cliché by now, it’s the Wisconsin men’s hockey team (4-9-6, 1-4-2-1 B1G), who again fell just short of picking up key Big Ten Conference points this weekend against Penn State.

The Nittany Lions (#15, 15-4-3, 5-1-0 B1G) protected their sellout streak at Pegula Ice Arena and took care of business on the ice, but not without a little drama on Friday night. The Badgers got on the board first in Happy Valley, courtesy of a Jake Linhart goal on the powerplay with seven and a half minutes remaining in the first period. Wisconsin carried that lead late into the second, until Penn State’s Tommy Olczyk (son of former Chicago Blackhawk and current professional hockey commentator Eddie Olczyk) tied things up for the Nittany Lions. Dylan Richard gave Penn State the lead just before the end of the second via a shorthanded goal, leaving the Badgers down 2-1 after two. Luke Kunin continued his hot streak in conference play, tying the game with his team-leading ninth goal of the season just over five minutes into the third period. PSU recaptured the lead, and the momentum, eight minutes later after Andrew Sturtz beat UW goalie Matt Jurusik (54 saves) But more late-game heroics were in store for the Badgers, as Jake Linhart tied things up at three just before the end of regulation, sending the game into overtime. The excitement of the comeback was short-lived, however, thanks to a David Goodwin game-winner to give Penn State the victory.

A tough OT loss on Friday can either give a team confidence that they can hang with their opponent on Saturday night, or it can be deflating and physically draining. After surrendering two goals in the game’s first 12:26, it looked like the Badgers were headed for the latter of those two results. But it was Luke Kunin who was again responsible for providing the Badgers with a spark, courtesy of a shorthanded goal five minutes into the second period. UW peppered Penn State goalie Eamon McAdam, but couldn’t find the back of the net to tie things up. A powerplay goal by Eric Scheid early in the third period gave the Nittany Lions the distance they needed, and Scheid added one more for insurance to seal a 4-1 loss for the Badgers.

Three Stars

Third Star: Jake Linhart was the hero on Friday night, opening the scoring for the Badgers in the first period, as well as forcing overtime late in the third. His scoring boost picked up a Wisconsin team that did not get much production from usual scoring suspects Grant Besse, Seamus Malone, and Matthew Freytag. Despite only being a sophomore, expect Linhart’s B1G experience to be a big factor for the Badgers moving forward.

Second Star: Stop me when you’ve heard this one before. Luke Kunin is on fire right now, and looks to be the man who will lead the Badgers to the promised land of B1G relevance in the future. The freshman added two more goals to his resume this weekend, giving him a team-high nine for the season, to go along with nine assists. Kunin’s 18 points are tied for the team-lead, and he has shown no signs of slowing down, despite the tough competition in the Big Ten.

First Star: I hate to be repetitive, but to not credit Matt Jurusik for his performance this weekend would be nothing short of criminal. Jurusik was outstanding again on Friday night, stopping 54 shots in an overtime thriller. He added 37 more saves in a losing effort on Saturday night, but again showed his ability to keep the Badgers in games, even when they’re being outplayed. Giving Jurusik the nod early in the season is proving to be the best decision Coach Eaves has made this season.

This Weekend

To say that I’m excited for this weekend’s series with Minnesota would be a dramatic understatement. This season’s edition of the Border Battle is admittedly lacking the usual high-stakes of a Wisconsin-Minnesota series, as both programs are in down years and are not making much noise in the college hockey world. However, there is nothing like the Kohl Center when the Gophers are in town, and the amount of young talent on the ice for both teams makes this series must-see action.

As head coach Mike Eaves said on Monday at his weekly press conference: “This weekend is always a little more fun.”

Photo: Penn State Athletics.