Michigan State’s Charlie Stramel completes his hat trick in the most spectacular fashion, stunning the Beaver Stadium crowd in overtime to complete the weekend sweep of No. 5 Penn State.
NO. 2 @MSU_Hockey DEFEATS NO. 5 PENN STATE IN OT AT BEAVER STADIUM 🚨 pic.twitter.com/LN4HCobcwe
— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) January 31, 2026
It was a weekend for the books, and this game was the cherry on top with two of the best DI men’s hockey teams in the country battling it out in the great outdoors.
Here’s how it happened:
No. 2 Michigan State 5, No. 5 Penn State 4 (OT)
If you watched Friday night’s game, you know it was closer than the 6-3 final score suggested. Inflated by two MSU empty netters, that box score didn’t reflect Penn State’s gutsy comeback effort that ultimately came up short.
So Penn State definitely had a chip on its shoulder coming into today, and it was yet another close game. Michigan State opened the scoring in the first period with a goal from Daniel Russell, his third goal in an outdoor game in his Spartan career.
The second period saw the majority of the scoring, with five goals between the two. PSU’s Aiden Fink scored his first (and second) Big Ten goals of the season. Gavin McKenna continued his red hot streak, assisting Fink’s second with a gorgeous seam pass and adding another tally with his seventh goal in five games.
72 ➡️ 18 ➡️ GOAL#WeAre #HockeyValley pic.twitter.com/iiNBqBT1Zr
— Penn State Men’s Hockey (@PennStateMHKY) January 31, 2026
But Michigan State’s Charlie Stramel came to play, answering Fink with two goals of his own, scoring the second with just two seconds left to play in the period.
Charlie Stramel beats the buzzer to tie the game at 3-3 before the second intermission! pic.twitter.com/wltlOWH7iT
— Michigan State Hockey (@MSU_Hockey) January 31, 2026
PSU’s Shea Van Olm and MSU’s Matt Basgall traded goals in the third, but 60 minutes would not be enough time to decide this one.
Overtime was mostly quiet, with the teams feeling each other out aside from a couple flurries of action at each end. That was until Patrick Geary found Stramel all alone in the slot. Stramel deked around Reidler and roofed one upstairs to complete the hat trick, .stunning the Beaver Stadium crowd and securing the sweep over No. 5 Penn State.
NO. 2 @MSU_Hockey DEFEATS NO. 5 PENN STATE IN OT AT BEAVER STADIUM 🚨 pic.twitter.com/LN4HCobcwe
— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) January 31, 2026
