The Illini hockey club went shopping for a Big Ten Tournament victory on the weekend after Thanksgiving, but came up short, losing in the finals to No. 1 Penn State 3-2.

Instead of a first-place trophy, Illinois ended the weekend with the leftovers.

In the opening round, Illinois delivered a 7-1 shellacking to Ohio State, which put them in the finals against Penn State, their most intimidating and toughest opponent of the season.

Against Ohio State, the Illini began the second period tied 1-1, but the flood gates opened and Illinois knocked in five to leave the Buckeyes trailing 6-1 heading into the third. Senior forward Pat Olson led the charge with two goals to boost his season total to 10.

Freshman goaltender Mike DeGeorge got the nod and made 21 saves for a 95.5 percent save percentage.

Penn State played Indiana earlier, and junior forward Scott Kohler said the Illini rookies were rattled watching as the Nittany Lions put up a touchdown and two field goals on the Hoosiers, winning 13-3.

The rookies on the team were nervous and Kohler said it was apparent in the beginning of the game that they were tense.

"You look over and a couple over the rookies, their jaws were dropped," senior forward Kyle Zabrin said.

Eventually the team loosened up, Kohler said, and sophomore forward Brett Duncan broke the ice with a goal in the first period.

It was a very physical game, and by the end of the second period Illinois was up 2-1 on a goal scored by sophomore forward Steve Krates.

The Illini decided to stick with their aggressive game plan, and it worked. But mistakes and missed opportunities cost the Illini the game.

"Their two goals were from turnovers that shouldn't have ever happened," Kohler said.

As a result, Penn State was able to put two goals past senior goaltender Tim Danlow in the third to ice a victory for the Lions.

Zabrin said in the end it came down to two things: capitalizing on opportunities and executing on defense.

The Illini had their chances to put away the Lions, but they couldn't exploit power plays, or chances close to the net near the end of the third period.

"We just didn't put them away," Olson said.

But despite the loss, the Illini weren't completely defeated.

"It was a great opportunity for the younger guys, and they showed they can play at the level of Penn State," Zabrin said.

The team has now seen that they are capable of hanging with a team like Penn State, but need to work harder, Kohler said.

"Overall I think we played well, but a couple mistakes against a team like Penn State can cost you the game, and it did for us," Olson said. "I'm not enthusiastic about losing, but it's something to build off of and in some aspects is a step in the right direction."