No. 12 Penn State men’s hockey (18-14-5, 9-11-5 Big Ten) took on No. 5 Notre Dame (24-9-2, 18-6-1 Big Ten) on Saturday evening in South Bend. Nate Sucese and Brandon Biro scored for the Nittany Lions, but a Notre Dame goal with 30.9 seconds to play propelled the Fighting Irish past Penn State and into the Big Ten Tournament Championship game.

How It Happened

Penn State came out of the gates quickly, outshooting Notre Dame 6-0 in the opening minutes of the first period. It was Notre Dame that would strike first, however, as Jordan Gross fired a shot in from the point that made its way through a screen and past Peyton Jones in goal. The Irish took a 1-0 lead with 13:42 remaining in the opening period.

After Penn State went on the power play, Brandon Biro found Nate Sucese with a fantastic pass across the face of goal. Sucese slotted the opportunity away with 8:17 to play in period. A few minutes later, however, Brett Murray was sent to the box for Penn State. Andrew Peeke made the Nittany Lions pay, slotting away a chance of his own with 5:57 remaining in the period.

Brandon Biro would notch his second point of the opening period after leading the charge himself and beating Cale Morris in goal on a second-effort shot. The two teams would go into the first intermission tied up at 2-2.

The second period was much less crazy than the first. There were no goals scored in the period, but that was in large part due to the play of the two goalies. Cale Morris tallied 12 saves and Peyton Jones tallied 14 in the second period. Jones came up with some unbelievable saves to keep the Nittany Lions tied with their Big Ten foes.

The third period was a back-and-forth affair that allowed both goalies to show off their abilities. Jack Jenkins was the hero for Notre Dame, though, slotting home a rebound with 30.9 seconds remaining in the period to give Notre Dame a 3-2 lead. That would be enough as the Nittany Lions were expelled from the tournament.

Player of the Game

Peyton Jones | Sophomore | Goalie

Peyton Jones had, perhaps, his most impressive performance of the season. He have up three goals, but faced many more opportunities that would have been goals if it weren’t for his outstanding play. The goaltender came up with 44 saves on the night.

What’s Next

Penn State will be waiting until March 18 to see if they will make it to the NCAA Ice Hockey Championship tournament, although they are very likely to make it. If so, regionals will take place from March 23-25.