Hockey’s greatest goaltenders all have the most crucial characteristic an athlete can possess in sports.

Three of the game’s best puck-stoppers of all time — Martin Brodeur, Patrick Roy, and Ed Belfour — all had the “clutch” factor that carried them to their greatest accomplishments. When the games mattered the most, those players elevated their game and produced in the biggest situations. This led the trio to win a combined eight Stanley Cups, three Olympic Gold Medals, and 352 Stanley Cup Playoff games.

While Penn State sophomore Peyton Jones may not be up there with names like Brodeur, Roy, and Belfour, he has that same “clutch” gene that allows him to elevate his game on the biggest stages. Jones entered Penn State’s final regular season series of the year with a 13-11-4 record — a slight downgrade from his first regular season in Happy Valley that saw him finish 19-9-2.

The Langhorne, PA, native’s record entering that final Minnesota series didn’t matter at all due to the magnitude of the Nittany Lions’ series against then-No. 8 Minnesota. A win over Michigan State in East Lansing gave Penn State a chance to snatch home-ice in the first round of the Big Ten tournament from the Golden Gophers. Backstopped by No. 31, Penn State had to sweep a star-studded Minnesota squad and hope results elsewhere swung in its favor to secure postseason hockey at Pegula Ice Arena.

The rest, as they say, is history. Jones conceded just three goals throughout the weekend as Penn State earned home-ice advantage in the first round of the Big Ten tournament. It can be argued that Jones’ impact on game one of that series was minimal, as the Nittany Lions completely overwhelmed Don Lucia’s Golden Gophers.

Minnesota responded well in game two of that series, providing a strong pushback in the form of plenty of offensive chances. Jones put together perhaps his finest 60-minute effort of the season, making 38 saves en route to the team’s first-ever sweep over Minnesota.

Jones backstopped Penn State to a nice Big Ten tournament run that was ended by Notre Dame — the No. 1 seed in the Big Ten — in the semifinals. The defeat to Notre Dame was nowhere near the fault of Jones; he made 27 saves on 28 shots in the final 40 minutes of the game and came 30 seconds away from backstopping his team to sudden death overtime. No. 31’s teammates and coaches were extremely impressed by his performance in the tournament, which likely secured the team’s spot in the NCAA tournament in Allentown.

“For Peyton, playing his best when it means the most is no surprise to anybody,” head coach Guy Gadowsky said. “I thought he played very well [against Notre Dame]. I thought it was a really good hockey game that could’ve gone either way.”

Defenseman Erik Autio has played in front of Jones for the past two seasons and was similarly unsurprised at the goaltender’s strong play in the postseason.

“I think he’s been looking great,” Autio said. “I definitely think he has that to him where once the games get tough, he kind of gets going. He’s that kind of guy where he enjoys the challenge, so I see that a lot in him. You can see how he played last year in the Big Ten tournament and you see it’s kind of happening again.”

Trevor Hamilton — the Big Ten’s Defensive Player of the Year — also compared Jones’ play to last year’s Big Ten tournament when the team won three games in three days to claim its first conference title.

“Peyton’s fantastic,” he said. “You saw last year how well he did, and right now, he’s hitting on all cylinders. He’s one of the big reasons why we’re doing so well.”

Hamilton cites Jones’ fight and battle levels as two of the biggest factors that make him as clutch as he is. He recalled times where Jones would get visibly frustrated after allowing goals in practice, similar to the stories told about Martin Brodeur as he became the greatest goaltender in NHL history.

Although Jones has been tremendous in recent weeks, Guy Gadowsky knows his starting goaltender will only be satisfied if his play leads to victories for Penn State.

“Knowing him, no matter how he plays, if we don’t win, he’ll tell you he can improve on things,” Gadowsky said. “Unless we win, he’s probably not happy.”

Jones and the Nittany Lions will learn their NCAA tournament fate on Sunday, March 18 at noon during the tournament’s selection show. The show will be broadcast on ESPNU.