This one’s for all the marbles, folks.

No. 18 Penn State men’s hockey (18-12-2, 10-11-1 Big Ten) will wrap up the 2018-19 regular season with a series against No. 17 Notre Dame in South Bend this weekend. The puck drops at 7 p.m. both nights, and Friday night’s game will be broadcast nationally on NBC sports.

The Nittany Lions and Fighting Irish have everything to play for at Compton Family Ice Arena. Big Ten Tournament seeding and, perhaps more importantly, NCAA Tournament hopes are on the line for these two bubble teams this weekend.

Clinching Scenarios

Penn State can wrap up home ice in the first round of the Big Ten tournament by earning four points in the conference standings this weekend. If the Nittany Lions earn only two points, however, they’ll need to hope Wisconsin sweeps Michigan on home ice.

The Team

Notre Dame (17-12-3, 10-10-2 Big Ten) hasn’t lived up to its form that almost brought a national championship to South Bend a year ago.

After tearing up the Big Ten last season, the Fighting Irish have put together an up-and-down 2018-19 that may not even end with an NCAA tournament bid. Head coach Jeff Jackson’s squad has limped through the second half of the season with a 5-7-2 record.

Last year, defense was the name of the game in South Bend, and Notre Dame has kept that mantra going by conceding 2.34 goals per game this season. The offense’s 2.94 goals for per game show how the team can put the puck in the net, as well.

Offense

Up front, senior Dylan Malmquist has led the charge offensively for Notre Dame with 27 points in 32 games played. Freshman Michael Graham plays on a line with Malmquist and junior Mike O’Leary, and he leads the Irish in goals with 11.

Depth is a key part of Notre Dame’s offense; nine forwards have scored more than 10 points this year. Four of them — Graham, Malmquist, top center Cal Burke, and Colin Theisen — have reached double-digits in terms of goals. Not many teams can boast that, but the Fighting Irish have a well-oiled attack that can catch teams sleeping.

Star forward and second round draft pick Cam Morrison is a bit cold entering this weekend’s series. He has no goals and just two assists in his past six games, but he has the talent to make a difference in this weekend’s series.

Defense & Goaltending

Cale Morris is still one of college hockey’s best goaltenders, but he hasn’t put up the dizzying numbers that carried the Fighting Irish to the national championship game last season.

Morris’ 2.30 goals-against average and .927 save percentage are both excellent, but they’re downgrades from last year. That level of play (.944 save percentage, 1.94 GAA) probably wasn’t sustainable in the long run.

On the blue line, Bobby Nardella and Andrew Peeke’s pairing has been an excellent source of offense on top of helping Morris shut down opponents. Nardella actually leads the team in scoring with 29 points, and Peeke is tied for fourth with 19.

Another player to watch on the Notre Dame defense is Matt Hellickson, a sophomore with 15 points in 32 games. The smooth-skating blueliner scored against Penn State earlier this season.

Prediction

I don’t think Penn State will be able to get it done this weekend for a number of reasons.

First of all, Compton Family Ice Arena has been a house of horrors for Guy Gadowsky’s squad in the past. Penn State is just 1-3-1 in road games against Notre Dame, but all three of those losses were last season. The Fighting Irish will also have revenge on their mind because the teams’ last meeting was a 9-1 blowout at Pegula Ice Arena.

I think Notre Dame will win the first game 4-3 before Penn State takes a 3-on-3 overtime victory Saturday.