No. 18 Penn State men’s hockey (19-13-2, 11-12-1 Big Ten) finished off the 2018-19 regular season on a high note with a much-needed win over No. 17 Notre Dame (18-13-3, 11-11-2 Big Ten) on the road in South Bend.

Nikita Pavlychev, Alex Limoges, and Evan Barratt were the goal scorers for the Nittany Lions. Liam Folkes and Kevin Kerr each contributed two assists in the win.

Peyton Jones was outstanding with 38 saves on 40 shots from the Fighting Irish.

How It Happened

Nikita Pavlychev put the Nittany Lions on the board first with 14:46 left in the first period with a sneaky backhand from the slot. Pavlychev’s 14th goal of the season was redemption for the costly penalty he took in the final minute of last night’s game.

In an unfortunate sequence of events, Penn State got called for three penalties all within 1:21 of each other. Fortunately for the Nittany Lions, the long 5-on-3 for Notre Dame only resulted in one goal. Andrew Peeke blew a one-timer by Peyton Jones to even the score with 4:34 left in first period, but that was all the Irish could get by Penn State’s netminder despite an offensive barrage with the man-advantage.

Both teams entered the first intermission tied at 1-1, despite Notre Dame’s 17-11 advantage in shots on goal.

Penn State capitalized on a Notre Dame penalty at the start of the second period, as Alex Limoges stuffed in a rebound on the power play to make it 2-1 Nittany Lions 1:49 into the middle frame. Cam Burke answered for the Fighting Irish, evening the score once again with 6:02 left in the period.

The Nittany Lions’ 19-7 advantage in shots on goal in the second period was not enough to break the tie, as they entered the final 20 minutes of regulation tied at 2-2.

Evan Barratt put the Nittany Lions in front on a power play with 14:05 left in regulation. Barratt’s 16th tally of the season ended up being the game winner, as Penn State’s defense held on down the stretch to win 3-2.

Takeaways

• Both teams paraded to the penalty box all night. Penn State and Notre Dame combined on 12 penalties for 24 minutes. The Nittany Lions’ power play made the difference, scoring twice on five opportunities. Notre Dame’s special teams unit, however, could only find the back of the net once on six tries.
• After blowing a 4-1 lead in last night’s game, Penn State’s defense played way better tonight. In a much closer contest, the defense played lights out when it mattered most, killing off a crucial penalty in the final four minutes and outlasting Notre Dame’s empty net attack to end the game.
• The defense certainly helped, but Peyton Jones was lights out all night. The junior goaltender was the next best thing to a brick wall, stopping 95 percent of the shots he faced, which is even more impressive considering Notre Dame’s six power play opportunities.

What’s Next

The Nittany Lions will start postseason play next weekend, as the Big Ten Hockey Tournament kicks off on Friday, March 6.