Oskar Autio stole the show as Penn State hockey (9-8-0, 7-8-0 Big Ten) defeated Notre Dame (7-9-1, 5-7-1 Big Ten) 2-1 in overtime on Thursday night at Pegula Ice Arena.

Alex Limoges was the hero for Penn State, scoring the overtime winner and the 50th goal of his Penn State career. Defensemen Clayton Phillips also had two points in the game with a goal and an assist. Alex Steeves scored the only Notre Dame goal of the game.

Oskar Autio was spectacular for Penn State making 31 saves. Dylan St.Cyr was also solid for the Irish, making 34 saves in the loss.

Aarne Talvitie left in the first period with an injury. He did not return to the game.

How It Happened

The start of the game featured a lot of back and forth action with Notre Dame having the majority of high-quality chances. Two shifts into the game, Talvitie went back into the locker room with an undisclosed injury, he would not return. The pace of the game was fast with very few whistles from the referee.

The action didn’t pick up until there was 6:25 left in the period. The Nittany Lions were able to get a couple of chances on the Irish net but St. Cyr and some Notre Dame defensemen were able to keep the Nittany Lions out. Two minutes later, Autio made a spectacular save on Steeves before Evan Bell was called for a cross-checking penalty, sending the Irish on its first power play of the game.

The Nittany Lion penalty kill, with help from Autio, was successful in its first action of the night, killing off the Irish man advantage. Autio made some more big saves in the final minute of the period as the first frame ended the same way it started, scoreless. The Irish had the shot advantage 16-8.

Penn State started out the second period with aggression and authority but no reward. The action was back and forth as the period went on, with both goalies making big saves, especially Autio. Notre Dame would find the first goal of the game though when Steeves buried a backhander past Autio with eight minutes left in the period for the 1-0 lead.

As the period went on, it became obvious that the game would be a low scoring affair. Penn State was unable to create any high quality scoring chances. Steeves’ goal would be the only notable action of the period, as Notre Dame went into the first intermission up 1-0. The Irish also lead in shots 29-23.

Just under three minutes into the final frame, Solag Bakich was sent to the box for hooking Connor MacEachern, sending Penn State on its first power play of the game. The Penn State man advantage was unable to generate a shot on goal as Notre Dame killed it with ease.

Penn State would finally find its first goal of the game. A howitzer of a shot from the blue line by Phillips was able to find its way over St.Cyr and into the goal to tie the game at one with just under 14 minutes left in the game. The Nittany Lions began to take momentum, controlling possession in the offensive zone.

Despite capturing momentum, Penn State couldn’t finding a winning goal. Notre Dame had a golden chance with ten seconds left, but couldn’t convert, as the game went to overtime.

Notre Dame controlled the majority possession to start the overtime period. Neither team created much offense until Phillips slide a puck through to Limoges who put a backhander past St.Cyr for the overtime winner. It was Limoges’ 50th goal of his college career.

Takeaways

• That game was brutal until the third period. Neither team was able to figure out anything offensively until the final frame when both teams began to come out of its shells. Hockey purists may call it a defensive masterclasses while most would call it a boring game. An overtime winner spices things up a little bit, but the first 40 minutes were brutal to watch.
• Autio’s stock keeps on rising. This game was his best of the season. He made the saves he needed to make then some. He kept the Nittany Lions in this game and gave them a chance to win. There isn’t much more to say about Autio anymore, he is one of the best goalies in the conference at the moment.
• Hopefully Talvitie’s injury isn’t too serious. Talvitie suffered a season-ending injury two years ago, struggled last year, and was playing some of the best hockey of his college career coming into this game. His injury is the second one for the forward group this season with Jared Westcott also being out with a day-to-day injury. The Nittany Lions have the depth but losing one of your top tier talents is going to hurt no matter what.

What’s Next

The Nittany Lions will square off against the Fighting Irish at Pegula Ice Arena Friday night to cap off the series. Puck drop is scheduled for 6 p.m with a broadcast on BTN+.

It will be Penn State’s final game for a while, until it hosts the Ohio State Buckeyes on February 12.