No. 17 Penn State men’s hockey (5-2-2, 0-0-2 Big Ten) tied Notre Dame (4-3-2, 0-0-2 Big Ten) 2-2 and won a shootout Sunday at Pegula Ice Arena.

Both teams played neck-and-neck the whole game. Notre Dame took a 2-0 lead into the third period until Penn State scored one goal halfway through before Dylan Lugris tied it with less than a minute remaining in the third period.

Overtime wasn’t enough for these two teams, as a shootout decided the game for the second time in a row. Penn State won the shootout, thus gaining a point in the Big Ten standings.

How It Happened

Penn State and Notre Dame opened the game with significant back-and-forth play. Both teams traded chances, but both goaltenders made impressive saves to begin the highly anticipated matchup between both netminders.

With 7:29 into the first period, Notre Dame’s Justin Janicke was sent to the penalty box for holding as the game’s first penalty, which gave Penn State a pivotal chance in what started out as a competitive and even game. However, the Nittany Lions only took three shots, all of which were saved by Ryan Bischel.

Just a few seconds after the Fighting Irish’s first penalty ended, a second one began as Carter Slaggert was booked for cross-checking at 10:36 into the period. The Nittany Lions ended up empty-handed again and couldn’t capitalize on multiple chances, including with an open.

Then, Notre Dame took a third penalty as Maddox Fleming was called for hooking at 15:09 into the period. History repeated itself, as Penn State came up short again. The period ended with no score, but the Nittany Lions outshot the Irish 20-8.

Notre Dame’s strong penalty kills and defense came back to benefit its offense early in the second period. At 4:52 into the period, Drew Bavaro ripped a shot past Liam Souliere for his third goal of the season to give the Irish a 1-0 lead.

With roughly 12 minutes left in the period, Xander Lamppa put the puck in the back of the net. However, the goal was waved off by the referees after it was determined Bischel’s helmet came off during the play. This caused an animated reaction from Guy Gadowsky on the bench, and a chorus of boos rained down on the linesmen.

Shortly after, Janicke scored to give Notre Dame a 2-0 lead. The atmosphere inside Pegula Ice Arena quieted down, as the Irish now had all momentum.

The game’s physicality increased in the ensuing ten minutes. Souliere was peppered with shots, while Bischel was also given a run for his money. Nonetheless, it was back-and-forth hockey again.

Then, at 18:07 into the period, Dane Dowiak and Tyler Carpenter each received matching unsportsmanlike conduct minors. Before Penn State could find its footing, Reese Laubach was booked for high sticking near the end of the period.

Both players quickly got back into the game to cap off a successful Penn State penalty kill. Then, at 1:42 into the third period, Penn State struck back. Aiden Fink went top shelf to make it 2-1, and the call stood after a lengthy review which included a Penn State challenge for a major penalty and a Notre Dame challenge for offsides.

The clock continued to tick away, and neither team could establish any momentum. Bischel continued to deny the Nittany Lions, as he made multiple glove and pad saves while stopping rebounds in the process.

Then, with 35.7 seconds left in regulation, Lugris put the puck into the net off a rebound to tie it 2-2. The Pegula crowd erupted into a frenzy, and suddenly, life was infused back into the game as it went into overtime.

The Nittany Lions attacked Bischel, who made a glove save to freeze the puck. Then, Souliere made a close grab, landing on the puck to freeze it himself as the clock ticked away. The two teams raced up and down the ice with each other, each trying to perfectly time chances to end the game. However, overtime wasn’t enough and the game went into a shootout.

The first two sets of players didn’t score. Then, Xander Lamppa went top shelf on Bischel, and Maddox missed the net to give the Nittany Lions the shootout win.

Takeaways

• Penn State’s offense was good, but not good enough. While calling off the goal in the second period was certainly questionable, more needs to happen in the way of execution and pucks in front of the net. However, it clutched up when it mattered to rally in the third period.
• The Nittany Lions went a dismal 0-for-5 on the power play. If they’d been able to score on one of those chances, the game could’ve been won in regulation. It’s something that needs to be addressed moving forward against tougher Big Ten teams.
• Both goaltenders were fantastic in a highly-anticipated matchup. Souliere and Bischel dominated the game by saving a combined 77 shots.

What’s Next

Penn State has a series at Michigan State beginning at 7 p.m. on Friday, November 10, at Munn Ice Arena in East Lansing, Michigan.