No. 18 Penn State men’s hockey (15-11-3, 6-10-3 Big Ten) defeated Notre Dame (9-19-1, 3-15-1 Big Ten) 5-3 on Friday night at Pegula Ice Arena.

Penn State was in control from the start, as it took a 3-0 lead into the first intermission. However, Notre Dame scored two goals in the second period before Penn State grabbed another at the break. It was 4-3 towards the end of regulation before Penn State scored an empty-netter to seal a win.

How It Happened

Penn State developed a two-on-one breakaway a few seconds after the puck dropped, but Aiden Fink’s shot was saved by Owen Say.

The Nittany Lions continued their onslaught against the Fighting Irish. A shot from Danny Dzhaniyev bounced off the post, and the red light momentarily flashed. Notre Dame then took the puck down and challenged Arsenii Sergeev for the first time, but the Russian netminder kept the Irish at bay.

At 9:52 into the first period, Axel Kumlin was assessed an interference minor. Simon Mack took a shot in front of the crease, which hit the post again before being snatched up by Say. The Irish had an odd-man rush broken up before killing the penalty.

Fink skated down the ice alongside Reese Laubach. They traded passes, and Laubach fired a shot past Say to break the ice, which gave Penn State a 1-0 lead at 16:01 in the period.

Then, Carter Schade and Jimmy Jurcev took coinciding penalties. Schade went in for roughing, while Jurcev was called for slashing. Just seconds into the penalties, though, Matt DiMarsico tipped a deflection from Mack in front of the goal to make it 2-0 at 16:42 in the period.

Penn State got another power play, as Brennan Ali went to the sin bin for roughing. It again only took seconds for Dane Dowiak to find the back of the net, and the Nittany Lions took a 3-0 lead into the first intermission.

After some back-and-forth hockey, Carter Slaggert got Notre Dame on the board with a goal from the right side. Penn State led 3-1 at 5:18 in the second period.

Then, at 8:41, Ali scored from behind the net. Just like that, the Irish were back in the game and trailing 3-2.

Ryan Helliwell took an interference minor to give Penn State another power play. But right after it began, Ben Schoen was called for hooking. The Nittany Lions kept the Irish at bay offensively and seamlessly killed the brief Notre Dame power play.

Mack took a cross-checking penalty with just 16 seconds left in the period. But with five seconds to go, Dane Dowiak went top shelf to take a 4-2 lead into the intermission.

Not even one minute into the third period, Blake Biondi sent a slapshot top shelf past a diving Sergeev on a power play goal to make it 4-3. Once again, the Irish made it a game.

Both teams played more back-and-forth hockey throughout the period. Notre Dame continued to impress with a barrage of shots towards Sergeev.

With slightly over one minute left in regulation, Say was pulled for the extra skater. Cade Christenson scored an empty-netter to take a 5-3 lead with 1:08 left.

Takeaways

• Penn State’s three-goal first period set the tone from the start. It’s a good enough start to hold a lead against almost any team in the Big Ten, as the momentum is a lot to overcome.
• Penn State blocked another 12 shots, which was crucial in stopping Notre Dame’s late-game push to tie the score. It’s something the Nittany Lions have been doing more of recently.
• Sergeev allowed three goals and made 24 saves. A .889% save rate is a bit shaky, but he still made talented plays including a near-diving stop.

What’s Next?

Penn State and Notre Dame finish the series at 5 p.m. on Saturday at Pegula Ice Arena.