No. 5 Penn State Men’s Hockey Ties Notre Dame 3-3, Picks Up Extra Point In Shootout
No. 5 Penn State men’s hockey (20-9-2, 12-7-2 Big Ten) tied Notre Dame (6-22-5, 2-17-2 Big Ten) 3-3 on Friday night and took the extra point in the Big Ten standings at the Compton Family Ice Arena in a shootout.
Penn State was down 3-0 in the first period, but a pair of goals by Aiden Fink helped the Nittany Lions storm back. The game will go down as a tie in the standings, but Penn State earned the extra point courtesy of a Gavin McKenna shootout goal.
How It Happened
Gavin McKenna, Luke Misa, and Aiden Fink were the starting forwards for Penn State. Jackson Smith and Jarod Crespo anchored the blue line, with Josh Fleming getting the nod between the pipes.
Penn State controlled the opening faceoff. Jaedon Kerr registered the first shot of the game for Notre Dame as both teams settled into play. The Fighting Irish had the first high-danger opportunity of the game, but Fleming made the save with his shoulder off a deflection.
Notre Dame continued to dictate the pace of play for the opening five minutes of action and scored the game’s first goal off a deflection in front of the crease. Dashel Oliver tipped in the blue line shot from Henry Nelson at 5:02, giving the Fighting Irish a 1-0 lead.
Penn State’s sloppy play persisted. Through ten minutes of play, the team recorded just one shot compared to Notre Dame’s six. Reese Laubach whiffed on a wraparound attempt as the Nittany Lions tried to get something going.
Shortly after, Ben Schoen headed to the box after being called for a trip, stalling any offensive momentum. Notre Dame immediately pressed in the offensive zone and drew a second tripping penalty on Jarod Crespo. The Fighting Irish would play with a 5-on-3 advantage.
Penn State successfully killed off the 5-on-3 courtesy of clears from Nolan Collins, Nic Chin-Degraves, and Ben Schoen. Matt DiMarsico had a chance shorthanded, but his shot missed the mark.
Then, all hell broke loose for Penn State. Will Belle broke free for an unassisted breakaway goal, giving Notre Dame a 2-0 advantage at 13:54. Less than a minute later, Cole Knuble made it 3-0, beating Josh Fleming over his left shoulder off the assists from Danny Nelson and Brennan Ali at 14:22.
Four minutes later, Penn State got one back. Shea Van Olm found the back of the net following a neutral zone turnover. Mac Gadowsky was credited with the assist at 18:34, making the score 3-1 and giving the Nittany Lions a glimmer of hope heading into the break.
Penn State won the faceoff to begin the second period. Notre Dame tried a wraparound less than two minutes into the action, but couldn’t put it away.
Michael Mastrodomenico executed a hip check on Casey Aman, leaving him in pain on the ground. Aman was shaken up but relatively unharmed as he headed to the bench.
Seven minutes into the period, Cole Knuble had a great opportunity, but Fleming made a great reflex pad save. The Nittany Lions continue to operate in the defensive zone, something that quickly became a theme over the course of the game.
At 11:16, Carter Slaggert committed a hooking penalty, sending Penn State to the man advantage. The Nittany Lions were unable to capitalize, although Aiden Fink came close by hitting the post. During the power play, Sutter Muzzatti knocked DiMarsico into the Penn State bench. Guy Gadowsky challenged the hit for potential head contact, but the referees determined that the play was clean.
After eight minutes with relatively no action, Luke Misa had a fantastic chance to get one back in the slot. His stick broke on the one-timer attempt, as Penn State’s bad luck continued.
Henry Nelson and Shea Van Olm exchanged unsportsmanlike conduct penalties after a collision at center ice. The teams would play 4-on-4 for two minutes.
20 seconds into the 4-on-4, Casey Aman stopped a near guaranteed goal by Axel Kumlin. Penn State proceeded to turn up ice. Aiden Fink gained control of the puck and waited patiently in front of the crease. He sniped one and picked the top corner for a beautiful score. Gavin McKenna and Mac Gadowsky assisted on the goal at 19:04, making the score 3-2.
Penn State would head to the third period down by just one.
Notre Dame won the faceoff to begin the third period. Five minutes into the frame, Henry Nelson doinked one off the pipe as Penn State caught its first break of the frame.
Shortly after, Aiden Fink tied the game 3-3 with his second goal of the evening. He gained the zone with Ben Schoen on a 2-on-1 and sniped one past Nicholas Kempf. The goal was unassisted at 5:23.
Notre Dame nearly responded immediately, but Fleming stood tall, making a huge save on a close-range shot. The pace of play began to pick up as Penn State surged on its momentum.
The teams played relatively evenly for the next 10 minutes, though Notre Dame still led Penn State in the shot count by nearly 20 with just under four minutes left. Gavin McKenna gained the zone with Aiden Fink trailing, but the Fighting Irish defense disrupted the play.
After an intense final two minutes, the teams would head to overtime tied three points apiece.
Lev Katzin won the faceoff to begin overtime. Each team possessed the puck, but neither could capitalize on its respective attempts. With 30 seconds remaining, Fink nearly won it on a backhand, but the puck hit the pipe and didn’t cross the line.
Notre Dame turned it up ice with a 2-on-1 rush, but Jarod Crespo made a gritty diving block to prevent the score. The game would head to a shootout and go down as a tie in the standings.
Gavin McKenna scored on the first shootout attempt, beating Kempf five-hole. Fleming then made the save on Muzzatti. Lev Katzin and Knuble each missed their respective shots, putting the fate of the game on the stick of Aiden Fink. Fink’s shot missed wide right. Fleming made the pad save on Danny Nelson to secure the comeback victory for Penn State, and an extra point in the Big Ten standings.
Takeaways
- Penn State had a very slow start to the game, surrendering three goals in the first period. Aiden Fink got the Nittany Lions back in the game, sparking a 3-0 run and scoring two within the stretch.
- Notre Dame dominated the shots, outshooting the Nittany Lions 36-28. It also won the faceoff battle 41-31.
- Penn State struggled on the two power play opportunities, going 0-2. On the bright side, its penalty kill was strong, not allowing the Fighting Irish to score on three tries on the man advantage.
What’s Next?
Penn State will take on Notre Dame again tomorrow night, Saturday, February 28. Puck drop is slated for 6 p.m. with the game airing on Peacock.
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