No. 5 Penn State Men’s Hockey Upset By Notre Dame 4-3 In Overtime
No. 5 Penn State men’s hockey (20-9-3, 12-7-3 Big Ten) fell to Notre Dame (7-22-5, 3-17-2 Big Ten) 4-3 in overtime on Saturday evening at the Compton Family Ice Arena.
Kevin Reidler made the start in net and allowed four goals on 33 shots. Casey Aman opened the game with his first goal of the season, Cade Christenson and Luke Misa each scored to push the game to overtime, but Axel Kumlin scored the dagger for Notre Dame to secure the win.
How It Happened
After entering the offensive zone, Gavin McKenna’s centering attempt was blocked and trickled behind the net. He regathered the puck and found Aman right in front of the crease. Aman’s first shot was stopped by Nicholas Kempf, but his second-chance shot found the back of the net, giving Penn State a 1-0 lead 2:58 into play.
Carter Schade took the game’s first penalty just 5:29 into the game, and the Nittany Lions killed it off without allowing a shot on goal. Notre Dame wouldn’t record its first shot on goal until 10:20 had come off the clock, but Reidler was there to make back-to-back saves on Niko Jovanovic and Evan Werner.
JJ Wiebusch took a slash from Carter Slaggert, sending Penn State to the man advantage midway through the period. The Nittany Lions put two shots on net during the power play, but Kempf flashed the leather to take a goal away from Shea Van Olm and keep the Notre Dame deficit at one.
Aiden Fink’s clearing attempt was batted down by Michael Mastrodomenico in the neutral zone with just under two minutes to play in the opening period, and after Schade overskated the puck, Maddox Fleming picked up the loose puck and put it over the blocker of Reidler to tie the game at 1-1.
Jackson Smith took a slashing penalty moments later, and Danny Nelson made the Nittany Lions pay by burying the second-chance opportunity in the dying seconds of the first period to put the Fighting Irish up heading into the first intermission.
Cole Brown was turned aside by Reidler’s blocker on the breakaway attempt five minutes into the middle period, and Penn State got its second power play shortly later, after Pano Fimis was caught kneeing DiMarsico.
The Nittany Lions were unable to convert on the man advantage, and it was actually Notre Dame’s Cole Knuble with the best scoring chance during those two minutes, though Reidler came up with the blocker save.
DiMarsico took a slashing penalty, and just as his penalty expired, Christenson battled in front to put home his second-chance shot, tying the game at 2-2 with 6:38 remaining in the second period.
The teams then skated four aside after Fink and Mastrodomenico got tangled up, holding each other on their way down to the ice. Knuble had a grade A chance for Notre Dame, but mishandled the puck with the net wide open, and then Wiebusch was inches from tapping home Mac Gadowsky’s shot that trickled into the crease behind Kempf, but neither player was able to score.
Muzzatti nearly stole the lead with two seconds remaining in the period after the puck took a fortuitous bounce off the end boards, ending up right in front of the net, but Reidler turned him aside with the pad, and the period ended 2-2.
Ben Schoen high-sticked Cole Brown, who then went down to the ice dramatically, resulting in an embellishment penalty 9:47 into the third period. The game went to 4-on-4, and Danny Nelson placed a shot through Aman’s legs and inside the post to give Notre Dame a 3-2 lead.
With Notre Dame attacking 3-on-1, Reidler made a diving effort to turn away Brown with the blocker after the tic-tac-toe passing, keeping the puck out of the net with the help of Jarod Crespo.
With 2:15 left in regulation, Luke Misa got his stick on Gadowsky’s point shot, redirecting it past Kempf and into the back of the net, tying the game at 3-3.
In overtime, Lev Katiz turned the puck over in front of the net to Muzzatti. He found Kumlin, who buried the puck past the diving Reidler to give Notre Dame the 4-3 win on its senior night.
Takeaways
- Penn State’s first-period play continues to be a point of discussion. The Nittany Lions were outscored by three goals (5-2) in the first period across two games in South Bend, and across the entire 2025-26 season, Penn State has been outscored by 12 in the opening period.
- Katzin’s turnover in front of the net in overtime gifted the Fighting Irish a beautiful chance, and they didn’t hesitate to capitalize, with Muzzatti feeding Kumlin for the senior-to-senior connection.
- The Nittany Lions took five penalties in the game, reminding everyone that they are the nation’s most penalized team. Two of those penalties played out as 4-on-4’s, and Notre Dame ended up capitalizing on the open ice, taking a 3-2 lead.
What’s Next?
The Nittany Lions will conclude their regular series next weekend at Pegula Ice Arena against No. 12 Wisconsin. The first game is set for 7 p.m. on Thursday, March 5.
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