Penn State Holds On for 3-2 Win Over Notre Dame

A night after a questionable penalty doomed Penn State, history seemed destined to repeat as Nate Sucese was sent to the box for a questionable hooking call with under four minutes to play.

Notre Dame had already converted on the man advantage earlier in the game, but the Nittany Lions penalty kill looked strong in killing four out of five penalties.

With the Nittany Lions leading by a goal, that penalty kill came up large one more time. The Nittany Lions killed the penalty to Sucese and held on for a 3-2 win over the Fighting Irish.

The win moved Penn State into position to host the opening round of the Big Ten Tournament and bumped the Nittany Lions to No. 16 in the PairWise rankings.

The Nittany Lions used some power play success of their own en route to the win. Alex Limoges put the Nittany Lions in front early in the second period, followed by Evan Barratt’s winning goal with the man advantage just under six minutes into the third period.

After blowing a three-goal lead on Friday night, the Nittany Lions ability to close out games was tested once again. The Fighting Irish had plenty of opportunities to level the game, but Peyton Jones stood tall as he posted 38 saves in the contest.

The Nittany Lions will need help in order to hold onto their fourth-place spot in the Big Ten. Penn State needs a win of any kind from Wisconsin over Michigan.

Should Wisconsin complete a weekend sweep of the Wolverines, Penn State will host the Badgers in the opening round. If Michigan denies Wisconsin the sweep, the Nittany Lions will travel to Ann Arbor for the opening round of the Big Ten Tournament.

How It Happened

After surviving an early penalty kill, the Nittany Lions opened the scoring just over five minutes in. On a broken play, Nikita Pavlychev earned himself a redemption moment as he threw a backhand shot on net that floated past Cale Morris.

Later in the period, more penalty trouble allowed the Fighting Irish to level the game at one. On a 5-on-3 advantage, Fighting Irish captain Andrew Peeke blasted a one timer from the point past Peyton Jones.

Early in the second, the Nittany Lions capitalized on a power play of their own. Alex Limoges tapped in the rebound of Liam Folkes’ shot for his team-leading 17th of the season.

With just over four minutes to play in the middle frame, the Fighting Irish once again leveled the game. After Jones couldn’t control a rebound, Cam Burke knocked in the rebound.

Early in the third period, the Nittany Lions converted on another power play chance. After working the puck around the zone, Evan Barratt fired a wrist shot short side on Morris.