Penn State Rallies To Beat Notre Dame In Overtime, 2-1

Penn State is no stranger to getting into a goaltending duel with Notre Dame. The Nittany Lions aren’t very familiar with coming out on the winning end of that duel, however.

For the greater part of Thursday’s 2-1 against the Fighting Irish, it seemed the Nittany Lions were heading toward a similar fate. Oskar Autio was playing out of his mind, but Dylan St. Cyr had yet to yield to the Nittany Lions.

A seeing-eye shot from Clayton Phillips was enough to send the game to overtime with an extra point in the Big Ten standings on the line. For the second-straight extra session, Penn State’s captain made the difference.

Alex Limoges collected a saucy pass from Phillips between the hash marks and whipped a backhand shot between the arm and body of St. Cyr.

The overtime winner was Limoges’ second such goal in three weeks, having previously lifted the Nittany Lions to a victory over Michigan State on Jan. 15. The Nittany Lions are now 4-0 in the extra session, winning both contests over Arizona State in such a manner.

Penn State’s attack never really posed a threat to the Fighting Irish. The Nittany Lions’ center depth was tested early in the contest when Aarne Talvitie was knocked out of the game following a heavy hit in front of the Notre Dame net.

Connor MacEachern, Chase McLane and Bobby Hampton rotated in that second line center role for the remainder of the contest, with MacEachern picking up an assist on Phillips tying goal.

How It Happened

Both goaltenders were extraordinary through the first half of regulation. Midway through the second period, the Fighting Irish broke the ice as Alex Steeves flipped a backhand shot past Oskar Autio on a rebound.

The Nittany Lions finally responded midway through the third period. A point shot from Clayton Phillips found its way through traffic and floated over Dylan St. Cyr’s shoulder.

In overtime, Phillips worked some more magic as Alex Limoges came up clutch for the Nittany Lions.