In what should have been a get-right series for Penn State, the Nittany Lions took a third embarrassing loss this season in a 5-4 overtime defeat to Notre Dame on Friday night. The defense had no answers for a shorthanded Notre Dame offense, and the offense continued to play sloppily and out of sync.
First Period
Hagen Burrows put Notre Dame on the board first just a few minutes in. Paul Fischer found a crease through Penn State’s defense in the low slot, and Burrows deflected Fischer’s shot past Ryder Fetterolf’s
five hole and into the back of the net for a 1-0 Notre Dame lead.
A cross-checking penalty on Notre Dame in the offensive zone gave a struggling Penn State power play a chance to strike early in the game. Dane Dowiak made a perfect cross-ice pass to Justin Poirier, and the sophomore laced a beautiful wrist shot past Patrick Quinlan to tie the game at 1:
Penn State went back to the power play a few minutes later, and again the Nittany Lions were able to win the initial faceoff and set up their man advantage. Lev Katzin fired a one-timer past Quinlan off an excellent cross-ice pass by Justin Poirier for his first goal of the season:
Penn State took a 2-1 lead to the intermission. The Nittany Lions outshot Notre Dame 15-5 in the first period and looked much sharper through the neutral zone than they did a week ago.
Second Period
Penn State was sloppy early in the second period, and poor breakout passes yielded a defensive zone turnover. Dashel Oliver picked up the loose change near the net when William Belle’s tough-angle shot was stopped by Fetterolf, and Oliver tied the game at 2.
Penn State found an answer on a rush chance a few minutes later. Nolan Collins had his shot stopped, but Kale Dach and Shea Busch crashed to the net. Patrick Quinlan gave up a juicy rebound, and Busch easily fired home the puck for his first career goal:
Penn State took a penalty midway through the period, and Notre Dame had a few good looks trying to tie the game. The Nittany Lions finally cleared the puck out of the zone, and a puck handling error by Patrick Quinlan left a forechecking Shea Busch uncontested to tuck home the puck for the first shorthanded goal of the season and a 4-2 lead:
Brennan Ali scored on the power play for Notre Dame in the final minute of the period when he deflected Henry Nelson’s point shot past Ryder Fetterolf. Penn State led 4-3 going into the intermission, but the game still felt tenuous with a complete lack of defense.
Third Period
Danny Nelson tied the game on another deflection goal for Notre Dame with 11 minutes left in regulation. Penn State’s defense completely fell apart, allowing odd-man chances and tons of pressure. Fortunately, Ryder Fetterolf made a few big saves to keep Notre Dame from taking the lead.
Kale Dach and Reese Laubach had two great chances to end the game in regulation, but Patrick Quinlan made two huge saves to keep the game tied. For the fourth straight game, Penn State went to overtime.
Overtime
Evan Werner moved in on a breakaway in overtime and tucked the game-winning goal past Ryder Fetterolf while being hooked. The Fighting Irish took the extra point and stole a 5-4 win on the road.
Scoring Summary
First Period
- ND: Hagen Burrows (1)- Paul Fischer (4), Panayioti Fimis (2)- 5v5- 4:28
- PSU: Justin Poirier (5)- Dane Dowiak (1), Lev Katzin (3)- PP- 12:50
- PSU: Lev Katzin (1)- Justin Poirier (7), Jackson Smith (9)- PP- 15:24
Second Period
- ND: Dashel Oliver (1)- William Belle (2), Drew Mackie (1)- 5v5- 3:07
- PSU: Shea Busch (1)- Nolan Collins (2), Andrew Kuzma (1)- 5v5- 5:25
- PSU: Shea Busch (2)- Unassisted- SH- 13:24
- ND: Brennan Ali (2)- Henry Nelson (1), Beckham Edwards (2)- PP- 19:45
Third Period
- ND: Danny Nelson (3)- Henry Nelson (2), Brennan Ali (1)- 5v5- 8:55
Overtime
- ND: Evan Werner (5)- Danny Nelson (5), Paul Fischer (5)- 3v3- 3:14
Shots By Period
- ND: 5-19-14-4-42
- PSU: 15-11-12-2-40
Random Observations
- Embarrassing- Through the first nine games of the season, Penn State has one win in regulation and losses to Sacred Heart, Robert Morris, and Notre Dame. This is going to be a long year.
- No Defense- I probably sound like a broken record every week, but the defense is atrocious. Giving up 42 shots to a team that averages under 26 per game is all I need to know. Any team can beat Penn State because they don’t play any defense.
- Shea Busch- On a night the team probably wants to forget, Shea Busch was a major bright spot with his first two career goals. The freshman has grown a lot through the first nine games of the season, and his continued development will be something to keep an eye on even with the season looking like a wash.
What’s Next
The two teams will meet again tomorrow night. Puck drop is scheduled for 7pm on Big Ten Plus.
