Penn State caps Notre Dame set with another tie
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The No. 17-ranked Penn State men’s hockey program tied their second straight game against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, 2-2 in Sunday night’s contest.
The Nittany Lions earned the extra point in this game with the shoot-out win. Penn State moves to 5-2-2 on the season, and 0-0-2 in Big Ten play.
Looks familiar
Sunday was the second consecutive game between the Nittany Lions and the Fighting Irish that not only went to an overtime period but a shootout as well.
In both games, Trevor Janicke and Dylan Lugris both scored the second score for their respective teams, and Lugris’ goal was the goal that tied the game at two.
The overtime period in both games was a blank slate which led to a shoot-out. The Irish came out with the shoot-out in game one, and the Nittany Lions in game two. In both shoot-outs, it was the first shooter in the third frame that scored the lone goal.
It was Xander Lamppa who scored the lone shoot-out goal Sunday night.
The result showed one thing, these teams were as evenly matched as advertised. Both teams gave an entertaining first Big Ten series of the season.
What could’ve been for the Nittany Lions
In a game that ended in a 2-2 tie, the Nittany Lions had plenty of chances to change that story.
The Nittany Lions out-shot the Fighting Irish 50-31 in the game, but the stats don’t tell the whole story.
In the second period, the one period that Notre Dame out-shot Penn State (15-12), the Nittany Lions had multiple shifts from the freshman line (DiMarsico-Laubach-Fink) where they created chaos in the offensive zone but were ultimately stood up by Notre Dame netminder Ryan Bischel.
There were other chances where the Nittany Lions had an open net, but either missed the shot or the Irish defense flooded the middle and helped their goalie.
More importantly, Lamppa scored what he thought was the equalizer to Drew Bavaro’s opening goal for Notre Dame, but the goal was immediately waived off without a review because Bischel’s mask came loose.
Though they did not get the score, Lamppa said it fired the team up, and “gave us some spunk” headed into the remainder of the game.
Souliere bounces back
After a tough past two starts for senior goalie Liam Souliere, only allowing two goals to a conference opponent was the bounce back that showed flashes of the player he was last season.
He tallied 29 saves in the game, as well as holding strong during the shoot-out.
Head coach Guy Gadowsky again mentioned “Iron sharpens iron” when talking about the play of Souliere and sophomore Noah Grannan.
What’s next for Penn State
The Nittany Lions will travel to East Lansing, Michigan, in search of their first Big Ten win when they take on the 7-3 (2-0-0 in conference play) Michigan State Spartans Friday at 7:00 p.m. from Munn Ice Arena.
