Peyton Jones turned in a second-straight 40 save outing and Penn State scored twice in 1:55 to beat Notre Dame 4-2 on Friday night in South Bend.
A weird bounce and a bit of bad luck gave Notre Dame a 1-0 lead after the first period as Jones tried to cover the post as a defenseman looked to usher the puck past the net and around the other side. Instead the puck hit Jones’ leg and slowly directed itself into the goal to give the Irish the 1-0 advantage.
Denis Smirnov tied the game midway through the second period with a smooth deke and snipe past Notre Dame goalie Cale Morris as Penn State looked for its fourth win in 11 attempts at Compton Family Ice Arena.
The Irish would score 4:45 into the third period thanks to a scramble in front of goal as Jones was knocked off his feet during an initial save attempt and was unable to collect himself in time to save an incoming shot by Alex Steeves. The goal was reviewed but deemed good after a short delay.
From there it looked appeared as though Friday night was going to be nearly every game Penn State has played at Notre Dame. The Nittany Lions peppered shots on Cale Morris without effect, behind on the scoreboard due in large part to an unfortunate bounce that may have doomed their chances. It was a script seen before as the clock continued to wind.
But then a snipe from defenseman Paul DeNaples to the right of Morris beat the Irish goalie just under the bar, and then 1:55 later it was Evan Barratt slipping a wrist-shot to Morris’ right again, putting Penn State ahead 3-2.
Notre Dame would tilt the ice in its favor, but Jones would stand tall and an empty-net goal by Aarne Talvite ended any hopes of a late Notre Dame comeback.
Penn State sits at 13-5-0 on the year and four points ahead in the Big Ten standings with the rest of the conference dormant this weekend. The Nittany Lions and Irish take the ice on Saturday night for the final meeting of the road series. Notre Dame is set to visit State College in late February.
Following Saturday’s game Penn State will not play again until the new year with just six Big Ten series remaining.
