Looking to build on its three-game winning streak, No. 8 Penn State welcomed Notre Dame to Pegula Ice Arena on Friday night for the first of two games.
Shea Van Olm, Charlie Cerrato and Casey Aman, all of whom head coach Guy Gadowsky described as “day-to-day” with injuries, were out for the game. Still, the Nittany Lions capitalized on a prime opportunity to gain ground in the conference standings, picking up three points with a 4-1 win over the Fighting Irish, who remain winless in conference play.
How it happened
Both sides exchanged shots early on, looking to gain an edge. Penn State thought it broke through first on a snipe from Jarod Crespo that clanged off the inside of the post and landed squarely on the goalline before it was covered by goaltender Nicholas Kempf, but a review maintained no goal.
Shortly after, Notre Dame’s Michael Mastrodomenico also rang the iron, but two donuts remained on the scoreboard.
The Nittany Lions dominated in the faceoff circle, holding a 10-1 advantage midway through the first period.
The penalty box received its first visit of the night from Fighting Irish forward Jayden Davis, and Penn State capitalized. Luke Misa passed up an open shot and made the extra pass to give Matt DiMarsico an even better look in front of the net, which Kempf wasn’t ready for.
Crespo became the first Nittany Lion to receive a whistle on a questionable holding call after he and a Notre Dame player both went to bat down an airborne puck and their gloves collided.
Then, Davis was called for his second penalty of the night for high sticking, giving Penn State another power play opportunity to close out the first period and into the second.
Right after fighting off that minor, Fighting Irish forward Cole Brown was hit with a five-minute major for game misconduct after a violent hit to the head of Dane Dowiak.
“Dane Dowiak had an unbelievable performance in the dot tonight,” Gadowsky said. “Tough kid. He showed it time and time again … When you talk about a guy stepping up in a leadership role, that’s what you had from him tonight.”
After sustained pressure, DiMarsico netted his second goal of the night near the end of the power play to give Penn State a 2-0 advantage.
“I don’t know how he does what he does,” Gadowsky said. “He’s just a hockey player. His mind is elite; his stick is better than elite. I don’t know how he does what he does, but it’s pretty awesome to watch.”
Shortly after, matching minors against DiMarsico and Davis kicked off 20 seconds of four-on-four action before Crespo was called for interference, keeping the seats in the box warm.
Down one man but still on a man advantage, Notre Dame’s Evan Werner scored to get his team on the board and narrow Penn State’s lead to 2-1 midway through the middle frame.
“I was really happy with the penalty kill,” Gadowsky said. “They’re an excellent power play team … I feel bad for [goaltender Josh] Fleming because he played such a good game, let that one in.”
Minutes later, it was Werner picking up a minor penalty and heading to the sin bin. The Nittany Lions didn’t score, but soon went back to the power play after Sutter Muzzatti picked up his first whistle of the contest.
This time, Luke Misa wasted no time finding the back of the net, reestablishing a two-goal lead for the home squad.
Nolan Collins joined the penalty party with a minor for cross-checking, which extended through the end of the period and into the third. Penn State killed off that penalty, then another, before going on the offensive and generating pressure. Kempf made several difficult saves to keep the Fighting Irish in the game.
After matching minors, Reese Laubach was called for slashing after getting tangled up, sending Notre Dame to its second 4-on-3 opportunity. The Fighting Irish also chose to go empty net with under four minutes remaining, giving them two extra sticks in the attack zone.
Fleming weathered a barrage of shots before DiMarsico sunk his third on the night into an empty net to deal the finishing blow.
“Fleming was excellent tonight,” Gadowsky said. “Without him, there’s no way that’s a 4-1 win … we’re going to have to be better defensively tomorrow.”
Team leaders:
Goals: Matt DiMarsico, 3
Assists: Gavin McKenna, JJ Wiebusch, Luke Misa, 2
Saves: Josh Fleming, 40/41
Up next: Game 2 of the series will commence at 8 p.m. Saturday in Pegula Ice Arena.
