Penn State 6, Notre Dame 3: Shorthanded Lions Sweep Irish

Penn State hockey completed its second straight Big Ten sweep at home with a 6-3 win over Notre Dame on Saturday night. The Nittany Lions moved into second place in the Big Ten standings with tonight’s win. Guy Gadowsky’s squad had only 17 healthy skaters for this game, but Penn State dug deep to secure a huge sweep. Gavin McKenna scored two goals, Aiden Fink tied a career high with four assists, and JJ Wiebusch snapped a long goal scoring drought in the win.

First Period

The top line wasted no time making their presence felt. Jarod Crespo made a perfect outlet pass to JJ Wiebusch, who finally snapped his 11-game goalless drought with a beautiful backhand shot to put Penn State up 1-0 just 17 seconds in:

Jackson Smith doubled Penn State’s lead just past the seven-minute mark with a perfect one-time blast from the point to extend the lead to 2-0:

Penn State took a couple of penalties midway through the second period, but Kevin Reidler made a big save on the first power play, and a penalty against Henry Nelson nullified Notre Dame’s second power play chance.

Notre Dame blitzed Penn State for two goals just 15 seconds apart in the closing minutes of the period. Brennan Ali rang a shot off the post that bounced into the net, and on the next shift, a horrible defensive zone turnover by Penn State allowed Cole Knuble to tie the game at 2 immediately. The game went to the locker room tied at 2.

Second Period

Gavin McKenna gave Penn State the lead back when he went blocker side high on Kempf off a great cross-ice pass by Jackson Smith through traffic:

The goal seemed to wake up the offense, and the McKenna-Dowiak-Fink line went back to work generating quality chances on their next shift. After a minute and a half of 4-on-4 play following coincidental minors, Gavin McKenna drew an interference penalty to put Penn State on the power play. The Nittany Lions applied some pressure, but it was Sutter Muzatti who found a crease around the Penn State defense and tied the game while shorthanded.

Reese Laubach took a boarding penalty minutes later to give the Fighting Irish a chance to take the lead on the power play. Nic Chin-DeGraves made a nice play to break up a pass and drew a penalty while rushing in for a shorthanded chance to send the game back to 4-on-4. The eventual PSU power play became a 5-on-3 when Michael Mastrodomenico was called for interference on JJ Wiebusch. The Nittany Lions wasted no time crashing the net on the 5-on-3, and Matt DiMarsico scored his fourth goal of the weekend to give Penn State the lead back:

A cross-checking penalty on Ben Schoen gave the Fighting Irish a chance to tie the game late in the period, but the kill came up clutch to preserve a 4-3 Penn State lead at the end of the second period.

Third Period

JJ Wiebusch took a hooking penalty just a minute and a half after the last PSU penalty kill ended. The penalty kill held off Notre Dame for the sixth time in the game to hold the 4-3 lead.

Midway through the period, Aiden Fink’s hustle on the forecheck set up a prime scoring chance. Fink fed Luke Misa at the front of the net, and Misa’s shot got stopped by Nicholas Kempf. McKenna was in position to deposit the rebound with the yawning net to extend Penn State’s lead to 5-3:

Dane Dowiak sealed the game with an empty-net goal, and Penn State swept Notre Dame with a 6-3 win.

Scoring Summary

First Period

• PSU: JJ Wiebusch (12)- Jarod Crespo (6), Reese Laubach (10)- 5v5- 0:17
• PSU: Jackson Smith (6)- Jarod Crespo (7), Aiden Fink (12)- 5v5- 7:06
• ND: Brennan Ali (5)- Sutter Muzzatti (9), Jimmy Jurcev (1)- 5v5- 18:24
• ND: Cole Knuble (4)- Danny Nelson (7)- 5v5- 18:39

Second Period

• PSU: Gavin McKenna (5)- Jackson Smith (7), Aiden Fink (13)- 5v5- 4:54
• ND: Sutter Muzzatti (8)- Unassisted- SH- 11:11
• PSU: Matt DiMarsico (14)- JJ Wiebusch (13), Aiden Fink (14)- PP- 15:46

Third Period

• PSU: Gavin McKenna (6)- Luke Misa (7), Aiden Fink (15)- 5v5- 10:57
• PSU: Dane Dowiak (6)- Gavin McKenna (18), Jackson Smith (8)- EN- 19:49

Shots By Period

• ND: 11-10-9-30
• PSU: 10-15-10-35

Takeaways

• Resilient- Penn State has been banged up the last couple of weeks, with five skaters scratched due to injury tonight. Still, the Lions found a way to play their game against a team desperate for a win.
• Gavin McKenna- McKenna has been a bit snakebitten on the scoresheet, with just four goals on the season entering tonight. He was all over the ice in this game and was rewarded for it with two goals, including a critical insurance goal in the third period.
• Aiden Fink- Aiden Fink rolled up four assists in this game, tying a single-game career-high he set on March 7, 2025 against Michigan.
• Defensemen- Jarod Crespo and Jackson Smith have kicked their offensive game into high gear since the holiday break. They were excellent creating prime scoring chances for the offense. Penn State needs more offense from the blue line as we head toward tougher games in conference play.
• TCOB- In a season where highly ranked teams have succumbed to inferior opponents left and right (Penn State included), the Nittany Lions took care of business during the five-game home stand to position themselves perfectly for an NCAA Tournament bid and keep their Big Ten title hopes alive.
• Rest Up- It’s unclear if Charlie Cerrato, Shea Van Olm, Mac Gadowsky, or Casey Aman will be available for next week’s series against Wisconsin. Fortunately, there are six more days to rest up before the team takes the ice in Madison.

Standings & Such

Penn State moved into second place by just one point over third-place Michigan State, who swept Wisconsin on the road this weekend. The Nittany Lions have two games in hand on first-place Michigan, who is idle next weekend. The next two weeks will loom large for Penn State’s Big Ten title hopes, with series against Wisconsin and Michigan State.

At the time of posting, Penn State is at No. 6 in the NPI. It’s still too early to get an exact read on how many more wins Penn State needs to secure a spot in the NCAA Tournament, but Playoff Status is giving the team around a 90% chance to get in as of this evening.

What’s Next

Penn State will begin a critical two-week stretch with a road trip to Wisconsin next Friday and Saturday. Puck drop on Friday is scheduled for 8pm on Big Ten Plus.