Penn State fails to capitalize on big chances; fall 2-1 against Notre Dame
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.- No. 6 Penn State did everything they needed to do, and more, to defeat Notre Dame on Friday night, but came up just short.
From the opening faceoff, which was won by Ture Linden, the Nittany Lions were feeding off the energy of a record-setting 6,658 fans inside Pegula Ice Arena. That energy translated to shots, and a lot of them, especially in the first period.
The Nittany Lions were firing on all cylinders coming off of a weekend when they could not pick up a win against Michigan State holding a 20-to-6 advantage in shots at the end of the first period.
Of those 20 shots, none were more important than the 20th for the blue and white. With one minute remaining on the clock, Danny Dzhaniyev buried a rebound opportunity past Ryan Bischel of the Fighting Irish.
Dzhaniyev’s goal was the fourth of his sophomore campaign and second in as many games. The New York native earned the praise of head coach Guy Gadowsky for his impact this season.
“He’s been playing extremely well lately,” Gadowsky said. “He got rewarded for it, but his overall play has been excellent, it's not just the fact that pucks have been going in the net.”
After that goal though, Bischel would go back to how he started the game: perfect. Bischel saved the last 33 shots from Penn State, to end his night making 52-of-53 saves en route to his 11th win of the season.
“I would take that game every night of the week,” Gadowsky said. “I like how we played, I liked the chances we generated. That was actually one of our best games for generating chances and give their goaltender a lot of credit.”
As for the goaltender on the other end, Liam Souliere was not tested much in the first period, but the Fighting Irish came out of intermission with their sights set on gold.
Justin Janicke had a breakaway chance alone on Souliere and could not convert it, but moments later Janicke got his revenge. The Minnesota native found Chayse Primeau on a pass and Primeau cashed in.
The second period would not end without some drama, however.
Penn State and Notre Dame were both given two minutes for roughing, but an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on Xander Lamppa led to a Notre Dame power play. Later in the period, Connor McMenamin was sent to the box for charging as he collided with Bischel.
The McMenamin penalty came just as the period was winding down, and it gave way to a near Notre Dame goal.
Paul DeNaples slid across the ice behind Souliere to save a would-be goal and sent the Nittany Lions into the locker room still knotted at one.
“I’m not surprised at all. I mean Paul is an awesome defenseman,” senior forward Tyler Gratton said. “He’s really smart, quick on his feet. He always seems to be in the right spot in the [defensive] zone.”
While DeNaples kept the game tied, Notre Dame would change that just over two minutes into the third period.
Ryder Rolston recorded a powerplay goal that put the Fighting Irish ahead 2-1, a score that would stay that way until the end.
Rolston’s goal was just one of two shots Souliere could not save on Friday night as the junior netminder made 22 saves.
“It’s sometimes tough when you don’t see a lot of action,” Gadowsky said. “I thought he hung in there really well.”
The series concludes on Saturday night with Penn State’s annual “Wear White” game, a night in which Gratton expects the team to be fired up.
“I mean any guy in that room will play in Pegula in front of our fans, in front of the RoarZone,” Gratton said. “It's incredible. Especially tomorrow, expecting to hopefully break that record again, so I think the boys are pumped up.”
Justin Ciavolella is a second-year student majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email jtc5751@psu.edu.
