Penn State Hockey Series Preview: Notre Dame

After taking three points from last weekend’s series at Minnesota, Penn State returns home for its Big Ten opener against Notre Dame. The Nittany Lions have a chance to work out its chemistry on offense against a struggling Notre Dame defense, and if Penn State wants to keep pace in conference play, the team will need to find a way to get six points from this weekend.

How To Watch

Who: Notre Dame Fighting Irish
When: Friday, November 6 and Saturday, November 7
Where: Pegula Ice Arena, State College, PA
Time: 7pm (both games)
TV: Big Ten Plus
Radio: Penn State Sports Network

Projected Lineup

Justin Larose-Dane Dowiak-Justin Poirier
Shea Van Olm-Luke Misa-Reese Laubach
Andrew Kuzma-Kale Dach-Shea Busch
Lev Katzin-Kaden Pitre-Marco Mignosa

Jackson Smith-Nolan Collins
Mac Gadowsky-Ethan Weber
Nick Fascia-Caeden Herrington

Josh Fleming
Ryder Fetterolf

Opponent Preview

Notre Dame started off 2-0, but the Fighting Irish have lost six straight games by a combined 34-7. It has not been a pretty start to the season for Brock Sheahan’s squad, which looked like it was figuring some things out toward the end of last year. The Fighting Irish were embarrassed from beginning to end against Wisconsin in 7-1 and 9-1 losses. To add insult to injury, Jaedon Kerr, Leo Gruba, and David Klee were suspended for dirty hits in Saturday’s loss to Wisconsin. All three players will be unavailable for tonight’s game, and Gruba and Klee will miss both games.

Notre Dame has just 14 goals in the first eight games of the season. Their 1.8 goals per game ranks 54th in the NCAA and dead last in the Big Ten. Senior Evan Werner (4 goals) and captain Danny Nelson (2 goals) are the only players to score more than once for the Fighting Irish this season. This offense is not overwhelming, rolling up just under 26 shots on goal per game, the lowest mark in the Big Ten. Penn State’s defense has been very weak, but if there is any chance to get their act together, it is now.

Even more concerning for Notre Dame is the defense, which is giving up 35 shots on goal per game. Wisconsin had 87 shots on goal in the two-game series last weekend. Much like Penn State, the Fighting Irish are vulnerable to giving up sustained pressure in the offensive zone and sloppy in their defensive zone coverage. Nicholas Kempf has been solid in net (.922 save percentage, 2.75 GAA), but he has not started since October 17. I could not find any injury information, but he will not be available this weekend. Patrick Quinlan has started the last four games for the Fighting Irish. It has not gone well for the freshman, who has just a .832 save percentage through his first four starts.

Notre Dame is 20% on the power play (27th in the NCAA) and 62.2% on the penalty kill (61st in the NCAA). Penn State’s power play was 0-3 against a weak Minnesota penalty kill last weekend. The Nittany Lions will need to win offensive zone faceoffs and make good passes when on the power play. They should get their chances, as Notre Dame leads the NCAA in penalty minutes per game (25.1).

News & Notes

• Notre Dame leads the all-time series 22-14-7.
• Saturday’s game will feature the annual Teddy Bear Toss benefiting THON during the first intermission.

Prediction

Notre Dame will not play as poorly as they did against Wisconsin, but losing by a combined 16-2, losing three players to suspension, and a raw freshman goaltender is not a good combination heading to Pegula Ice Arena. Penn State has a renewed sense of confidence after a solid performance at Minnesota. This should be six points for the home team.

Penn State 5-2, 6-3