Men's Hockey Travels to South Bend for B1G Battle with No. 13 Notre DameMen's Hockey Travels to South Bend for B1G Battle with No. 13 Notre Dame
Mark Selders

Men's Hockey Travels to South Bend for B1G Battle with No. 13 Notre Dame

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State Nittany Lions are back on the road this weekend as they travel to South Bend for a Big Ten weekend series against No. 13 Notre Dame on Friday and Saturday evening inside Compton Family Ice Arena.

FOLLOW THE ACTION
Dates: Friday, February 4 | Saturday, February 5
Place: Compton Family Ice Arena | South Bend, Ind.
Time: Fri: 7:30 p.m. | Sat: 6:00 p.m.
Streaming Video: Friday | Saturday
Listen: Friday | Saturday
Live Statistics: Live Stats
Game Notes: Penn State | Notre Dame

THIS WEEK'S MATCHUP

  • This weekend marks the 26th and 27th meetings all-time between the two sides with Notre Dame holding the 15-7-3 edge.
  • The Irish have held the Nittany Lions to three or fewer goals in 17 of the 25 previous games including eight of the last ten with the two outliers being a 6-3 victory for Penn State in the first round of the 2021 Big Ten Tournament and a 5-4 overtime win for Notre Dame last month.
  • Junior Connor McMenamin leads all Nittany Lions with seven points in his career against Notre Dame on two goals and five assists in 11 games. Classmate Connor MacEachern has six assists in 11 career games against the Irish but has yet to find the back of the net while sophomore Jimmy Dowd Jr. scored twice against the Irish back in January, the first multi-goal game of his career.

SCOUTING NOTRE DAME

  • The Irish enter this weekend having won six of their last eight games including the series sweep against the Nittany Lions last month. Notre Dame is currently ranked 13th in the nation following a series split against No. 8 Minnesota last weekend in South Bend. This weekend brings to an end a five-game homestand for the Irish.
  • Notre Dame had a perfect 6-0-0 month of November and the six-game win-streak marked the longest for the Irish since the 2018-19 season.
  • Max Ellis leads the team with 15 goals and 25 points. His 15 goals are tied for third in the Big Ten and 12th nationally. Trevor Janicke has added ten goals while Ryder Rolston has chipped in nine. Spencer Stastney leads the Irish with 15 assists. Stastney ranks fourth in the Big Ten for defensemen scoring with 20 points on the season.
  • Notre Dame has used a two-goalie system most of the year, however, Ryan Bischel has started five of the last eight games between the pipes since the semester began posting a 4-1-0 record in those starts. Bischel ranks second in the Big Ten with a 2.07 goals-against average behind only Jakub Dobes of Ohio State at 1.98. Matthew Galajda is third in the Big Ten with a 2.13 goals-against average while both goaltenders have a .922 save percentage which ranks tied for fourth in the Big Ten and 17th nationally.
  • Notre Dame is one of the best defensive teams year in and year out and that remains true in 2021-22 as the Golden Domers rank second in the Big Ten and ninth nationally allowing just 2.19 goals per game. The Irish PK is also tops in the nation killing off 92.9 percent (92-for-99) of opponent powerplays. ND has allowed just nine powerplay goals this season and have scored five shorthanded goals to lead the Big Ten and rank tied for fourth nationally.
  • The Irish have only allowed four goals five times this season and have only yielded five in one game which came just last week in a 5-1 loss to Minnesota. Notre Dame is 16-0-0 this season when scoring three or more goals.
  • Notre Dame currently has 8 NHL draft picks on its roster (Jack Adams, Nick Leivermann, Jake Pivonka, Spencer Stastney, Trevor Janicke, Landon Slaggert, Ryder Rolston, Jake Boltmann).

FANTASTIC FRESHMAN

  • Freshman Ryan Kirwan saw his career-best seven-game point-streak (4-6-10) snapped last Saturday during a 6-0 loss to Ohio State as it marked just the third time in his last 16 games that he was held off the statsheet.
  • Kirwan was named the Big Ten Second Star of the week two weeks ago after pacing the conference with four goals tallying a pair of goals in each game including a string of three-straight goals from Friday into Saturday marking the first two multi-goal games of his career during a sweep of Wisconsin.
  • Kirwan was the first Nittany Lion to register back-to-back multi-goal games since Alex Limoges '21 accomplished that feat during the Big Ten Quarterfinals on March 8-9, 2019, also against Wisconsin.
  • Kirwan is tied for third on the team with 21 points and nine goals marking the most points by a Nittany Lion freshman since the 2017-18 season when Limoges registered 21 points. His nine goals are also the most by a Penn State freshman since Evan Barratt scored 11 during that same 2017-18 campaign.
  • Kirwan's 21 points are tied for the 9th most in program history for a freshman while his nine goals place him ninth for rookies in Penn State history. His 21 points are also tied for 12th in the country and 6th in the Big Ten among freshmen while his nine goals are tied for eighth and third, respectively.
  • Penn State is 12-1-1 this season when a freshman scores a goal including a perfect 7-0-0 when Kirwan lights the lamp.

SCHOEN YOU THE WAY

  • Freshman Ben Schoen is up to seventh on the team in scoring with six goals and nine assists for 15 points. The rookie had the primary assist on Dzhaniyev's goal last Friday before scoring the equalizer in a 2-2 tie against Ohio State. Schoen then potted the shootout winner to earn Penn State the extra point.
  • Schoen had three goals and five points in a two-game stretch in a 7-2 victory over Wisconsin and the 2-2 tie against Ohio State.
  • Penn State's scoring has been evenly distributed throughout all four classes this season, however, the freshmen have shined as of late scoring nine of the last 13 goals the Nittany Lions have scored over the past two weekends with Kirwan (4) and Schoen (3) leading the charge.

SHOOTOUT MADNESS

  • Last Friday Connor MacEachern kept the shootout rolling with his first career shootout goal and after a Liam Souliere save at one end, Schoen skated down the other end for the magical moment.
  • The shootout victory for Penn State was the first in over three calendar years dating back to a victory over Wisconsin on November 30, 2018. Alex Limoges '21 scored the winner that night.
  • The shootout was also the first at Pegula Ice Arena in nearly two years dating back to February 7, 2020 also against Ohio State with the Buckeyes earning the extra point that evening.

NEXT UP

  • Penn State has next week off before returning to Pegula Ice Arena to close out the home portion of its 2021-22 schedule against No. 8 Minnesota on February 18-19.

For more information on the 2021-22 season presented by the Penn State Bookstore: Official Bookstore of Penn State Athletics, visit the men's hockey page at GoPSUsports.com or call 1-800-NITTANY Monday-Friday from 8 a.m. – 5 p.m.