No. 8 Men's Hockey Closes Homestand Against Notre Dame This WeekendNo. 8 Men's Hockey Closes Homestand Against Notre Dame This Weekend
Mark Selders

No. 8 Men's Hockey Closes Homestand Against Notre Dame This Weekend

The eighth-ranked Penn State Nittany Lions close out their five-game homestand as they welcome Notre Dame to Hockey Valley for a crucial conference clash on Friday and Saturday evening.

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No. 8 Penn State vs. Notre Dame
Pegula Ice Arena | University Park, Pa.

No. 8 Penn State vs. Notre Dame

No. 8 Penn State
No. 8 Penn State

14-6-0 | 6-4-0 B1G

Vs.
Notre Dame
Notre Dame

4-15-1 | 0-10-0 B1G

Follow the Action

Follow the Action

2025-26 AUDIO BROADCASTS

  • Audio broadcasts for all Penn State hockey games for the 2025-26 season are available on the Penn State Sports Network via radio affiliates and streaming oncom.
  • Former Nittany Lion goaltender Chris Funkey and 2017-18 Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year Trevor Hamilton will join play-by-play broadcaster Brian Tripp for most games throughout the season.
  • Funkey will be back in Hockey Valley to call the games this weekend alongside Tripp with pregame coverage beginning 20 minutes prior to puck drop each night.

Series Breakdown

THIS WEEK’S MATCHUP

  • This week marks the 40th and 41st meetings between the two teams with Notre Dame holding the 21-12-6 advantage in the all-time series, however, Penn State has won three-straight and secured 10-of-12 points in last year’s series.
  • The series has been fairly even since the start of the 2022-23 season with Penn State holding the slim 5-4-3 record, however, the Nittany Lions are unbeaten (3-0-2) in the last five games in Hockey Valley and are 6-8-4 overall at Pegula Ice Arena against the Irish.
  • Junior Aiden Fink leads all Nittany Lions with eight points in eight career games against the Irish with three goals and five assists while classmate Matt DiMarsico has added six points (3G, 3A) in eight games and juniors Dane Dowiak and Reese Laubach have each added two goals and two assists.
  • Following Jeff Jackson’s retirement, Penn State head coach Guy Gadowsky is now the longest tenured coach in the Big Ten and the 13th longest tenured in the nation, with this his 14th season in Hockey Valley. He has led Penn State to six 20+-win seasons, all within the past 10 years, and four NCAA Tournaments (five if you include 2020) and the 2025 Frozen Four.

THE YOUTH OF COLLEGE HOCKEY

  • Six of the seven programs in the Big Ten are ranked among the 20 youngest teams in the nation.
  • Penn State is the fourth youngest team in the Big Ten and 13th youngest in the nation this season with an average age of 21 years and eight months while Notre Dame is the sixth youngest team in the Big Ten and 20th youngest nationally with an average age of 21 years and nine months.

START THE BATTLE, FINISH THE FIGHT

  • Penn State has scored first in only nine of its first 20 games, however, they have held on and won eight of those games. The lone loss came in its series opener at Minnesota in November.
  • The Nittany Lions have also been strong holding leads late, posting an 8-1-0 record when leading after two periods of play with the lone loss coming in their home opener against Clarkson. They are also an additional 2-1-0 when tied after 40 minutes as Penn State is outscoring opponents 26-14 in the third period.

SCOUTING NOTRE DAME

  • The Irish enter the weekend having lost seven-straight games and 13 of their last 14 games. Notre Dame is just 4-15-1 on the year and 0-10-0 in Big Ten play.
  • Notre Dame is being outscored 41-15 during its current seven-game losing streak and have allowed four or more goals in eight-straight games. The Irish are being outscored by three goals in Big Ten play this season (4.9-1.9).
  • This marks the first season under the guidance of Brock Sheahan after longtime Bench Boss Jeff Jackson retired in the offseason. Sheahan served as associate head coach the past two seasons in South Bend prior to his promotion.
  • The Irish return six of their top-nine scorers from a season ago including leading score Cole Knuble who paced the team with 39 points in 34 games, however, he has just 14 points in 19 games so far this season with only three goals.
  • ND is paced by defenseman Paul Fischer with 16 points on five goals and 11 assists, however, he is suspended for both games this weekend following a review to a checking from behind penalty he received late in the third period against Michigan last Saturday.
  • Michigan transfer Evan Werner leads the Irish in goals with eight on the season while adding seven assists for 15 points. Both Danny Nelson and Sutter Muzzatti have each added seven goals for the Irish.
  • Between the pipes is sophomore Nicholas Kempf who takes the reigns from Owen Say who posted a 10-15-0 record last season with a 2.82 goals-against average and a .920 save percentage. Kempf started 12 games as a freshman a season ago and recently competed with Team USA at the World Junior Championship. Kempf has started 18-of-20 games this season and has a 3.80 goals-against average and an .887 save percentage.
  • As a team the Irish have a 4.22 goals-against average and an .876 save percentage.
  • Notre Dame is averaging just 2.55 goals per game this season ranking last in the Big Ten and 49th nationally, however, the Irish have converted 15-of-53 (28.3 percent) on the man-advantage, a mark good for third in the Big Ten and seventh in the nation.
  • Defensively, Notre Dame also ranks last in the Big Ten and 60th in the nation allowing 4.25 goals per game.

PARKING INFORMATION

  • Parking for all athletics events requires a valid university permit or payment of an applicable parking fee. Parking can be purchased in advance (by 11:59 p.m. the day prior to each event) at a discounted rate on ParkWhiz. Parking can also be purchased at full price on game day on ParkWhiz.
  • Parking for men’s ice hockey games at Pegula Ice Arena can be found in the Stadium West, Jordan East, and Porter North lots.
  • Parking for all non-football athletics events is managed by Penn State Transportation services.
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KEEPIN’ IT 100

  • Junior Aiden Fink became the ninth Nittany Lion all-time to hit 100 points last Saturday achieving the milestone in just 87 games, the quickest in program history, surpassing the 102 games it took Alex Limoges ‘21.
  • Since returning to action after missing seven games with an upper-body injury to close out the first semester, Fink has five points (1G, 4A) in four games. Overall, the junior has three goals and 11 assists for 14 points in 13 games this season to rank fifth on the team in scoring.
  • Fink is just two points shy of Liam Folkes for eighth on the Penn State all-time points list while his 41 goals are tied for 10th and his 60 assists good for ninth.

FLEM THE GEM

  • Freshman Josh Fleming was named to the Mike Richter Award Watch List earlier this week for the impressive start to his collegiate career.
  • Fleming secured his second shutout of the season last Friday, a 3-0 victory over Minnesota, marking the first-ever shutout of the Gophers for Penn State.
  • The rookie is currently tied for the national lead with a .938 save percentage while his 1.91 goals-against average is good for second in the Big Ten and seventh in the nation.
  • Fleming along with sophomore Kevin Reidler (Gavle, Sweden) have combined for a .918 team save percentage ranking third in the Big Ten and tied for seventh in the nation.

SENSATIONAL SMITTY

  • Freshman Jackson Smith has scored three goals in his last six games including his first even-strength goal last Saturday against Minnesota.
  • The rookie has five goals this season to tie for the Big Ten lead among defensemen and rank tied for ninth in the nation for blueliners. His four powerplay goals are tied for the national lead among defensemen.

FINIDNG HIS STRIDE

  • Freshman Luke Misa is currently riding a career-long three-game point streak with four points (1-3-4) over that stretch. His four points in his last three games already surpass the three points (1G, 2A) he had in the first 16 games of the season during the first semester of play.

DYNAMIC DIMARSICO

  • Junior Matt DiMarsico is also riding a three-game point streak (2-3-5) and scored in both games last weekend against Minnesota.
  • DiMarsico’s 10 goals and 22 points this season are each tied for seventh in the Big Ten.

HOCKEY VALLEY HAT-TRICKS

  • Senior defenseman Jarod Crespo registered a third period hat-trick including the eventual game-winning goal in a 7-3 victory against RIT on January 4.
  • The hat-trick is the 19th in program history and already the fourth this season, a new single-season team record. He joins junior Matt DiMarsico, who has two on the season, and sophomore JJ Wiebusch who added onto his with the first four-goal game in program history in Penn State’s home opener against Clarkson.
  • Crespo’s hat-trick is also just the second all-time by a Nittany Lion defenseman joining Cole Hults (10/11/19 vs. Sacred Heart).

NEXT UP

Penn State hits the road for a crucial Big ten series against No. 2 Wisconsin next Friday and Saturday.

For more information on the 2025-26 season, visit the men's hockey ticket page at GoPSUsports.com or call 1-800-NITTANY Monday-Friday from 9 a.m. - 4 p.m.

Follow the Nittany Lions

Follow the Nittany Lions

Visit GoPSUSports.com for more information on Penn State men's ice hockey. Fans can keep up to date with all things Hockey Valley on X and Instagram @PennStateMHKY, in addition to the team’s Facebook page at facebook.com/pennstatemenshockey.