UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Freshman Shea Busch scored the first two goals of his collegiate career, however, it was not enough as Notre Dame used three unanswered scores to secure the 5-4 overtime victory in Big Ten Conference action at Pegula Ice Arena on Friday night.
Penn State drops to 2-6-1 on the year and 0-2-1 in Big Ten play while the Irish improve to 3-6-0 on the year and 1-2-0 in conference action following the OT win.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The Irish opened the scoring against the run of play as Paul Fischer skated into the slot before firing a shot that was initially blocked but hugged the ice and deflected off Hagen Burrows leg before slipping through the five-hole of Nittany Lion freshman net-minder Ryder Fetterolf for the 1-0 edge at 4:28 of the first period.
- Penn State evened the contest with a powerplay goal as senior Dane Dowiak sent a beautiful cross-ice pass to sophomore Justin Poirier at the left dot and he unleashed a wicked wrister shortside high over the shoulder of Notre Dame goaltender Patrick Quinlan for the 1-1 score at the 12:50 mark.
- The Nittany Lions then took the lead with a second powerplay goal as Poirier skated down the left wing before feathering a cross-ice pass to the right dot hitting classmate Lev Katzin on the tape and his one-timer didn’t miss for the 2-1 advantage at the 15:24 mark.
- Notre Dame found the equalizer early in the second period as Dashel Oliver found the puck on his stick with a yawning net after William Belle’s initial shot went off the glove of Fetterolf for the 2-2 score at the 3:07 mark.
- The back-and-forth affair continued as Busch registered his first collegiate goal and he roofed a rebound for the 3-2 lead after Nolan Collin’s initial shot was turned aside at 5:25 of the middle frame.
- Penn State doubled the lead with its first shorthanded goal of the season as Quinlan got careless behind his own net and Busch stole the puck and wrapped it into the open net at the far post for the 4-2 advantage at 13:24 of the second period.
- The visitors cut into the deficit late in the middle frame with a powerplay tally of their own as Brennan Ali redirected a point shot from Henry Nelson past Fetterolf for the 4-3 score with just 15.5 ticks remaining.
- Notre Dame erased the rest of the deficit near the midpoint of the final frame as Danny Nelson redirected a point offering from Jimmy Jurcev off the bar and in for the 4-4 score at the 8:55 mark.
- Nearing the end of a back-and-forth overtime that reflected the previous 60 minutes, Evan Werner got behind the defense and beat Fetterolf under the blocker for the overtime winner at 3:14 of the extra session.
GOALTENDING
Fetterolf drops to 1-3-0 on the year after making a career-best 37 saves in the loss while Quinlan secures his first collegiate win after turning aside 36 shots in the victory.
NOTES
- Notre Dame held the slim 42-40 edge in shots on goal including the commanding 37-25 margin over the final two periods and overtime.
- Penn State went 2-for-3 with the man-advantage while the Irish went 1-for-3 on the powerplay.
- The powerplay goal for Notre Dame was the first allowed by Penn State over the last five-plus games as the Nittany Lions had killed off 10-straight prior to the Irish score.
- For the first time in program history the Nittany Lions have played four-straight overtime games falling to 1-2-1 in such games this season.
- The Nittany Lions blocked 23 shots on the night to Notre Dame’s 13 including four each by Nick Fascia and Justin Larose.
- The first two goals of Busch’s career also mark his first career multi-point and multi-goal game.
- With a goal and an assist Poirier extends his point streak to six games as he now has points in all but one game so far this season while registering his fourth multi-point game of the season and the 12th of his career.
- Katzin also had one goal and one assist on the night to secure his first multi-point effort of the season and the first of his career.
NEXT UP
- Both teams return to Pegula Ice Arena tomorrow night to conclude the weekend series with a second-straight 7 p.m. puck drop.
- The annual Teddy Bear Toss benefitting THON will take place during the first intermission on the game.
- Fans are encouraged to bring new or slightly used stuffed animals to toss onto the ice.
- Tickets are still available HERE or by calling 1-800-NITTANY.
For more information on the 2026-27 season, visit the men's hockey page at GoPSUsports.com or call 1-800-NITTANY Monday-Friday from 8 a.m. – 5 p.m.