Box Score (PDF) | Highlights
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Cam Burke tied the game late in the third period on an extra attacker goal and Jake Pivonka, Spencer Stastney and Max Ellis combined for a dramatic game-winning goal with 0.2 seconds left on the clock as the Irish skated to a 5-4 overtime win at the at Pegula Ice Arena to sweep the weekend series against the Nittany Lions.
Nick Leivermann finished with a goal and two assists, while Burke and Jack Adams each had a goal and an assist to pace the offense. Solag Bakich also scoffed for the Irish.
In net, Matthew Galajda had 35 saves to earn the win.
On special teams, Notre Dame did not have a power play, while Penn State was 1-for-3 on the man advantage.
How It Happened
The Irish got off to a quick start when Solag Bakich put a rebound home for his fourth goal of the year at 1:35 of the first. Cam Burke worked the puck from low to high, finding Adam Karashik at the point. Karashik shot one through a screen that Oskar Autio saved, but Bakich was there for the rebound.
Just 23 seconds after the Irish killed off the game’s first power play, Penn State’s Kevin Wall was able to tip in a feed from Christian Berger to make it a 1-1 game at 8:16 of the first.
At 13:41 Penn State’s Jimmy Dowd Jr. gave the Nittany Lions a 2-1 lead, scoring on a wraparound attempt with traffic in front.
Max Ellis had two good looks with 2:30 left in the first, but Autio saved one while the second flashed just wide.
Notre Dame closed the first on the penalty kill after Jesse Lansdell was assessed a major with 2:17 left in the first. The Irish closed that 2:17 without allowing a shot on goal.
The Irish opened the second looking to kill off the final 2:43 remaining on the Nittany Lion power play. After it looked as if Penn State would be whistled for a penalty in the defensive zone, Dowd extended the lead at the other end on his second of the game. The play we reviewed but the goal stood.
Notre Dame killed off another minor midway through the second and then Jack Adams scored to cut the lead to 3-2 at 11:54. Nick Leivermann found Justin Janicke in the high slot and the freshman winger put a shot on net that Autio saved but Adams put back the rebound from a tight angle for his second goal of the year.
Leivermann then tied it up at 3-3 at 16:05 of the second when he whipped a wrist shot high to the far corner from below the goal line. Adams broke up the play along the boards and Grant Silianoff chipped it out to Leivermann to earn the assists.
But Penn State regained the lead at 18:20 on a Clayton Phillips goal that made it a 4-3 game after 40 minutes of play.
After the back-and-forth second things tightened up to start the third, with Notre Dame’s best looks in the first 10 minutes coming from Bakich, Burke and Max Ellis.
Leivermann then forced Autio into a big pad save with five minutes remaining in the third as the Irish searched for a game-tying goal.
Then with 2:37 left Graham and Landon Slaggert had chances from in close but Autio was equal to the task.
Galajda was pulled in favor of the extra attacker for the ensuing faceoff and Cam Burke was able to tie things up at && with his seventh goal of the year. Burke scored from in close, with the assists going to Landon Slaggert and Leivermann.
Then in overtime, Jake Pivonka won a defensive zone faceoff with just over five seconds on the clock to Spencer Stastney, who flew down the ice and got an off pad shot off that Max Ellis put back for the game-winning goal with 0.2 seconds remaining on the clock.
Notes
- With a goal and two assists, Nick Leivermann posted his fifth multipoint game of the season and the 10th of his career.
- Also with a goal and an assist, Jack Adams notched his first multipoint game in an Irish uniform.
- Cam Burke added a goal and an assist for his third multipoint game of the season and the fourth of his career.
- Notre Dame is now 11-1-0 on the year when scoring first.
Next Up
- Next weekend, the Irish are back on the road with a two-game series at Ohio State (Jan. 14-15).
- Game one is slated for 7 p.m. (BTN Plus), while game two will begin at 8 p.m. (BTN).
– ND –