By: Connor Toomey
Notre Dame, Ind. – Coming off of an impressive team performance over the weekend against then-fifth ranked Penn State, Notre Dame hockey’s Danny Nelson has been named Second Star of the Week by the Big Ten Conference. Nelson notched two goals on Saturday night in a back-and-forth thriller against the Nittany Lions that resulted in a 4-3 overtime victory for the Irish on Senior Night.
Recording his third multi-goal game of his career on Saturday night, the junior captain gave the Irish a 2-1 lead in the final seconds of the first period. The powerplay goal was his team-leading seventh of the season.
He followed that up with his second of the night nearly halfway through the third period to give the Irish the 3-2 edge and break the stalemate. His two goals on Saturday earned him the seventh best rank in the nation and tied for the top of the Big Ten in goals scored over the weekend. The Maple Grove, Minnesota, native ranked fourth in points in the Big Ten on the weekend with three (2-1-3).
Additionally, Nelson had a strong weekend inside the face-off circle, registering a 57.9-percent success clip winning 33 of 57 draws. His 33 wins from the dot ranked first in the Big Ten and second in the country in the Irish’s final regular season homestand. Responsible for half of the face-offs in Saturday’s victory, Nelson’s 19 victories against Penn State on Saturday also ranked him third in the nation for single game draws, leading to a team-wide 65.6-percent win rate from the circle.
The junior was not only successful offensively, but also on the Irish’s penalty kill unit. A member of the first unit on the kill, Nelson helped to hold the Nittany Lions’ ninth-ranked power-play unit scoreless on the man-advantage over the weekend, killing all three opportunities for the visitors.
Nelson becomes the fourth Irish individual to pick up conference Star of the Week recognition this season, joining Nicholas Kempf, Sutter Muzzatti and Evan Werner as previous honorees in the 2025-26 season.
The Irish are back in action this week as they hit the road one final time this season for some mid-week tilts March 5-6 against the Ohio State Buckeyes. Both games are scheduled for 6:30pm puck drops at the Value City Arena.