UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The Fighting Irish completed the road sweep of Penn State on Saturday evening inside Pegula Ice Arena, defeating the Nittany Lions by a score of 4-2.
The win moves Notre Dame to 4-6 on the season and evens their record in Big Ten play at 2-2.
Danny Nelson was the first star of the night, posting his first multi-goal performance of the season with two goals.
The Notre Dame third line was exceptional, as Carter Slaggert and Pano Fimis each scored while Hagen Burrows added two assists to help the Irish get the victory.
Freshman goaltender Patrick Quinlan turned in the best game of his young collegiate career, making 36 saves while allowing just two goals.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Notre Dame freshman goaltender Patrick Quinlan made some huge stops in the open 10 minutes of the first period to keep the game scoreless.
At the 14:07 mark of the first the hosts scored in the 4-on-4 off the stick of Jackson Smith and held onto the 1-0 lead for the remainder of the opening 20 minutes of action.
The Irish came out of the first intermission locked in and tied the game up at 1-1 within the first minute of the second period.
Hagen Burrows delivered a beautiful between the legs feed from behind the net to Slaggert, who slotted home for the equalizer, his second of the season.
Midway through the second period the Irish went on the power play and nearly took their first lead of the night, as Beckham Edwards’ breakaway attempt was turned away by the Penn State goalie.
Notre Dame did take the lead in the final four minutes of the second period off a goal from Danny Nelson. His brother Sammy Nelson and Penn State’s Jackson Smith got tangled up in front of the crease and Danny fired a loose puck into the net for his fourth of the season and second in as many games.
The score remained 2-1 for the remainder of the second period and the Fighting Irish took the one-goal lead into the final 20 minutes of regulation.
The Irish wasted no time extending their lead in the third period, scoring within the first minute of the period to double their lead at 3-1. Sammy Nelson intercepted the puck behind the net and quickly fed his brother Danny who tapped it in for his second of the night.
Just two minutes later Notre Dame struck again, this time coming from Fimis. Burrows played a puck down the boards and Fimis got on the end of it, skated to the edge of the circle and fired into the top corner for his second goal of the season, making it 4-1.
The Nittany Lions managed to add a second goal off a power play in the final 10 minutes of play but the Irish defense closed the door as Notre Dame secured the sweep with the 4-2 victory.
UP NEXT
After spending the last two weeks on the road, Notre Dame returns to Compton Family Ice Arena for a Big Ten home series against No. 3 Michigan State. Thursday’s game is slated to start at 7 p.m. ET and Friday’s matchup has a puck drop of 7 p.m. ET. Both games will air on Peacock.