Notre Dame hockey vs. Penn State: What to know
Notre Dame Fighting Irish (4-3-0) vs. Penn State Nittany Lions (5-2-0)
☘When/Where: Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 4:30 p.m., Pegula Ice Arena (5,704), University Park, Pa.
☘Radio: WZOC-FM (94.3) and UND.com TV/Streaming: Saturday, B1G+ (streaming); Sunday, Big Ten Network.
☘Coaches: Notre Dame, Jeff Jackson (396-249-71 in 19th season) … Penn State, Gus Gadowsky (199-170-25 in 12th season at Penn State).
☘Recaps: Notre Dame is coming off non-conference series sweep of visiting Mercyhurst. … On Thursday, Irish rallied from 3-1 deficit entering third period to win 4-3 in overtime on the second of two goals by captain Landon Slaggert at 3:03. … On Friday, Irish got two goals from Slaggert in 5-0 victory which was second shutout of season (and ninth in career) for graduate goaltender Ryan Bischel. … Penn State split non-conference home series with Alaska-Anchorage, winning 2-1 Thursday and losing 6-5 Friday.
☘Rivalry: Notre Dame leads 22-9-4, including 9-4-3 in games played at Penn State. … Last season, Penn State won 5-2 over Notre Dame on Dec. 9, 2022 in South Bend with Irish winning 1-0 next night. … At University Park on Jan. 20, 2023, Notre Dame skated to 2-1 victory before Penn State won 3-2 following day.
☘Rankings: Notre Dame is receiving votes in both USCHO.com media poll and USA Hockey/The Rink Live coaches’ poll. … Penn State is ranked No. 17 in both.
☘Big Ten standings: 1. Wisconsin 2-0-0, 6 points (7-1-0 overall); 2. Michigan 1-0-1, 4 points (5-2-1 overall); 3. Ohio State 0-1-1, 2 points (3-1-3 overall); T4. Minnesota 0-2-0, 0 points (3-3-0 overall); T4. Notre Dame 0-0-0, 0 points (4-3-0 overall); T4. Michigan State 0-0-0, 0 points (5-3-0 overall); T4. Penn State 0-0-0, 0 points (5-2-0 overall).
More: Bischel receives Big Ten preseason honors as coaches predict Irish to finish fourth
Scouting Notre Dame hockey
Slaggert, a native of South Bend and son of associate head coach Andy Slaggert, leads Irish in scoring (7 goals, 0 assists, 7 points). … He won Big Ten Third Star honors last weekend for his four goals against Mercyhurst. … Three of top six players in scoring are freshmen: right wing Maddox Fleming (0-6-6), center Danny Nelson (2-2-4) and defenseman Paul Fischer (1-3-4). … Tied for third are defensemen Drew Bavaro (2-3-5) and Ryan Siedem (1-4-5). … Bischel turned away 33 shots for second shutout of season (he blanked Clarkson 3-0 on Oct. 8) and is 4-3 with a 2.20 goals-against average and .928 saves percentage.
Scouting Penn State hockey
Danny Dzhaniyev, a 5-foot-5 junior right wing from Brooklyn, N.Y., paces Penn State in scoring (3-5-8). … Next are junior forward Ryan Kirwan (4-3-7) and freshman forward Aiden Fink (1-6-7) with grad-transfer (Vermont) forward Jacques Bouquot (2-4-6) and senior forward Christian Sarlo (2-4-6) one point behind. … Senior goaltender Liam Souiere has started six games for Nittany Lions and is 4-1 with a 3.10 goals-against average and .855 saves percentage. … Penn State averages 42.4 shots per game, No. 1 in the nation.
Coach speak
Quoting Jeff Jackson: (Notre Dame) “From my perspective, we’re growing but I’d like to see some more consistency. Our young guys are learning how to play college hockey (games) back to back. If anything, we have had a drop-off on the second night of a two-game series. For me, a big part of that is gaining experience and confidence in playing in back-to-back situations. I think all of our freshmen have done well so far, but it’s a matter of learning consistency.”
(Penn State) Guy’s teams play for shot volume. They are a good transition team. They shoot the puck from every angle wherever they are on the ice. Their game is about getting the rebounds and puck recoveries and getting second- and third-shot opportunities, and that’s where they become very challenging. And their building – it’s a smaller ice sheet than what we’re on – the crowd and the environment, it’s a great college hockey venue.”
Up next: Notre Dame returns home for Big Ten series with Ohio State Friday, Nov. 10 at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday, Nov. 11 at 6 p.m.
— John Fineran, Tribune Correspondent
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Notre Dame hockey opens Big Ten schedule vs. Penn State
