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Penn State Hockey Seeks to Sweep Notre Dame After Thrilling Comeback Win

Gavin McKenna scored the shootout winner as the Nittany Lions rallied from a 3-0 deficit against the Fighting Irish.
Mark Wogenrich|
Penn State Nittany Lions forward Gavin McKenna (72) moves with the puck during the third period against the Michigan State Spartans at Beaver Stadium.
Penn State Nittany Lions forward Gavin McKenna (72) moves with the puck during the third period against the Michigan State Spartans at Beaver Stadium. | Matthew O'Haren-Imagn Images

Penn State's Gavin McKenna didn't strut this time, but he did score his second straight winning goal. McKenna scored the only goal in the shootout Friday, as the Nittany Lions overcame another three-goal deficit to secure a shootout victory over Notre Dame in a Big Ten road hockey game.

Fifth-ranked Penn State (20-9-2) produced its third straight two-point game, once again digging itself out of a pothole. Notre Dame took a 3-0 lead in the first period before the Nittany Lions found their footing. Last weekend, Penn State clawed back from a 4-1 deficit against Ohio State, with McKenna scoring the game-winner in overtime.

Penn State and Notre Dame play Game 2 of their series at 6 p.m. ET Saturday at Compton Family Ice Arena in South Bend. Peacock has the broadcast.

How it happened

McKenna, Penn State's star freshman forward, was the Big Ten's First Star last week after his 10-point weekend performance against Ohio State. On Friday, McKenna didn't revisit the Conor McGregor strut after scoring a goal but did extend his points streak with the only score of the three-round shootout.

Penn State had some work to get to the shootout. Notre Dame (6-22-5) took a 3-0 first-period lead, getting three shots (two within 28 seconds) past Nittany Lions goaltender Josh Fleming. Penn State also fell behind Ohio State 4-1 on Feb. 21 before rallying for a 5-4 overtime win.

Against Notre Dame, freshman Shea Van Olm got the scoring started in the first period, beating Notre Dame goaltender Nicholas Kempf 90 seconds before the end of the first period.

Aiden Fink scored the first of his two goals with a minute left in the second period on a pass from McKenna, who ranks second in the Big Ten in assists. Fink tied the game 5 minutes into the third period, stealing the puck and going 1-on-1on with Kempf for the equalizer.

Penn State outshot Notre Dame 7-0 in overtime but couldn't find the net. McKenna led off the shootout with a goal, which was the only score.

Following a shaky start, Fleming made 26 straight saves to shut out Notre Dame after the first period. He improved his record to 9-4-2.

Fink produced his 10th career multi-goal game and scored his 46th career goal, moving into seventh place on Penn State's all-time scoring list. His 118 career points are tied for fourth.

McKenna delivered his Penn State-record 31st career assist. His 44 points currently rank fourth at Penn State for a single season.

Gadowsky, whose father Guy is the Penn State head coach, had two assists for his second multi-point game of the season.

Penn State erased a three-goal deficit for the second straight game and has won seven games this season when trailing after two periods. Penn State did not win a game last season that it entered with a deficit. The Nittany Lions have outscored opponents by a combined 92-53 in the second and third periods.

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Mark Wogenrich
MARK WOGENRICH

Mark Wogenrich is the editor and publisher of Penn State on SI, the site for Nittany Lions sports on the Sports Illustrated network. He has covered Penn State sports for more than two decades across three coaching staffs, three Rose Bowls and one College Football Playoff appearance.

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