STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — The Irish hockey team fell to the Penn State Nittany Lions 5-3 Friday night as an empty-net tally with 68 seconds left sealed Notre Dame’s fate on the road. Despite battling back from a three-goal first period deficit, the Irish could not find the equalizer late inside Pegula Ice Arena.
Penn State thought they scored early in the contest but the shot rang off the pipe behind Owen Say in the crease and play continued in a scoreless battle.
The Irish were called for the first infraction of the night after a hit behind the net was whistled for interference at 9:52 of the opening period. The best chance of the kill came as the Irish attacked the Nittany Lions end. Cole Knuble and Michael Mastrodomenico created an odd-man rush into the zone before being joined by Justin Janicke who fired a shot just high on the Penn State net as Notre Dame successfully completed the kill halfway through the frame.
A misplayed puck in the neutral zone resulted in a three-on-goalie chance for the Nittany Lions in which they would capitalize and take the 1-0 lead with 3:59 to play in the first period.
Just 13 seconds after the opening goal, a pair of penalties went against both sides and the teams skated four-on-four for the next two minutes. With the ice open during the penalties, Penn State would convert and take the 2-0 lead.
A late penalty against the Irish gave Penn State another chance on the powerplay with under a minute to play in the opening frame. The Nittany Lions took advantage of the man-advantage with 10.7 seconds left on the clock as a skater out front tipped the puck out of the air and fired a shot into the back of the net. The Irish challenged the play for goaltender interference after Say was tripped up in the crease but after a quick review the goal was confirmed and Penn State led 3-0 through the first 20 minutes of play.
The teams opened the second stanza with four-on-four hockey after whistles in the final seconds of the previous period saw representatives from both teams head to the box.
Carter Slaggert got the Irish on the board at 5:19 of the second period to cut the deficit to two goals midway through the frame.
The Irish further cut into the Nittany Lions’ lead when a shot from Brennan Ali beat Arsenii Sergeev in the Penn State net to make it a 3-2 game nearly halfway through the contest.
Both teams managed to kill off shortened infractions after a pair of penalties off set each other in the fading minutes of the…