Kid line shows out in Penn State's tie with Notre Dame

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – For the second night in a row, No. 17 Penn State and Notre Dame resulted in a tie, but this time, the Nittany Lions got the edge in the shootout thanks to the help of Xander Lamppa and the freshmen.

Liam Souliere started the game for Penn State after Noah Grannan got the nod yesterday.

“Sometimes it’s tough being the goalie and trying to get some wins… and I think the most important part is that in this team, we believe in ourselves,” Souliere said.

Guy Gadowksy kept the lines and defensive pairings the same save for the pairing of Jimmy Dowd. Jr and Jarod Crespo.

Crespo’s former defensive partner and fellow sophomore Carter Schade was scratched.

In postgame media, Gadowsky said Schade was “day-to-day.”

Drew Bavaro got Notre Dame on the board first with just under five minutes left in the first period.

Penn State was on the powerplay three times within the first twenty minutes but couldn’t capitalize.

In the second, Danny Dzhaniyev hit the back of the net, but Irish goaltender Ryan Bischel’s helmet fell off, and the goal did not count.

“[The referee] said that once a goaltender’s chinstrap comes dislodged, it’s an automatic whistle. I disagree, but I think I’m right,” Gadowsky said.

About thirty seconds after the subsequent faceoff, Trevor Janicke put Notre Dame up 2-1. The Pegula crowd was angered and continued to let their animosity show throughout the crazy game, including hoots and hollers after an apparent missed hooking call in the third period.

Aiden Fink scored the first Penn State goal with almost two minutes gone in the third, but a Notre Dame hit on Crespo sent him flying back into Matt DiMarsico, who was down on the ice. Penn State challenged for a 10-minute major, but the call did not fly, and both teams lost their timeouts.

“It was a penalty, but once you challenge, it can only be a major… our director of ops thought that it was head-to-head, which when you saw it, I did, too,” Gadowsky said.

After Souliere was pulled, Dylan Lugris hit the equalizer with assists from Ryan Kirwan and Dzhaniyev with under a minute left to go in the game.

Like its predecessor, the contest ended in a tie, this time 2-2, then overtime and finally resulted in a shootout.

Dowd Jr. and Fink both missed the shootout goals, but Lamppa made his, giving Penn State the extra Big Ten point.

The Nittany Lions definitely played the “gritty, not pretty” Penn State way, backed up by Souliere.

“We can’t think that we need to get fancy. We’re not a fancy hockey team. We beat players by working hard,” the goalie said.

Gadowsky praised what he coined The Kid Line: DiMarsico, Reese Laubach and Fink, who each had a point tonight, on stepping up in big situations.

“That happens with not only leadership… I thought the kid line was a big part of that… they stayed calm, and they didn’t get frustrated and complain… they just kept fighting and believing.”

DiMarsico and Laubach both recorded assists on Fink’s goal in the third period.

Penn State will travel up north to play No. 12 Michigan State on Nov. 10 and 11, and then No. 4 Michigan on Nov. 17 and 18.

Adrianna Gallucci is a second-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact her, please email amg7989@psu.edu