South Bend, IN – No. 5 (NPI/USCHO) Penn State authored one of its grittiest comebacks of the season Friday night, erasing a three-goal first-period deficit to earn a 3-3 tie against Notre Dame before claiming the extra Big Ten point in a shootout at Compton Family Ice Arena.
Junior forward Aiden Fink led the rally with two goals, continuing his climb up the program’s record book as the Nittany Lions improved to 20-9-2 overall and 12-7-2 in conference play.
Freshman standout Gavin McKenna delivered the decisive moment in the shootout, scoring the lone goal of the three-round session, while goaltender Josh Fleming denied all three Irish attempts to seal the 1-0 shootout victory.
Notre Dame struck early and often in the opening period, putting Penn State on its heels. Dashel Oliver opened the scoring just over five minutes in, redirecting a point shot past Fleming at the top of the crease. The Irish then capitalized on a costly turnover midway through the period when Will Belle skated in alone and beat Fleming with a glove-side finish. Only 28 seconds later, Cole Knuble buried a wrist shot from the right circle to give Notre Dame a commanding 3-0 lead.
Penn State finally found life late in the first period. Junior Mac Gadowsky made a heads-up play to keep the puck in the offensive zone before feeding freshman Shea Van Olm, who snapped a shot inside the far post to cut the deficit to 3-1 with just over a minute remaining in the frame.
The Nittany Lions carried that momentum into the second period and continued to chip away. With under a minute left before intermission, McKenna threaded a pass to Fink, who fired a shot through traffic and under the crossbar to bring Penn State within one. The assist for McKenna broke Fink’s single season assist record.
Fink completed the comeback early in the third period with a highlight-reel effort. After stealing the puck at his own blue line, he skated end-to-end and slipped a shot through the five-hole of Notre Dame goaltender Nicholas Kempf to tie the game at 3-3.
Add Nittany Sports Now as a preferred source in Google! Click here to add us.Penn State dominated the overtime session, outshooting the Irish 7-0, but could not find the winner before the horn. That set the stage for the shootout heroics. McKenna scored on Penn State’s first attempt, and Fleming shut the door the rest of the way to secure the additional conference point.
Fleming finished with 33 saves, including 26 consecutive stops after the first period, to improve to 9-4-2 on the season. Kempf made 25 saves for Notre Dame, which fell to 6-22-5 overall and 2-17-2 in Big Ten play.
Beyond the dramatic finish, the night carried historical significance for Fink. His two goals pushed his career total to 46, moving him into seventh place on Penn State’s all-time list, while his 118 career points now rank tied for fourth in program history.
With the two points earned, Penn State also locked up at least the No. 3 seed in the upcoming Big Ten Tournament and moved within one point of the program’s single-season conference record.
The teams will meet again Saturday night in South Bend to conclude the regular-season series, with Penn State seeking to carry its late-game resilience into the postseason.
