WHO: #13/13 Notre Dame (13-6-0, 6-4-0-2-1-0 B1G) at Penn State (12-8-0, 3-7-0-0-0-0 B1G)
WHEN: Friday, Jan. 7 at 7 p.m. ET // Saturday, Jan. 8 at 5 p.m. ET
WHERE: Pegula Ice Arena
WATCH: BTN Plus
LISTEN: 94.3 FM | UND.com
SETTING THE STAGE
- Notre Dame returns to Big Ten play with a weekend road series at Penn State on Friday, Jan. 7 (7 p.m. ET) and Saturday, Jan. 8 (5 p.m. ET).
- It will mark the first road games for the Fighting Irish since a pair of overtime wins at Michigan on Nov. 19-20.
- Notre Dame is coming off a series split with Niagara, including a 5-0 game two win on Sunday, Jan. 2, while Penn State most recently posted a 5-3 win at Army on Jan. 1.
- Ryan Bischel stopped all 19 shots he faced to earn his first career shutout in that win over Niagara, while Trevor Janicke and Cam Burke each had a pair of goals.
- The Fighting Irish head into the weekend fourth in the Big Ten standings with 17 points (6-4-0-2-1-0), while Penn State is seventh with eight points (3-7-0-1-0-0).
- Notre Dame is in the midst of playing seven games in the first 19 games of January, including Big Ten series at Penn State (Jan. 7-8) and at Ohio State (Jan. 14-15).
- Senior captain Jake Pivonka returned from injury to play a limited role in the Michigan State series after missing the first 15 games of the season, while last weekend’s series versus Niagara marked the first time this season the full Irish roster was available.
- Max Ellis leads the Irish with a career-best 21 points on a team-high 11 goals and 10 assists.
- Ellis’ 11 goals rank 16th in the country (tied for second in the Big Ten).
- Ellis is also tied for the NCAA lead with two shorthanded goals this season.
- Sophomore Ryder Rolston is second on the team with a career-best 17 points on six goals and a team-best 11 assists.
- With three game-winning goals, Rolston is tied for the team lead with Cam Burke (they are tied for seventh in the country and third in the Big Ten).
- All told, 15 Notre Dame players have scored so far this season, while nine players have at least 10 points on the season.
- The Irish are 9-1-0 when scoring first this season.
- Notre Dame’s penalty kill is 69-for-74 on the season (.9324), which ranks first in the NCAA.
- The Irish also have four shorthanded goals this season (Ellis 2, Cam Burke, Spencer Stastney), which is tied for the fourth-most in the country (first in the Big Ten).
- Notre Dame has made each of the last five NCAA Tournaments, the longest streak in program history, and eight of the last 11 NCAA Tournaments overall.
THE NOTRE DAME – PENN STATE SERIES
- Notre Dame has a 13-7-3 all-time record/series lead against Penn State in games played while both teams were at the NCAA DI level (ND leads 16-7-4 including games against Penn State from 1983-85).
- The teams met five times last season, with Penn State knocking the Irish out of the Big Ten Tournament with a 6-3 win on March 14 in the teams’ third-straight meeting.
- Colin Theisen and Jesse Lansdell gave Notre Dame a 2-0 lead in that game, but the Nittany Lions scored the game’s next five goals before Ryder Rolston netted his first career goal midway through the third.
- To close out the 2020-21 regular season, the Irish swept the Nittany Lions by scores of 5-2 and 7-1 (March 5-6).
- In game one, five different players scored and Lansdell had a pair of assists.
- In game two, Max Ellis had a goal and two assists, while Alex Steeves and Jake Pivonka each had a goal and an assist.
- Earlier in the 2020-21 season, the teams each won an overtime game at the Pegula Ice Arena (Jan. 28-29), with Penn State taking game one 2-1 and the Irish winning game two 3-2.
- Spencer Stasney had the overtime winner in game two for Notre Dame.
- During the 2019-20 season, the Fighting Irish went 3-1-0 against Penn State as the teams split a series at the Compton Family Ice Arena as Penn State won game one 4-2 (Dec. 13) and a 4-2 Notre Dame win on Dec. 13.
- Then at Penn State, the teams skated to a 3-3 tie in game one (Jan. 31), with Cam Burke’s shootout winner securing the extra point, and Notre Dame posted a 4-2 win in game two (Feb. 1).
- In 2018-19, the teams met five times, culminating in Notre Dame’s 3-2 win in the Big Ten Championship game on March 24, 2019.
- Spencer Stastney, Cal Burke and Cam Morrison (game winner) scored for the Irish in the championship game, while Cale Morris made 46 saves en route to earning Big Ten Tournament Most Outstanding Player honors for the second consecutive season.
- That championship game win over Penn State marked the 500th career victory for head coach Jeff Jackson.
- In 2017-18, Notre Dame was undefeated in five contests against Penn State (4-0-1) including a Big Ten Tournament semifinal victory.
- In that 2018 semifinal win at Compton Family Ice Arena, Jack Jenkins netted the game winner with 31 seconds left in regulation for a 3-2 win, propelling the Irish to the championship and sparking their “cardiac kids” run where they won five straight games by scoring the game-winner in the final minute of regulation or in overtime.
- Notre Dame’s career offensive leaders against Penn State include Max Ellis (6 GP; 3-3-6), Graham Slaggert (14 GP; 3-3-6), Jake Pivonka (14 GP; 1-5-6), Jesse Lansdell (9 GP; 2-3-5) and Spencer Stastney (14 GP; 2-3-5).
ONE-TWO PUNCH
- Fighting Irish goaltenders Ryan Bischel and Matthew Galajda are one of the top tandems in college hockey, with two of the nation’s top-10 save percentages.
- Galajda, who is 8-3-0, ranks eighth in the NCAA with a .930 mark, while Bischel, who is 5-3-0, ranks ninth with a .928 save percentage.
- In goals against average, the duo also ranks eighth and ninth, with Galajda at 1.74 and Bischel at 1.83.
- Galajda (2) and Bischel (1) have also combined for three shutouts.
SLAGGERT: Team USA X2
- Sophomore forward Landon Slaggert was named to the U.S. National Junior Team, USA Hockey announced on Dec. 16.
- The South Bend, Indiana native was named an alternate captain for Team USA and scored the game winner in Team USA’s tournament-opening 3-2 win over Slovakia (Dec. 26).
- The International Ice Hockey Federation then canceled the 2022 World Junior Championship in Edmonton and Red Deer, Alberta due to COVID-19 protocols.
- Slaggert was one of six players from the 2021 U.S. National Junior Team that won a gold medal in Edmonton.
- Slaggert became the seventh Notre Dame player to take part in two World Junior Championships.
- At last season’s World Junior Tournament, Slaggert skated in all seven games for Team USA and became the first Fighting Irish player to medal at the event since 2018 – when current Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman Andrew Peeke helped the U.S. secure the bronze in Buffalo.
- Slaggert’s gold marked the eighth medal by a Notre Dame player at the event as he also joined Anders Bjork (bronze in 2016), Mario Lucia (gold in 2013), Kyle Palmieri (gold in 2010 and bronze in 2011), Kyle Lawson (bronze in 2007) and Ben Simon (silver in 1997).
- Slaggert was the 23rd Notre Dame player to take part in the World Junior Championship and joined Palmieri (2010/11), Ian Cole (2008/09), Rob Globke (2001/02), Connor Dunlop (2000/01), Simon (1997/98) and Jack Brownschidle (1977/79) as two-time Irish participants.
ALEX STEEVES MAKES NHL DEBUT
- Former Irish forward Alex Steeves (2018-21) made his NHL debut for the Toronto Maple Leafs on Dec. 7 against Columbus (and former Notre Dame teammate Andrew Peeke) in a 5-4 Toronto win.
- Steeves, who earned Second Team All-Big Ten honors in 2020-21, became the 25th former Irish player under head coach Jeff Jackson to reach the NHL and the Notre Dame program’s 39th NHL player overall.
- Prior to Steeves, the most recent Notre Dame players to make their NHL debuts were Jordan Gross, Peeke, Jake Evans and Thomas DiPauli during the 2019-20 season.
BURKE & MORRIS INK NHL DEALS
- Former Fighting Irish All-American goaltender Cale Morris (Chicago) and former captain Cal Burke (Colorado) recently inked NHL deals and were recalled to their teams’ respective taxi squads.
- Morris, who played from 2016-20 and led the Irish to the 2018 NCAA Championship game, signed a one-year entry-level deal on Dec. 31.
- Burke, who also played from 2016-20 with the Irish, signed a one-year contract with Colorado on Dec. 16 and later was recalled to the taxi squad.
SENIORS WITH CLASS
- Forward Graham Slaggert and defenseman Spencer Stastney have been named two of the 20 candidates for the 2021-22 Senior CLASS Award®.
- The Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete, who must have notable achievements in four areas of excellence: community, classroom, character and competition. The Notre Dame hockey program consistently produces finalists for the national award, including past winners David Brown (2007) and Jake Evans (2018).
- The 20 candidates will be narrowed to ten finalists later in the season. Those ten names will then be placed on the official ballot. Ballots will be distributed through a nationwide voting system to media, coaches and fans, who will select one candidate who best exemplifies excellence in the four Cs of community, classroom, character, and competition.
- The Senior CLASS Award winner will be announced during the 2022 NCAA Men’s Frozen Four® in April.
THE BIG TEN STANDINGS
- This season, teams are awarded three points in the conference standings for a win in regulation.
- If the game is tied following regulation, both teams will receive one point, with a second point being awarded to the team that wins in either the 3-on-3 overtime period or the shootout.
- The conference standings now match a national standard: W-L-T-OTW-OTL-SOW.
— ND —