Andrew Sturtz delivered in overtime to give Penn State a big upset win at Notre Dame.
SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Sophomore Andrew Sturtz netted his team-leading fourth goal of the season in overtime to lift Penn State past third-ranked Notre Dame 3-2 in non-conference men's ice hockey action Saturday evening from the Compton Family Ice Arena.
This marks the highest ranked team Penn State has ever defeated in the young history of the program. The win moves the Lions to 3-1-1 on the season while the Irish fall to 3-2-1.
"As a young team, we play a team like that, it's hard to close a team like that out," commented Sturtz following the game. "The big thing for us was to take that many penalties and really hold them off on the penalty kill, it's a really good sign for our team."
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Penn State started early, scoring a pure hustle goal as sophomore Alec Marsh and senior Ricky DeRosa assisted on the first goal of the season for junior James Robinson for the 1-0 lead at 4:34 of the first period.
- After absolutely dominating the first 10 minutes of the second period, the Nittany Lions were called for a hook and Jordan Gross capitalized, shooting a wrist shot through a screen to find the back of the net at 11:06 of the middle frame to tie the score 1-1.
- Junior Trevor Hamilton would use a beautiful indirect pass off the far side boards to find freshman Nate Sucese who skated into the zone on an odd-man rush through the left slot and fired glove side to beat Notre Dame net-minder Cal Petersen at 3:08 of the third for the 2-1 lead.
- Joe Wegwerth collected a loose puck in front of the crease and deposited it into the back of the net at 11:06 of the third period, once again tying the game 2-2 with the power-play goal.
- Sturtz jammed home a rebound during a scrum out front of the net for the game-winning tally at 1:20 of the extra session for the 3-2 victory.
GOALTENDERS
Freshman Peyton Jones stood tall in net once again to earn the victory and improve to 3-0-1 on the year after making 26 saves. Petersen absorbed the loss moving to 3-2-1 after stopping 30 pucks.
NOTES
- Jordan Gross's power-play goal marked the first allowed by Penn State on the season as they had killed off the previous 27 straight.
- Trevor Hamilton and freshman Denis Smirnov have each registered at least one point in their first five games as a Nittany Lion.
- Peyton Jones collected his first collegiate point earning an assist on Sturtz's overtime game-winner.
- Sucese and Sturtz are now tied for the team lead with four goals apiece.
- Penn State held the 33-28 edge in shots on goal.
- The Nittany Lions went 0-for-5 with the man-advantage while the Fighting Irish were 2-for-6.
NEXT UP
Penn State returns home for the remainder of the semester and will welcome Canisius College to Pegula Ice Arena for a pair of non-conference tilts on Friday and Saturday evening with a 7 p.m. puck drop each night.
