Notre Dame Hockey: Irish Take on Penn State in Big Ten Championship

The Notre Dame hockey team is heading to the Big Ten Championship Game for the second year in a row. They will face off against Penn State this Saturday night in South Bend.

The Notre Dame hockey team has been a member of the Big Ten Conference for two seasons. In both of those seasons, they have made an appearance in the conference championship game.

To earn a spot in the championship game, the Irish beat Michigan State (in two games) in the quarterfinals and Minnesota in the semifinals. Penn State defeated Michigan (in three games) in the quarterfinals, and then knocked off top-seeded Ohio State in the semifinals.

A win over Penn State on Saturday would give the Irish their second Big Ten Title in two years. It would also probably result in the other schools in the conference starting a petition to have Notre Dame kicked out of the Big Ten.

The stakes are high in Saturday’s matchup as the winner will earn an automatic bid to the NCAA Hockey Tournament. This is significant as both Notre Dame and Penn State are unlikely to earn an at-large big if they lose.

The two teams split their regular season series – each winning two games. However, the Nittany Lions outscored the Irish 20-13 in those games.

Slowing down Penn State’s offense will surely be Notre Dame’s top priority in this game. Few teams have been able to score on goalkeeper Cale Morris and the Irish like the Nittany Lions.

Morris has played very well in the Big Ten Tournament so far. In three games, he faced 80 shots and only allowed one goal. With a goalkeeper like Morris, you cannot count the Irish out in any game.