Penn State hockey preview: Decision-making key as Lions battle No. 13 Notre Dame

The last time it took the ice on Saturday against Ohio State, Penn State hockey made the kind of costly mistakes it had largely avoided during a recent run of improved play.

The Nittany Lions turned the puck over in their defensive zone. They made poor decisions in the neutral zone. They gave up countless odd-man rushes, and the result was a 6-0 battering from the Buckeyes.

Entering a weekend series against a 13th-ranked Notre Dame team known for its discipline and structure, these are mistakes that cannot be repeated. Puck drops in South Bend at 7:30 p.m. on Friday.

“The odd-man rushes that we gave up were extraordinarily high for us, at least in the last 13 games,” head coach Guy Gadowsky said. “The reasons for that were our turnovers, specifically in the neutral zone and in zone entries.”

Those problems, Gadowsky said, stem from conflicts in decision-making.

This team — one that Gadowsky considers to be inexperienced — improved steadily in that area up until last Saturday, when it took a considerable step back.

“We seemed to feel that we got down and we had to do different things,” Gadowsky said. “Our decision-making was based on desperation. We broke. We did things out of desperation and not based on what our training said.”

It’s an interesting psychological dynamic for the Nittany Lions. On one hand, Penn State can’t afford many — if any — slip-ups in the remaining six games of the regular season if it hopes to enter the postseason picture. As Gadowsky explained, though, emotional maturity is key, especially in transition, where players have varying levels of natural ability to process what they’re seeing.

“The better your vision is, the more important information you get on what decision you make,” Gadowsky said. “There’s some guys that want to make the decision, but can’t process all the factors around it, and they’ve just got [Options] A and B.

“There’s other guys — and I think in this sense [former Nittany Lion] Evan Barratt is a really good example. He’s not looking at just A, he’s looking at A, B, C, D, E, F, and G.”

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The Fighting Irish swept the Nittany Lions at home in early January, using a last-second overtime goal and a controversial call to get the job done.

Notre Dame sits in fourth place in the conference while Penn State enters the weekend in fifth. Nine points separate the two teams, though, and Notre Dame has two games in hand. It’s unlikely Penn State can close that gap.

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Gadowsky praised the Fighting Irish for their discipline and structure, pointing out that Notre Dame won’t give the Lions any scoring chances. Penn State will have to carve them out.

“If you don’t really work together, you’re not going to get them because they’re not going to give you anything,” he said. “That’s really the challenge with them.

“Our styles are very contrasting. Sometimes it’s interesting how the games go. I think with them specifically, it’s a matter of what team can get out and establish their game. Whichever team ends up chasing the other’s game, that’s a long night for them.”

Notre Dame owns the nation’s 11th best offense and its 11th best defense. The Irish boast the country’s best penalty kill, thwarting 92.9 percent of opposing power-play chances with five shorthanded goals.

Forward Max Ellis leads the Irish with 15 goals and 25 points. Matt Galajda and Ryan Bischel split time in goal for Notre Dame, each owning a save percentage of exactly .922.