Much at stake for Penn State men’s hockey in series against Notre Dame

Compton Family Ice Arena sits on the south side of Notre Dame’s campus and that seems appropriate this weekend.

As Penn State visits Notre Dame for a two-game series, both men’s hockey teams are just south of a spot in the national rankings with neither in the Top 25. They’re also looking up in the Big Ten Conference standings, with Notre Dame third, 12 points behind second-place Wisconsin, and Penn State sixth, 19 behind the Badgers.

More importantly, both Penn State and Notre Dame are each at least four spots out of where they need to be in the Pairwise Rankings that determine the NCAA Tournament field. The 16 best teams make the tournament and Penn State sits 20th and Notre Dame 21th entering this weekend.

So, optimistically, there’s no place to go but up — and it’ll be the people who determine what happens next with the teams’ season-long stories more than the place.

For Penn State, an honest assessment seems important. With the team’s performance to this point, it’s clear defense and goaltending are a problem. Penn State allows a conference-high 3.68 goals per game.

Additionally, Penn State’s effort has been inconsistent, with last weekend’s lackluster performance against Michigan State the most recent example. Penn State has lost four conference games in a row with its last victory coming Dec. 2 at home against Minnesota.

“We know exactly where we’re at and why,” said assistant captain and senior forward Xander Lamppa. “We’re exactly where we should be. We need to get one, if not both, of these games this weekend.”

Penn State-Notre Dame matchups often prove compelling because Penn State’s preferred fast-paced approach contrasts Notre Dame’s more measured style.

“Our games are usually very interesting,” Penn State coach Guy Gadowsky said. “You just can’t get impatient. You can’t get frustrated. You just have to stay on it, stay on it, stay on it and believe.”

Penn State (10-9-3, 2-7-3 Big Ten) at Notre Dame (11-11-2, 5-7-2)

Series: 7:30 p.m. Friday, 6 p.m. Saturday

Audio/Radio: GoPSUsports.com, 103.1 FM

Notable: Notre Dame leads the series, 19-9-5, including an 11-4-1 mark at home. … The teams deadlocked twice in early November at Penn State. Each team then won one shootout in that two-game series. … Lamppa, who’s father Brian played hockey at Notre Dame, expects about 10 family and friends to be in South Bend for the games. … Senior forward Landon Slaggert leads Notre Dame with 15 goals and 21 points … Penn State’s power play has struggled, converting just 20.5% of the time, and Notre Dame’s has been even less productive (a conference worst 17.5%)