Last-minute goal sends Notre Dame hockey to Big Ten Championship

NOTRE DAME, Ind. - In their first season as members of the Big Ten, the Irish will have a chance to sweep conference titles.

The regular season champs earned a first-round bye in the Big Ten Tournament, and kicked off their postseason run with a dramatic win.

"I've said it all season long, it's been about our goaltending, our defensive core, and our forwards with timely scoring and that's what it was tonight. It was a combination of those three things that allowed us to win the game."

Jack Jenkins was the hero, scoring a game-winning goal with 30 seconds left to beat Penn State 3-2 in Saturday's semifinal matchup.

"I thought I was going to score on the initial shot, but the guy blocked it," said Jenkins. "Luckily it came back to me, and I just tried to put it on net. Fortunately it went in."

Notre Dame now meets Ohio State in the Big Ten title game. Puck is set to drop at 8 p.m. next Saturday at Compton.