Notre Dame will head to Pennsylvania for a road series Jan. 31 and Feb. 1 against Penn State, one of the first-place teams in the Big Ten heading into the weekend. The Irish (11-11-4, 6-7-3-2) are coming off a stretch in which 20 days went by between wins. They split a December series with the Nittany Lions (17-8-1, 9-6-1-0) in South Bend.
Alex Steeves has been a player to watch since the Irish returned from winter break. In eight games, Steeves has five goals and five assists. His 10 points are the most in the Big Ten since Jan. 3, and they tie for the fourth most in the country.
With the Irish sitting fourth in the Big Ten, this could be a key weekend to determine seeding in the conference tournament. The top seed receives a first-round bye, while the second, third and fourth seeds host best-of-three quarterfinal series. With a month left in the regular season and the Irish five points out of first place in the conference, now is the time for them to make their move.