Notre Dame’s Mike O’Leary delivered yet another gut punch in a season full of them for Penn State and its fans.

With the puck lying near the top of the crease, O’Leary extended his stick around Penn State goalie Peyton Jones and tapped it into the back of the net to give the Fighting Irish an overtime victory.

It was the fourth-straight Notre Dame goal in a game the Nittany Lions once led 4-1. That it came as the result of an extremely questionable game misconduct call on Nikita Pavlychev made it extra painful for the Penn State faithful.

But the reality is that it’s nothing new. Penn State has seen that kind of ending before. And they’ll likely see it again, and again, and again.

Because this, after all, is the penance the Nittany Lions give in order to play their high-flying style. It’s the price they pay for an offense that leads the nation in goals per game. It’s the cost of building a program that, less than seven years in, has become one of the most entertaining athletic products on Penn State’s campus.

In other words, all of these blown leads are like the snow hampering a climber who’s gone up the mountain a little bit more quickly than they bargained for. And as Penn State nears the summit, don’t expect that snow to stop.