SOUTH BEND, Ind. – A five goal second period lifted the 13th-ranked Notre Dame Fighting Irish to an emphatic 8-2 win over rival Boston College on Wednesday night in front of a raucous student crowd at Compton Family Ice Arena (4,124).
Ryder Rolston scored his first career hat trick, while goaltender Matthew Galajda posted a career-high 40 saves as the Irish notched their highest goal total against the Eagles since the 1971-72 season.
With the win, which was the 70th of Galajda’s career, Notre Dame improved to 17-7-0 overall on the season and wrapped up its regular season non-conference schedule at 8-2-0.
Grant Silianoff also had a career night for the Irish, posting a goal and three assists for four points, while Graham Slaggert (1-2-3), Spencer Stastney (1-2-3), Trevor Janicke (1-1-2), Landon Slaggert (0-2-2) and Jesse Lansdell also had multiple points outings.
The Irish went three-for-five on the power play, while holding the Eagles to a 0-for-5 mark.
In net for Boston College, Henry Wilder got the start and made 18 stops before being relieved by Eric Dop, who made seven saves.
How It Happened
Notre Dame earned possession on the opening faceoff, but a quick takeaway led to an immediate goal by senior Marc McLauhglin for the Eagles, his 17th of the season, from Colby Ambrosio 17 seconds into the first.
The Eagles failed to convert on their first power play of the contest after the officials called Notre Dame for too many players on the ice. Just over eight minutes into the first, another Irish penalty gave BC their second man-up opportunity of the night, but the Irish again earned the kill.
Less than three minutes later, the Irish made the defensive effort pay off and knotted the score at one apiece on a Grant Silianoff goal, assisted by Nick Leivermann and Spencer Stastney. Silianoff tipped in the shot-pass from Leivermann at the far post, but it was ruled no goal on the ice. After an official review, the call was overturned and the Irish recorded their first goal of the game.
Notre Dame challenged a no-call for illegal contact on the Eagles in the final minutes of the first period. A major penalty was issued to open the second period and the Irish capitalized on their first power play of the game, as Spencer Stastney found the back of the net through the shorthanded Eagles at 54 seconds. The goal was assisted by Jesse Lansdell and Grant Silianoff.
The strong offensive effort of the second period was sparked by Ryder Rolston at 11:32 as he punched in a wrister from the right circle off the pass from Solag Bakich.
Trevor Janicke found the net next, tallying his eighth of the season less than two minutes later at the 13:11 mark off feeds from Spencer Stastney and Landon Slaggert.
A five-minute major on the Eagles at 14:55 gave the Irish an extra man advantage which preceded a Jesse Lansdell goal 15 seconds later off passes from Graham Silianoff and Chase Blackmun. Rolston added another score at 16:46, his second of the period, capping off the scoring spree and putting the Irish on top 6-1 after two periods.
Not to be outdone by the offense, goaltender Matthew Galajda held the Eagles scoreless in the period, highlighted by a breakaway stop six minutes into the second. The graduate student finished the middle 20 minutes with 13 saves.
The Eagles’ Trevor Kuntar cut into the Irish lead with his sixth goal of the year to open the final period (1:36). BC found themselves on the power play three minutes later thanks to a Notre Dame minor but were unable to take advantage of the shorthanded Irish.
Following Notre Dame’s fourth penalty kill, Graham Slaggert received a feed from his brother, Landon, and slipped the puck underneath the goaltender for his seventh goal of the season at 8:19. Janicke also assisted on the goal.
Rolston poured in his third goal of the night off a rebound from a Grant Silianoff shot at 19:42 to complete the first hat trick of his career, with Graham Slaggert earning the second assist.
Notes
- Ryder Rolston posted his first career hat trick, which was also Notre Dame’s second hat trick of the season (Max Ellis scored a hat trick at Michigan on Nov. 20).
- Matthew Galajda posted Notre Dame’s first game with at least 40 saves since Cale Morris had 45 saves at Penn State on Jan. 31, 2020.
- The Irish posted their highest goal total against the Eagles since a 14-3 win at Chicago Stadium during the 1971-72 season, a span of 42 meetings.
- It marked the first time Notre Dame scored eight goals since an 8-1 win at Ohio State on Feb. 6, 2021.
- Grant Silianoff finished with a career-high four points on a goal and three assists.
- It was the first four-point game by a Notre Dame player this season and the first since Alex Steeves had a goal and three assists in that 8-1 win at Ohio on Feb. 6, 2021.
- With a goal and two assists, Spencer Stastney tied his career high with three points (his third career three-point game).
- Stastney has three goals and five assists for eight points in Notre Dame’s seven games since Jan. 1.
- Jesse Lansdell posted his sixth-career two-point game to tie his career high.
- Trevor Janicke posted his ninth-career two-point game to tie his career high.
- Graham Slaggert posted his third-career three-point game to tie his career high.
Next Up
- Notre Dame has the Big Ten bye this weekend and will then play host to 11th-ranked Minnesota on Jan. 28-29 at Compton Family Ice Arena to open the stretch run (tickets).
- Both the Friday (7:30 p.m. ET) and Saturday (6 p.m. ET) games against the Gophers will be on Peacock.
– ND –