#18 Irish & #9 Buckeyes Skate To 4-4 Tie

Alex Steeves leads Irish with two goals, Irish earn second B1G point

COLUMBUS, Ohio Alex Steeves (two goals) and Graham Slaggert (a goal and an assist) each posted two points as #18 Notre Dame skated to a 4-4 tie at ninth-ranked Ohio State on Friday night inside Value City Arena (7,507).

After neither side could convert in the five-on-five or three-on-three overtime, Slaggert scored in the sixth round of the shootout to give the Irish a second Big Ten point.

Cale Morris finished with 27 saves for Notre Dame, while Ryan Snowden stopped 14 shots in goal for Ohio State.

The Irish (10-9-4, 5-5-3-2) converted on their lone power-play opportunity, while Ohio State (14-6-3, 7-4-2-0) went 1-for-3 on the power play.

How It Happened

Michael Graham had the game’s first scoring chance when he worked his way into the slot off an indirect feed from Cal Burke and got a wrist shot off but Graham’s effort was gloved aside by Ryan Snowden four minutes into the contest.

Ohio State’s best chance of the first period came down low off the stick of Carson Meyer, but Cale Morris made back-to-back stops on the senior winger. 

With Jesse Lansdell and Alex Steeves applying pressure on the forecheck, Ohio State was unable to clear the zone and Steeves gained control of the puck, cut towards the Buckeye goal and fired a wrist shot low past Snowden for his seventh goal of the season at 15:58 of the first.

The Irish took that 1-0 lead to the locker room, but Ohio State had 1:13 left on a power-play opportunity to start the second as Notre Dame was called for the game’s first two penalties. 

In the second, a couple Morris saves and good work by the Irish defense killed off the rest of Ohio State’s second power-play chance.

Morris stopped Tanner Laczynski on a two-on-one rush to keep the Buckeyes scoreless just over five minutes into the middle frame.

Steeves’ second of the night, this one on the power play, doubled Notre Dame’s advantage just over the halfway mark of the period. Steeves took a feed from Spencer Stastney just above the right circle, and fired a wrist shot that trickled past Snowden for the goal. Michael Graham also picked up an assist on the play.

Just over two minutes later, Colin Theisen extended the Irish lead to 3-0 with his fifth goal of the season. Cal Burke sent a cross-ice pass on the doorstep to Theisen, who out-waited Snowden and lifted the puck over his glove for the tally.

The Buckeyes appeared to have made it a 3-1 contest late in the period, but the goal was disallowed due to an Ohio State player’s presence in the crease. 

With time winding down in the second, Steeves had a breakaway chance but Snowden made the save.

Morris stopped all 11 shots he faced in the second period as the Irish held the three-goal lead into the second intermission.

Ohio State got on the board at 11:59 of the third when Gordi Myer’s one-timer from the top of the circle beat Morris high. 

The Buckeyes then made it a 3-2 game less than two minutes later when Austin Pooley knocked in a rebound after a shot from Matthew Jennings.

The Irish answered when Slaggert tipped in a Matt Hellickson shot from the point to make it a 4-2 contest with 3:43 left in regulation.

But the Buckeyes, aided by a late power play and pulled goaltender, were eventually able to tie the contest at 4-4 with goals from Quinn Preston (18:23) and Gustaf Westlund (18:55). The markers came 32 seconds apart in the final two minutes of the period.

After a pair of scoreless overtimes, Slaggert beat Snowden blocker side in the sixth round of the sudden death shootout to secure a second Big Ten point for Notre Dame.

Up Next

  • Notre Dame and Ohio State will close out their regular season series on Saturday evening at 5 p.m. ET (BTN+). 

Notes

  • Sophomore Alex Steeves scored his seventh and eighth goals of the season, surpassing his freshman season total of seven. 
  • Steeves now has six goals and three assists for nine points over the last eight games.
  • Steeves posted his fourth multi-point game of the season and the sixth of his career. 
  • Colin Theisen scored his first goal in 10 games (Nov. 16 at Wisconsin).
  • Notre Dame is 6-0-2 when leading after two periods this season.
  • The Fighting Irish are 26-0-2 when scoring at least three goals over the last two seasons.
  • The Notre Dame – Ohio State series remains tied at 37-37-11 all time. 

—ND—