Coach Jackson Postgame Press Conference
NOTRE DAME, Ind. — Three different Irish found the back of the net and Dylan St. Cyr earned a 20-save shutout as No. 15 Notre Dame earned a 3-0 victory over No. 14 Ohio State on Saturday night inside Compton Family Ice Arena.
Graham Slaggert, Michael Graham and Alex Steeves tallied goals for the Irish. Slaggert added an assist for a multi-point outing while Trevor Janicke and Nick Leivermann also collected assists.
Notre Dame (4-3-0, 3-2-0-0-0-0 B1G) and Ohio State (2-5-0, 2-5-0-0-1-0 B1G) each went 0-for-3 on the power play.
Netminder Tommy Nappier stopped 19 shots for the Buckeyes before Ryan Snowden made six saves in relief.
How It Happened
Each team had an abbreviated power play in the middle of the opening period, but neither could convert. The contest remained scoreless after a tight first period, with the Irish holding a slight 5-3 advantage in shots on goal.
Play opened up in the second stanza, and Graham Slaggert opened the scoring for the Irish 9:22 into the period. The play began when Trevor Janicke took a feed in the slot from Nick Leivermann. Janicke found Slaggert just to the left of the crease, and the junior buried it past Nappier for his second goal of the season.
The Irish killed off a tripping penalty late in the period to hold onto the one-goal advantage after 40 minutes.
Notre Dame’s penalty kill had to go back to work at the 3:15 mark of the third period and stayed in front thanks to a trio of stops by St. Cyr with the Buckeyes on the man advantage.
Graham doubled the Irish lead with an unassisted goal 7:13 into the third frame. After forcing a turnover in the Irish zone, Graham rushed down the ice and beat Nappier blocker-side for his first marker of the season.
Just 2:05 later, Alex Steeves put the Irish up 3-0 with his third goal in four games. After a faceoff win by Slaggert, Steeves corralled the puck and lifted a backhand past Nappier for his third of the season.
Notes
- Seniors Matt Hellickson and Colin Theisen skated in their 124th consecutive games, dating back to the first game of their freshman season.
- With an assist tonight, Nick Leivermann matched his career-long point streak to three games (1-3-4)
- Dylan St. Cyr earned the third shutout of his career with 20 saves.
- Michael Graham scored his first of the season, giving the Irish 12 different goal scorers this season.
- With a goal and assist tonight, Graham Slaggert earned his first multi-point game of the season and second of his career.
- Graham Slaggert has collected a point in four of the last five games dating back to Nov. 27 at Michigan.
- Earlier today, freshman forward Landon Slaggert was named to the 2021 U.S. National Junior Team that will compete in the upcoming 2021 IIHF World Junior Championship.
Next Up
- The Fighting Irish and Buckeyes close out their weekend series on Sunday (Dec. 13) at 5 p.m. ET inside Compton Family Ice Arena.
- That contest will be nationally televised on NBCSN and streamed via the NBC Sports App.
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