COLUMBUS, Ohio — Matt Steeves scored and the #18 Irish outshot ninth-ranked Ohio State 29-16, but Notre Dame dropped a 2-1 decision on Saturday evening inside Value City Arena ().
Cale Morris finished with 14 saves for Notre Dame (10-10-4, 5-6-3-2) while Ryan Snowden stopped 28 shots for Ohio State (15-6-3, 8-4-2-0).
The Buckeyes were 1-for-3 on the power play, while the visitors did not get a power-play opportunity.
How It Happened
After neither team could get much going offensively in the first 10 minutes of the game, Notre Dame went to work cycling down low. Spencer Stastney eventually worked the puck from the far circle back to Matt Steeves in the high slot. The junior winger let a wrist shot fly that beat Snowden at 11:31 of the first for a 1-0 Irish lead with Stastney and Pierce Crawford earning assists on the play.
Ohio State answered at 15:33 of the first when Tanner Laczynski sent a pass from below the goal line to Quinn Preston in the slot, who sent a shot low past Morris for his ninth goal of the season.
The game remained tied 1-1 at the first intermission, with each goaltender stopping two of three shots faced in the opening stanza.
Cale Morris opened the second by making a sprawling left pad save on Tate Singleton. But then at 1:42 of the period the Buckeyes took a 2-1 lead on a Gustaf Westlund power-play goal following a tough interference call against the Irish.
Alex Steeves had three straight chances down low just over five minutes into the second as the Irish looked to tie things up but Snowden made the saves.
Notre Dame was forced to kill off another Ohio State power play midway through the second, which ended with Morris getting across his crease to make a pad save on Singleton and then reaching back to poke the puck away from the far post.
Notre Dame killed off the third Ohio State power play near the end of the second and Ohio State took a 2-1 lead to the locker room after 40 minutes.
In the third, Alex Steeves and Colin Theisen had early chances early but Snowden made two more saves.
Midway through the third, Jesse Landsell and Cal Burke had back-to-back point blank chances but Snowden fought them off. The Irish maintained possession after the save on Burke and Nate Clurman’s ensuing bid hit the post and was cleared off the goal line by a Buckeye defenseman.
The Irish had the majority of the puck possession the rest of the way and pulled Morris with 1:33 left in the third, but the Buckeyes held on for a 2-1 win.
Up Next
- Notre Dame returns home next weekend (Jan. 24-25) to play host to Wisconsin for a weekend series at Compton Family Ice Arena (Tickets).
- Game one will begin at 7 p.m. while game two will feature a 6 p.m. puck drop and both games will be televised by NBC Sports Chicago+ and NBC Sports Philadelphia+.
- New York Islanders’ organist Paul Cartier will serve as the guest organist for the weekend and Friday’s game will feature a “90’s Night” theme throughout the venue and game presentation.
Notes
- Junior Matt Steeves scored his first goal of the season and his first since March 1, 2019 vs. Penn State.
- On Steeves’ goal, Pierce Crawford recorded his first assist of the season.
- The Fighting Irish held the Buckeyes to 11 shots on goal when playing at even strength.
- Ohio State now narrowly leads the all-time series with Notre Dame, 38-37-11.
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