NOTRE DAME, Ind. – The University of Notre Dame hockey program bounced back after a heartbreaker Friday night to take game two against Penn State, 5-3, Saturday night. All four lines contributed goals in the victory to create the depth the Irish need.
The Nittany Lions had the Irish on their heels early as Notre Dame tried relentlessly to clear the zone, unable to hold possession much early in the contest. Despite the defensive end being riddled with shots in the first few minutes, Ryan Bischel and the defensive corp held strong to keep Penn State scoreless early.
After battling hard at the other end of the ice, the Irish gained momentum and starting generating chances of their own. After pressing the Nittany Lions in the offensive zone, a PSU defender attempted to dump the puck and cleared the zone. Chase Blackmun grabbed the loose puck and the Irish attack reset before passing it off to Nick Leivermann who skated it up ice. Finding an open Ryder Rolston, the junior fired the puck through traffic and found the opening to take a 1-0 Irish lead at 9:42 of the contest.
Shortly after their goal, the Irish were called for the first penalty of the night and their penalty kill unit was forced to carry the momentum from the goal, down a man.
As the Irish penalty expired, the Nittany Lions were whistled for an infraction of their own and ND headed to their first powerplay of the night. Neither team was able to capitalize on the man-advantage and the Irish headed to the locker room up one after one.
Both sides saw chances early but it was Penn State who eventually broke the scoreless period, beating Bischel on a rebound from the slot at 12:24 of the second stanza.
With under a minute remaining in the middle period, Tyler Carpenter blocked a pair of shots at the blue line. On his second blocked shot, the sophomore gathered the puck at his leg and skated up ice, creating a three-on-goalie situation for the Irish. Carpenter, sensing a PSU defenseman closing in, centered the puck over to his linemate Justin Janicke who fired a shot top shelf. The sequence from the sophomore tandem gave ND the 2-1 lead heading into the final period of play.
Penn State was whistled for an interference minor at 13:41 of the third period and the Irish headed back to the powerplay. Following an unsuccessful challenge from the Notre Dame bench, the Irish maintained puck possession in the offensive zone and capitalized on the man-advantage, 119 seconds into the powerplay.
The Irish extended their lead with a goal from Jack Adams at 13:58 before Landon Slaggert found the empty net at 16:17 to round out the scoring for ND Saturday night.
Penn State scored two late goals to close the gap but the Irish held off late and claimed the 5-3 win and weekend split with the Nittany Lions.
GOALS
- For the second consecutive night against Penn State, the Irish struck first with a goal from Ryder Rolston at 9:42 of the first period. Chase Blackmun chased down a dumped puck deep in the Irish defensive end and found fellow blueliner Nick Leivermann open to his right. The graduate captain juggled the puck through the neutral zone before passing the puck off to Rolston for his second goal of the weekend.
- Playing defensively, Tyler Carpenter jumped in the line of fire to block a Nittany Lion shot in the final minute of the second period. After successfully stopping the puck near the blue line, the sophomore skated up ice where he found Justin Janicke in the slot who flipped the puck top shelf to make it 2-1 Irish with 48 seconds remaining in the second period.
- Jackson Pierson net his first in an Irish sweater at 8:40 of the third period to extend the lead, 3-1. From the point, the graduate senior ripped a shot on net while the Irish were up a man. Trevor Janicke and Drew Bavaro assisted in setting up the play to give the Irish the two-goal lead halfway through the final period.
- Jack Adams found the back of the net late in the third period, picking up a pass from Justin Janicke and skating it up ice. The graduate student fired a shot into the top corner for the 4-1 tally.
- Landon Slaggert scored his second of the season, finding the empty net tally to round out the scoring for the Irish Saturday night.
KEY STATS
- With 50 shots faced in the victory, Ryan Bischel picked up a career-high 47 saves, including 19 in the final period of play.
- Always looking for scoring depth, the Irish saw goals from all four lines Saturday night as well as 11 individuals highlighting the box score. With a goal and an assist in the win, Justin Janicke was tied for the team-high in points with two. Nick Leivermann’s two assists was also a team best.
- Jackson Pierson’s goal partway through the third period was his first for the Irish. The Indiana native now boasts seven points on the season (1-6-7).
- Not normally on the defensive side of the puck, Tyler Carpenter was tied for the team-high in blocked shots with five. The sophomore also had two on one shift, the latter resulting in an odd-man rush to give ND the 2-1 lead in the waning seconds of the middle frame. Jake Boltmann also registered five blocked shots on the night, bringing his season total to 38. The Irish blocked a total of 23 shots on the night, a combined season high for the team.
- The Irish boasted a .500 success-rate on the man-advantage Saturday with Pierson’s powerplay tally at 8:40 of the third extending the Irish lead. On the penalty kill, the Irish held the visitors to just one powerplay goal on five chances.
UP NEXT
Following their holiday hiatus, Notre Dame returns home to ring in the new year with the Irish faithful. The Irish host Alaska Fairbanks Dec. 31 and Jan. 1 for a pair of 5 p.m. puck drops.