SOUTH BEND, Ind. – Spencer Stastney setup behind the Wisconsin goal, found Trevor Janicke in front and the junior slammed home a dramatic game-winning goal with just 20 seconds remaining in regulation as seventh-ranked Notre Dame topped Wisconsin 3-2 on Saturday night at Compton Family Ice Arena (3,738) to force a deciding game three at 6 p.m. ET on Sunday night.
“A lot of guys stepped up and did some good things for us but Spencer, he’s the guy in game-winning situations you want on the ice,” head coach Jeff Jackson said about Stastney’s assist. “You hope that happens with seniors, they rise to the moment.”
Graham Slaggert, who had the second assist on the game winner, and Zach Plucinski also scored for the Irish, while Matthew Galajda made 34 saves for Notre Dame (26-10-0).
Jared Moe made 30 saves for Wisconsin (10-23-3).
In a game that featured 13 penalties, Notre Dame finished 1-for-5 on the power play, while the Badgers were 2-for-7.
How It Happened
Matthew Galajda was tested early, making a nice glove save on Brock Caufield at 1:05 of the first.
Graham Slaggert then gave the Irish an early 1-0 lead at 1:41 of the first when he scored his 11th goal of the season, which also came on the power play. Landon Slaggert took a Ryder Rolston pass below the goal line, moved to the other side of the net and found Graham Slaggert in the faceoff circle, where he took a few strides towards the goal and sent a wrister to the far side to beat Moe.
Wisconsin got a power play right after the Irish goal and Galajda made two big stops before Notre Dame was whistled for another minor. The penalty kill held though, killing off 33 seconds of a 5-on-3 and the remainder of the second 5-on-4 chance.
The teams traded another set of power-play chances before a third set resulted in four-on-four play, where the Irish extended the lead to 2-0 at 16:07 of the first. Jake Pivonka gained the offensive blue line and put the brakes on and found Zach Plucinski in the high slot. The sophomore defenseman, who missed the previous five games after sustaining an injury against the Badgers in Madison, fired a wrister low past Moe for his second goal of the season.
Wisconsin broke through with a power-play goal at 9:53 of the second when Roman Ahcan scored his fifth of the season.
After a major call against the Irish late in the second, Notre Dame opened the third looking to kill off 3:36 left on the Wisconsin power play. With 14 seconds left on that chance, Carson Bantle forced a rebound over the goal line for the Badgers to make it a 2-2 game at 3:23 of the third.
Ryder Rolston and Nick Leivermann had good chances on the next shift, but Moe made a pair of saves.
Lansdell set Stastney up with 14 minutes to play in the third but his shot against the grain flashed just wide.
Notre Dame went to work on the power play with 10:19 left in the third, forcing Moe into five saves during the two minutes but could not find a go-ahead tally.
The Irish continued to pressure as the third period wore on, including Leivermann clanging one off the post with just under three minutes left in regulation.
With under 30 seconds left in the third Graham Slaggert won a faceoff at the offensive blue line back to Stastney, who used his speed to skate behind the Wisconsin net before finding Janicke in the low slot.
Stastney and Trevor Janicke each made one more shot block at the defensive end to seal the win and force Sunday night’s game three.
Notes
- Nick Leivermann now has a four-game point streak thanks to an assist in each of Notre Dame’s last four contests (Feb. 25-pres.; 0-5-5).
- With Graham Slaggert scoring a goal, it marked the fourth consecutive game with a tally from the Landon Slaggert/Graham Slaggert/Trevor Janicke line.
- For Slaggert, it marked his 11th goal of the year, extending his career-high total, and his second power play goal in as many games.
- Trevor Janicke scored the game winner, his second in the last three games and fourth of the season.
Next Up
- Game three of the best-of-three series will take place at 6 p.m. ET on Sunday, March 6 at Compton Family Ice Arena (tickets).
- The game will also be available on BTN+.
– ND –