EAST LANSING, Mich. – The University of Notre Dame hockey team dropped a hard fought battle Saturday night at Michigan State, 3-2, to fall to 13-14-3 on the season.
It took the Irish just over five minutes to fire their first shot on net but a quick shot off the stick of Solag Bakich at 5:05 of the first led to two good looks on net but no goals.
Likewise, through seven minutes of action, the Irish defensive corp allowed just one shot on net with Ryan Bischel easily casting it aside to remain scoreless halfway through the first.
On their second shot on net, the Spartans capitalized on a four-on-three advantage to make it 1-0 with 8:17 to play in the opening frame.
Landon Slaggert tied it up moments later off a pass from Chayse Primeau at 13:14 of the first period to make it 1-1.
The Spartans took a 2-1 lead following a battle along the boards. MSU carried the puck through the far circle before centering it in front of an outstretched Bischel in net. The Spartan forward lifted the puck over the glove of Bischel for the go-ahead tally heading into the first intermission.
Despite plenty of action at either end of ice in the second, the score remained the same until Primeau tallied his second point of the night with a powerplay goal at 17:45 of the frame to knot it up 2-2.
MSU upended an Irish defenseman with 5:00 left on the clock and were sent to the box for the rest of the period. The Irish capitalized once on the five-minute major with Primeau’s tally to make it 2-2 heading into the final period of regulation.
The Irish were whistled for delay of game early in the third after a lengthy discussion by the officials and MSU scored off the ensuing powerplay to make it 3-2 just four minutes into the third period.
With 9:09 to play in the third, the Irish were called for their fourth penalty of the night. Despite successfully killing it off, Notre Dame was still in search of the game-tying goal with less than seven minutes left in the period.
In a last-ditch effort, the Irish pulled their senior netminder in favor of the extra attacker with just under two minutes to play. A valiant try by the Irish offensive side turned up empty handed though and the team fell by a 3-2 final.
GOALS
- Junior alternate captain Landon Slaggert scored his fourth of the year, skating the puck up along the boards and into the slot before ripping off a wrist shot for the 1-1 tally. Chayse Primeau fed the puck to Slaggert along the boards after picking up a pass from Zach Plucinski.
- Chayse Primeau now boasts four goals and seven points in his last six games following his goal late in the second period to even it out, 2-2. Chase Blackmun fed a pass across the blueline to Justin Janicke who skated up through the far faceoff dot before feeding the puck over to Primeau who one-timed it behind Dylan St. Cyr in the MSU crease.
KEY STATS
- With a goal and an assist Saturday night, Chayse Primeau now leads the team with 20 points. The center has seven points in his last six games, including four goals.
- Ryan Bischel made 25 saves between the pipes.
- The Irish blueliners jumped in front of seven shots as well in the contest, with three individuals blocking two shots each.
- With five shots on goal, Hunter Strand led the Irish in the category.
UP NEXT
The Irish return to Compton Family Ice Arena for the regular season home finale next weekend against Ohio State. Friday night features fan appreciation night festivities with puck drop set for 7:35 p.m. Notre Dame then closes out the regular season home slate with a 6 p.m. puck drop Saturday. Fans are asked to stay following the conclusion of game two as the team honors its 10 seniors and graduate students for their contribution to Irish hockey.