NOTRE DAME, Ind. – The University of Notre Dame hockey team completed the sweep of the Northern Michigan University Wildcats Sunday evening with a 5-4 victory over the visiting team.
The Wildcats struck first with an unassisted goal at 8:14 of the first period before the Irish came back with two late goals to end the opening period up 2-1.
Ryder Rolston opened up the second period with a goal 4:41 into play to give the Irish a two-goal lead.
Nearly halfway through the second stanza, the Wildcats pulled within one again with a back door goal at 8:40 of the second period.
After two periods of play, the Irish hung to their 3-2 lead while more than doubling up the Wildcats in shots, 29-13.
The Irish continued to apply pressure in the third period, anxiously trying to stretch their lead but NMU found the equalizer at 11:40 of the period in an attempt to force overtime.
Notre Dame pressed the Irish defensive corp hard in the waning minutes, putting 18 shots on goal in the final frame. With the Wildcats whistled for a penalty with less than three minutes to play, the Irish powerplay unit went to work to break the stalemate. Drew Bavaro found what seemed to be a go-ahead goal at 17:42 of the period to make it 4-3, Irish.
With the Wildcat net empty, Jesse Lansdell capitalized with a goal of his own at 19:03 to make it 5-3 but NMU would get one more goal Sunday evening to round out the scoring and make it a 5-4 final.
GOALS
- A tough-angle shot below the right circle found twine late in the first period to even the score, 1-1. Grant Silianoff’s first goal of the season was assisted by Jesse Lansdell who gathered the puck behind the net.
- A missed pass by the Wildcats at the blue line allows Landon Slaggert to corral the loose puck and find an open Solag Bakich up-ice on the rush. The senior forward got the NMU netminder low and tapped the puck through the five-hole for the 2-1 lead.
- Ryder Rolston scored an unassisted goal at 4:41 of the second period. The junior pressed the Wildcat defensemen off the faceoff and picked the puck off at the top of the circle before firing off a shot from the slot to make it a 3-1 game.
- Drew Bavaro net his first with the Irish at 17:42 of the third with a powerplay tally to break the tie. Jackson Pierson picked up a pass from Ryder Rolston before sending it back to the point for Bavaro who ripped a shot off and into the net.
- Jesse Lansdell rounded out the ND scoring Sunday with an empty net tally. The senior’s first of the season was assisted by Bavaro and Boltmann.
KEY STATS
- The Irish picked up the sweep in their first series of the season behind 3-1 and 5-4 tallies over the Wildcats.
- Nine Irish skaters highlighted the box score for Notre Dame Sunday evening, including Lansdell, Rolston and Bavaro with a goal and assist each.
- With two points tonight, Bavaro now boasts points in each of his first four games with the Irish (1-5-6). Rolston also has at least a point in each of his first four outings of the season while leading the team in goals with three (3-3-6).
- Grant Silianoff’s first goal of the season extended his point-streak to three games (1-2-3).
- The Irish fired 47 pucks on net in Sunday night’s victory, while allowing 26.
- Trevor Janicke led the team in shots with five, followed close behind by four individuals with four a piece.
- Ryan Bischel made 22 saves between the pipes and improved to 2-1-0 on the season.
- Also on the defensive side of the puck, the Irish defenders jumped in front of 15 shots in the contest, led by Jake Boltmann with eight. Boltmann’s combined for 14 blocked shots between the two weekend tilts with the Wildcats.
UP NEXT
The Irish conclude the homestand Friday with Western Michigan as game one of the home-and-home series. Following Friday night’s 7:35 p.m. puck drop, the team travels to Kalamazoo, Michigan, to conclude the series Saturday at 6 p.m.