WHO: Notre Dame (8-9-1, 6-7-1-1-2-1 B1G) at Ohio State (5-12-1, 5-11-0-0-1-0 B1G)
WHEN: Friday, Feb. 5 – 4:30 p.m. ET | Saturday, Feb. 6 – 1:30 p.m. ET
WHERE: Value City Arena, Columbus, Ohio
WATCH: Friday & Saturday – BTN
LISTEN: 94.3 FM | UND.com
GAME NOTES (PDF)
FOR STARTERS
- The Fighting Irish continue a stretch of eight of 10 games on the road this weekend with a two-game series at Ohio State on Friday, Feb. 5 and Saturday Feb. 6.
- Notre Dame is 5-1-0 on the road this season, including series sweeps at then third-ranked Michigan (Nov. 27-28) and at then first-ranked Minnesota (Jan. 15-16).
- The Irish penalty kill is 12-for-12 on the road this season as well.
- Notre Dame is coming off a series split at Penn State in which the Nittany Lions took game one 2-1 in overtime (Jan. 28), while the Irish rallied to take game two 3-2 in overtime (Jan. 29).
- Colin Theisen had the third period, game-tying goal while Spencer Stastney had the overtime game winner.
- Last weekend (Jan. 28-29), Ohio State was swept at home by Minnesota by scores of 5-1 and 5-2 with Tommy Nappier (game one) and Evan Moyse (game two) splitting the starts in the Buckeye goal.
- Notre Dame (21 points) and Ohio State (16 points) sit in fourth and sixth, respectively in the Big Ten standings heading into this weekend’s series.
- Since joining the Big Ten, the series has been evenly played with Notre Dame holding the slight edge, 8-6-1 (the teams split a weekend series earlier this season/see series history note).
- Notre Dame’s eight game-winning goals this season have been scored by seven players: Jesse Lansdell, Alex Steeves, Grant Silianoff, Graham Slaggert (2), Nick Leivermann, Max Ellis and Spencer Stastney.
- Fighting Irish leading scorer Alex Steeves (9-6-15) has at least one point in 13 of Notre Dame’s 18 games and he has a three-game goal scoring streak (3-0-3).
- Graham Slaggert has a three-game point streak (0-3-3)
THE NOTRE DAME-OHIO STATE SERIES
- Ohio State owns a 39-38-11 edge in the all-time series after splitting a weekend series at the Compton Family Ice Arena earlier this season (Dec. 12-13).
- The Fighting Irish took game one of that series 3-0 behind goals from Graham Slaggert, Michael Graham and Alex Steeves.
- Ohio State rallied to post a 3-2 game two victory, despite Irish goals from Nate Clurman and Steeves.
- Dylan St. Cyr played both games in the Notre Dame net, stopping 38 of the 41 shots he faced for a .927 save percentage and the game one victory marked his third career shutout.
- Notre Dame went 2-1-1 against the Buckeyes last season, including a home sweep of Ohio State on Nov. 8-9, 2019 inside Compton Family Ice Arena.
- In that home sweep over then #8 Ohio State, the Irish took game one in overtime, 3-2, before earning a 2-1 victory in game two.
- Pierce Crawford provided the OT game winner in game one while then-freshman Solag Bakich scored his first career goal in that contest.
STEEVES ON HOBEY WATCH
- Junior forward Alex Steeves has been selected to Phase One of the Hobey Baker Award’s fan ballot (www.hobeybaker.com).
- Steeves has scored nine goals and added six assists for 15 points in 18 contests this season for the Irish, including a six-game point streak from Dec. 4 – Jan. 9. Steeves’ nine markers lead the team and are currently tied for the third most in the Big Ten.
- The Eden Prairie, Minnesota, native has earned at least one point in 13 of 18 games in the 2020-21 campaign.
- The Fan Balloting (Phase I) of the Hobey Baker award calendar will continue until March 7. On March 17, the Top 10 Finalists will be announced, at which time Phase II Fan Balloting will begin and run through March 28, 2021.
- The Hobey Hat Trick Finalist Announcement will be made on April 1.
- The 2021 Hobey Baker Award winner will be announced from a field of three Hobey Hat Trick finalists on Friday, April 9, 2021 during the NCAA Frozen Four Championship in Pittsburgh.
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