NOTRE DAME, Ind. – The University of Notre Dame hockey program topped No. 7/7 Ohio State in game one of the weekend series behind a two-goal performance from Landon Slaggert.
Despite even possession in the early minutes of the first, the visiting Buckeyes dominated the shots on goal margin, forcing Ryan Bischel to make a handful of big saves between the pipes.
Nearly eight minutes in, while leading the shots on goal 5-2, OSU was whistled for a bench minor and were sent to the box for two minutes.
The Irish thought they had broken the stalemate with a shot off Landon Slaggert’s stick on their first powerplay opportunity but the puck bounced off the crossbar and back into play.
Despite trailing in shots, the Irish capitalized late in the opening period off a goal from Landon Slaggert at 18:09.
The Buckeyes took another penalty with 54.4 seconds left in the period but the Irish advantage didn’t last long as they were called for a hook 28 seconds later and the first period ended four-on-four with ND up a goal.
Notre Dame took another penalty early in the second stanza but successfully killed it off before Nick Leivermann connected with Landon Slaggert on a cross-ice pass for the 2-0 lead.
A pair of coincidentals ended the second period with four-on-four play once again, with the Irish up 2-0 through 40 minutes of game time.
The Irish continued to cling to the two-goal lead halfway through the third period but a tripping call at 10:00 resulted in a Buckeye powerplay goal to snap Bischel’s shutout bid.
The two teams continued to battle to the very end, as Bischel came up with three huge saves in the waning minutes as OSU opted for the extra attacker.
As the final horn sounded, Ryan Bischel made one final save to secure the 2-1 victory and improve to 14-14-3 on the season.
GOALS
- Justin Janicke intercepted a pass at center ice, kicking the loose puck onto his stick and skated back into the offensive end. Skating up along the far boards, the sophomore dropped a pass back to Landon Slaggert in the slot who lit the lamp for the 1-0 tally.
- The Buckeyes dumped the puck in behind the Irish net where Bischel settled it. He found Nick Leivermann along the near boards who fired a cross-ice pass up to Slaggert on the breakaway to make it 2-0, Irish.
KEY STATS
- Landon Slaggert recorded his first multi-goal game of the season, recording the game-winner in the second period for his sixth tally of the year.
- Ryan Bischel posted 37 saves in goal Friday night, including 13 saves in the final period of regulation to secure the night one victory.
- The senior netminder also picked up his first point of the season with an assist on the eventual game-winner.
- In the defensive end, the Irish blocked 19 shots from reaching Bischel, led by Solag Bakich with six.
- Compton Family Ice Arena recorded its eighth consecutive shutout, and 90th since opening in 2011, as the Irish defeated OSU, 2-1, Friday night.
UP NEXT
The Irish conclude their regular season home slate Saturday night at 6 p.m. for the annual Irish Wear Green game. Fans are encouraged to wear their favorite Irish green apparel and stick around following the handshake line for a senior night recognition.