Former Irish right wing Kyle Palmieri scored his first NHL goal with the Anaheim Ducks in his first NHL game on Wednesday night.

Kyle Palmieri Scores First NHL Goal In First NHL Game

Nov. 4, 2010

Anaheim, Calif. – Former Notre Dame right wing Kyle Palmieri wasted little time in making his presence felt in the National Hockey League. The 19-year old from Montvale, N.J., who played just one season for the Irish (2009-10), scored his first NHL goal in his first game with the Anaheim Ducks on Wednesday night.

Palmieri took a centering pass from center Bobby Ryan and fired a wrist shot past Tampa Bay goaltender Dan Ellis at 15:40 of the third period to tie that game at 2-2. The Ducks went on to win, 3-2, in overtime on a Ryan Getzlaf goal.

“It was unbelievable,” Palmieri told Adam Brady of AnaheimDucks.com. “I was so excited. The whole play seemed like it was slow developing. I saw the puck come across from Bobby (Ryan). It squirted around to my stick. He banked it off me. I didn’t have to do much. It was unbelievable.”

“It was a dream come true,” Palmieri said. “Even just being there and out on the ice, it was an honor. It’s something I’ve been dreaming about since I was a little kid playing hockey back in New Jersey.”

Palmieri was recalled to the Ducks earlier on Wednesday from their American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate – the Syracuse Crunch. In nine games with the Crunch, Palmieri had an AHL-leading seven goals and two assists for nine points. He was named the AHL player of the week for the week ending Oct. 31 after recording six goals and one assist in three games, including his first career hat trick in a 5-4 loss at Hamilton (Ont.) on Oct. 27.

A first round choice of the Ducks, 26th overall in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft, Palmieri signed a three-year entry-level contract with Anaheim on Aug. 3rd, following his freshman year at Notre Dame. With the Irish last season, Palmieri tied for the freshman lead in scoring with nine goals and seven assists for 16 points in 33 games.

The 5-11, 193-pound right wing was a member of the 2010 gold-medal winning U.S. Junior National Team that won the World Junior Championships last January in Saskatoon, Sask. He finished third on that team in scoring with a goal and eight assists for nine points in seven games.

One of four Notre Dame players to be selected in the first round of the National Hockey League Entry Draft, Palmieri is now one of four former Notre Dame players to be playing in the NHL as he joins Mark Eaton (New York Islanders), Brett Lebda `04 (Toronto Maple Leafs) and recently recalled Christian Hanson `09 with Toronto. In all there are now 25 former Irish players playing professional hockey in the minor leagues or in Europe.

Palmieri will next be in action with the Ducks on Friday, Nov. 5 when they play host to the Pittsburgh Penguins in Anaheim.