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No. 12 Irish Skate Past Penn State 7-2

Box Score (PDF) | Highlights

SOUTH BEND, Ind.  – Leading 3-1 after two periods of play, the 12th-ranked Fighting Irish hockey team added four more goals in the third to post an emphatic 7-2 win over Penn State on Friday night at Compton Family Ice Arena (4,358).

Seven different players accounted for the seven Notre Dame goals, including freshman forward Justin Janicke netting his first career goal and graduate transfer Chase Blackmun scoring his first goal in an Irish uniform. 

With Jake Boltmann leading the way with three assists, six Irish skaters had multipoint nights including Landon Slaggert (1-1-2), Trevor Janicke (1-1-2), Ryder Rolston (0-2-2), Justin Janicke (1-1-2) and Adam Karashik (0-2-2).

Notre Dame’s NCAA-leading penalty killing unit went 5-for-5 on the night and also added a shorthanded tally via Graham Slaggert. The Irish power play was 1-for-5.

In net, Ryan Bischel posted 32 saves to earn the win for Notre Dame (19-8-0, 11-6-0-5-1-0 B1G), while Liam Souliere had 23 stops for Penn State (14-14-1, 5-13-1-1-1-1 B1G). 

How It Happened 

The Irish headed to their first power play of the night midway through the first period. Spencer Stastney had back-to-back one timers on that power play, but Souliere made the saves to keep it a 0-0 game.

Graham Slaggert got the Irish on the board at 18:50 of the first when he scored a shorthanded breakaway tally, beating Souliere high to the glove side for his eighth goal of the season. Adam Karashik sprung Slaggert up the middle with a feed from the top of the defensive circle, while Landon Slaggert created the turnover Karashik was able to coral. It marked Slaggert’s first shorthanded goal of the season and the second of his career. 

Notre Dame killed off overlapping penalties to start the second, including 23 seconds of a 5-on-3 Penn State advantage. Jesse Landsell, who had been serving the first penalty, almost had a shorthanded tally of his own but Souliere pushed his attempt just wide.

Justin Janicke then scored his first career goal at 3:28 of the second to make it a 2-0 game, taking a stretch pass from Jake Boltmann, working around a defenseman along the boards and cutting in to beat Souliere high to the short side. 

After Notre Dame was unable to convert on a power-play chance, Ryan Bischel denied Ryan Kirwin on a 2-on-1 to keep it a 2-0 game midway through the second. 

But Penn State was able to make it a 2-1 game at 14:26 of the second when Connor Maceachern scored with an assist from McMenamin on a two-on-one that developed after a clearing attempt bounced off the glass and towards the center of Notre Dame’s defensive blue line. 

Chase Blackmun regained the two-goal lead for the Irish with a power play goal at 18:49 of the second. Blackmun fired a one timer off the end boards that then caromed off Souliere and over the goal line for his first goal as a member of the Fighting Irish, with the assists going to Spencer Stastney and Trevor Janicke. 

Tyler Gratton made it a 3-2 game at 3:47 of the third, putting back a rebound off the end boards for his eighth of the year following a point shot from Christian Berger.

Then Notre Dame went to work, scoring the game’s final four goals.

Trevor Janicke tipped home a Karashik feed at 8:40 for his 11th of the season and just 1:05 later Hunter Strand combined with his linemates Jack Adams and Justin Janicke to rip a backhand high for his fifth goal of the season. 

Landon Slaggert (17:56) and Max Ellis (18:29) scored 33 seconds apart for the final 7-2 scoreline, with Slaggert’s goal marking his ninth of the year and Ellis his team-best 16th. 

Notes

  • Justin Janicke scored his first career goal and added an assist for his first career multipoint game.
  • Chase Blackmun scored his first goal for Notre Dame and the 17th of his career.
  • With an assist, Spencer Stastney has now tallied a point in nine of Notre Dame’s last 10 contests (3-9-12) and has a four-game point streak (1-6-7).
  • Jake Boltmann posted a career-high three points on three assists.
  • Notre Dame’s NCAA-leading penalty kill improved to 97-for-104 on the season (.929).
  • The Fighting Irish are now 12-5-0 at Compton Family Ice Arena this season and 13-1-0 when scoring first this season.
  • Paul Cartier, organist for the New York Yankees and New York Islanders, served his first of two nights as Compton Family Ice Arena’s guest organist (also playing Saturday night against Penn State).

Next Up

  • Notre Dame and Penn State will close out their weekend series at 6 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 5 at Compton Family Ice Arena (tickets). 
  • The game will be available on Peacock.

– ND –