NOTRE DAME, Ind. — A three-goal third period propelled Notre Dame to a 5-2 win over Penn State on Friday night at Compton Family Ice Arena.
Trailing by scores of 1-0 and 2-1, the Fighting Irish used goals by Landon Slaggert, Matt Steeves, Max Ellis, Zach Plucinski and Nate Clurman to extend their unbeaten streak to four games (3-0-1).
Plucinski’s goal was the first of his career, while Grant Silianoff and Jesse Lansdell each had a pair of assists.
Dylan St. Cyr made 38 saves to earn the win for Notre Dame (13-12-2, 12-10-2 B1G), while Oskar Autio made 17 stops for Penn State (9-10-0, 7-10-0).
The Irish were 0-for-1 on the power play and the Nittany Lions were 0-for-2.
How It Happened
Penn State took a 1-0 lead at 2:41of the first when Mason Snell’s wrist shot from the point found a way through a screen in front.
Landon Slaggert then tied it up, 1-1, at 4:10 of the first period when he converted an Alex Steeves pass from just outside the goal crease. Steeves had blocked a shot at the defensive blue line to spring the odd man rush, leading to Slaggert’s eighth goal of the season.
St. Cyr denied Paul DeNaples on the doorstep with two seconds remaining in the opening frame to keep it a 1-1 game. The senior had 14 saves in the first, while PSU’s Oskar Autio had six saves.
Early in the second, St. Cyr made a breakaway stop on Penn State’s Christian Sarlo. But then Snell notched his second of the game at 10:18 with a shot off an Irish defenseman to restore the Penn State lead at 2-1.
Matt Steeves answered for the Irish just 1:33 later when his second goal of the season tied the game at 2-2. The senior winger converted a centering feed from his classmate, Pierce Crawford, with Grant Silianoff providing the second assist.
Max Ellis gave the Irish their first lead of the night at 3:24 of the third when he one-timed a Jesse Lansdell pass from the slot high past Autio for his fourth goal of the season. Matt Hellickson had the second assist on the play.
Zach Plucinski scored his first career goal at 7:29 of the third period to extend the lead to 4-2. Trevor Janicke kept a rebound alive in front after a Silianoff shot and Plucinkski was able to crash the net and put it home at the back post.
Junior captain Nate Clurman capped the scoring at 15:00 of the third when he crashed the net and forced a bouncing puck over the goal line. Lansdell originally sent a shot in from the point that bounced off Pivonka and kicked off Clurman, who was credited with his fourth goal of the season.
Notes
- Senior Matt Hellickson skated in his 144th-consecutive game, dating back to the first game of his freshman season.
- With a goal, Landon Slaggert extended his point streak to five games (3-5-8) and his goal-scoring streak to three games.
- Landon Slaggert is now second on the team with eight goals.
- With a pair of assists, Grant Silianoff posted his second multi-point game of the season/his career and his first two-assist game of the season/his career.
- With a pair of assists, Jesse Lansdell posted his second multi-point game of the season and the third of his career.
- Freshman defenseman Zach Plucinski returned to the lineup after missing eight games and scored his first career goal (it was also his first career point).
- Notre Dame improved to 10-2-1 on the season when wearing their blue uniforms (9-2-1 on the road).
- Dating back to game two at Wisconsin (Feb. 20), St. Cyr’s shutout streak was snapped at 128:08.
- St. Cyr has started 13 of Notre Dame’s last 14 games dating back to the 2-1 win at Minnesota on Jan. 16 while posting a 2.07 goals against average and a .936 save percentage during that span (7-5-1).
Next Up
- The Irish close out the regular season at 5:30 p.m. tomorrow evening with game two against Penn State (March 6).
- The game is slated for RSN distribution including SNY, NBC Sports Boston, NBC Sports Chicago, NBC Sports Philadelphia and NBC Sports Washington.
- Saturday’s game will also include a post-game ceremony to honor the team’s graduating senior class of Pierce Crawford, Matt Hellickson, Dylan St. Cyr, Nick Sanford, Matt Steeves and Colin Theisen.
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