EAST LANSING, Mich. — The Irish hockey program battled for 60 minutes against No. 4/3 Michigan State on the road but could not find the late equalizer as they fell to the Spartans 4-3 Saturday.
A bit of shoving after Nicholas Kempf froze the puck in the Irish end sent a Notre Dame skater to the box at 1:27 of the opening period. The Irish were successful in their first kill of the night, limiting the Spartan offense in front of Kempf to keep the game scoreless five minutes in.
At the first media break of the evening, Kempf had made 10 saves in the Irish net to keep it a 0-0 game halfway through the opening period.
The Spartans struck first Saturday with a goal 11:45 into play after a shot on the doorstep beat Kempf high glove side.
The Irish responded well following the goal, generating offense in the Spartan end but they could not break Trey Augustine in the MSU net and continued to trail 1-0 late in the first frame.
Notre Dame was tasked with their second penalty kill of the night at 17:13 of the first period after a tripping call went against the visitors behind their net. Justin Janicke nearly had the game-tying goal while shorthanded but his shot was turned aside by the MSU netminder’s toe. As play came back into the Irish end, a Spartan interfered with an Irish skater and they were sent to the box for a few seconds of four-on-four play before the first Notre Dame powerplay of the night.
The Irish took advantage of the late man-up chance as Blake Biondi redirected a shot in front of the net for his third goal of the year to make it 1-1 with 21 seconds to play in the period. The even score did not last long however as the Spartans reclaimed their lead with 0.6 ticks left on the clock to make it 2-1 as the Irish faced the one goal deficit through 20 minutes of play.
The Spartans won the opening faceoff to start the second and peppered the Irish net with shots before beating Kempf 1:14 into the frame to extend their lead.
A Notre Dame defender was shoved during a break in play and Michigan State was called for their second infraction of the night. Despite chances the Irish were unable to convert on the powerplay but a second whistle against the Spartans gave Notre Dame seven seconds of a five-on-three edge. After nearly four minutes of powerplay opportunity for the Irish, the game returned to five-on-five with Notre Dame still trailing 3-1.
Ian Murphy’s defection in front of the net drew the Irish within one at 12:52 of the second period, sparking an offensive surge in the Spartan zone but the MSU netminder stood on his head to keep the Irish from lighting the lamp again to tie it up late in the frame.
A late goal by the Spartans saw the Irish once again down by two heading into the third period.
The Spartans were called for a penalty halfway through the third period but the Irish couldn’t convert on the powerplay and continued to trail by a pair at the final media break of the night.
With 2:30 to play in regulation, and dominating possession late, the Irish opted for the extra attacker and Kempf made his way to the bench with Notre Dame looking to erase the two-goal deficit.
The Irish capitalized on the extra attacker once with Axel Kumlin finding the back of the net to pull within a goal with 90 seconds left in regulation. Following the late Irish goal, Notre Dame once again opted to pull their netminder and peppered the Spartan net but could not convert again and the score went final, 4-3.
GOALS
- Blake Biondi scored his third of the season in the final minute of the first, redirecting a shot from Paul Fischer at the point. The first powerplay unit settled into a passing rhythm lateen the opening period before Justin Janicke circled near the far boards before sending a pass back to Fischer at the blue line who ripped a shot on net where Biondi stood, deflecting it in.
- A deflection in front of the net by Ian Murphy at 12:52 of the second drew the Irish back within one goal of the Spartans. The graduate center tipped a shot by Fischer past Augustine in the MSU crease for Fischer’s second primary assist of the night. Biondi also picked up an assist on the play having picked up the pass along the boards behind the net before finding the defenseman inside the far circle.
- Axel Kumlin scored his second goal of the season with a shot from the point while an extra attacker late Saturday. Biondi was credited with the lone assist on the goal, his third point of the day.
KEY STATS
- With three points Saturday, including a goal and two assists, Blake Biondi led the Irish on the weekend.
- Paul Fischer recorded the primary assist on the first two tallies to finish the night with the third multi-point game of his career, tying a previous best set vs. Augustana in January 2024.
UP NEXT
The Irish close out their first semester home slate next weekend when they host Minnesota, Nov. 22-23, inside Compton Family Ice Arena.
Very few tickets to the final home series of 2024 are still available and can be purchased here.