SOUTH BEND, Ind. — The University of Notre Dame hockey team fell to Lindenwood University, 3-2 Saturday night, in the first-ever meeting between the two teams.
Lindenwood was called for an early penalty after skating too many men in the neutral zone at 3:05 of the first period.
Blake Biondi nearly had the Irish on the board less than a minute into the man-advantage after he and Danny Nelson broke away for a two-on-goalie chance but his shot was gloved down by Lindenwold’s Owen Bartozkiewicz in goal and the game remained scoreless.
Shortly after the Lions’ penalty expired the Irish opened the scoring with Carter Slaggert and Hunter Strand scoring just 58 seconds apart to give Notre Dame the 2-0 lead partway through the first period.
The Irish carried the fast scoring momentum through the remainder of the period, killing off a shortened penalty, and taking the two-goal lead with them to the first intermission.
The Irish saw their lead cut in half at 8:40 of the second period after an odd-man rush in favor of the visitors wound up in the back of the Notre Dame net to make it a 2-1 game.
Ian Murphy nearly had the Irish back up by two with his shot from the far circle but the puck hit the crossbar and ricocheted back into play before Axel Kumlin ripped a rebound on net that was saved by the Lindenwood netminder to keep it a 2-1 score.
The Lions were called for interference with 6:08 left in the second frame and the Irish saw their third powerplay opportunity of the night. The man-advantage lasted all of one second before Notre Dame was called for a faceoff violation and 1:59 of four-on-four hockey would ensue.
Lindenwood scored a wraparound goal after Owen Say made the initial save between the pipes. The Lions then took the lead with 2:11 left in the second stanza after a shot bounced high and over the shoulder of Say in the crease.
With seven seconds left in the second, the Lions were called for a slash and the Irish saw a brief powerplay opportunity as the period wound down. Justin Janicke managed to get a shot on net before the horn but the Irish could not convert and headed to the locker room down by one through 40 minutes of game play.
After generating offense early in the third frame, the Irish drew a slashing penalty at 9:03 of the period for the special teams unit to return to the ice.
The Lions blocked four shots on their kill to keep the Irish off the board as Notre Dame continued searching for the equalizer with just under 10 minutes to play in regulation.
Notre Dame continued to press throughout the remainder of the third but could not break the Lions’ netminder for the 3-2 final.
GOALS
- Zach Plucinski picked up the puck in the defensive zone after the Lions chipped it into the Irish end and fed a pass up ice to Jayden Davis racing through the neutral zone. From the far hashes, Davis centered a pass to Carter Slaggert who tapped it towards net where his shot beat Owen Bartoskiewicz in goal for the 1-0 lead.
- Hunter Strand redirected a shot from Biondi out in front of the net to give the Irish the two goal lead early in the contest. Cole Knuble, who fed Biondi the puck initially, was credited with the second assist.
KEY STATS
- With the opening goal Friday, Carter Slaggert boasts two goals in as many games for his first career goal-streak. The sophomore now owns three goals on the season.
- After an assist on the second goal of the night, the team’s leader in points extended his point-streak to a career-best five games. In that stretch, the Hobey Baker nominee boasts two goals and six assists for eight points total.
UP NEXT
The two teams clash once more Saturday with the Irish looking to earn the weekend split with the Lions.