SOUTH BEND, Ind. — The University of Notre Dame hockey team fell to No. 9/11 Ohio State, 5-1, Saturday night inside a sold out Compton Family Ice Arena.
The Buckeyes were the first team sent to the penalty box Saturday night after a hooking call was drawn by Cole Knuble racing through the neutral zone. Despite registering six shots on goal during the man-advantage, the Irish were unable to convert and the game remained scoreless just under six minutes in.
The Irish spent the majority of the first 10 minutes in the offensive end, outshooting the Buckeyes 16-5 nearly halfway through the opening frame. It was Danny Nelson who got the Irish on the board at 9:50 of the first to give the home team the 1-0 lead.
After the goal, a set of roughing calls went against both squads and the two teams were forced to skate four-on-four for two minutes. Both teams managed to skate scoreless through the penalties and the Irish held the lead late in the frame but a kneeing penalty with 2:00 on the clock gave the Buckeyes the man-advantage in which they would capitalize on to tie things up with 1:11 to play as the two teams were locked in a 1-1 score through 20 minutes played.
The Buckeyes took the lead at 9:37 of the second period after a controversial collision with Nicholas Kempf in the Irish crease. The referee initially waved the shot off due to contact with Kempf but after a lengthy review it was said the contact came after the puck had crossed the goal line and the call was overturned.
Notre Dame took a cross-checking penalty shortly after and were forced to kill off another infraction successfully.
After a long shift in their own defensive end, the Irish turned the puck over along the deep boards and the Buckeyes converted to take the 3-1 lead with 2:29 to play in the second stanza.
The score would hold through the horn to end the end the second as the Irish trailed by two heading into the third period.
Brennan Ali nearly had the Irish back within one at 3:53 of the third period but a pad save kept the sophomore winger off the scoreboard. The frozen play did incite a penalty as the Buckeyes were called for roughing after the whistle and the Irish powerplay unit returned to the ice.
Ohio State extended their lead to three with a shot from the blue line with 10:56 to play in regulation, making it a 4-1 game.
The Buckeyes added another goal to their tally nearly two minutes later, making it 5-1, after a tic-tac-toe play beat Kempf at the back door.
The goal would prove to be the final of the night as the Irish fell to the ninth-ranked Buckeyes, 5-1, Saturday night.
GOALS
- After a hit along the boards deep in the offensive zone by Danny Nelson, fellow sophomores Brennan Ali and Paul Fischer combined to keep the puck onside. There, Ali fed the puck back up to Nelson who buried his shot for the 1-0 tally.
UP NEXT
The Irish kick off two weeks of road series next Friday with a tilt at Penn State, Feb. 14.
The next home series for the Irish will take place Feb. 28-March 1 as they take on Michigan State. Fans are encouraged to arrive early Friday as the team pays honor to its graduating class on Senior Night.