EAST LANSING, Mich. — The University of Notre Dame hockey team battled No. 1/1 Michigan State to a 4-2 loss Thursday night inside Munn Ice Arena. A late second period goal on the powerplay proved to be the difference maker in a tightly contested game while an empty net goal by the Spartans sealed the Irish squad’s fate.
The Spartans pressed the Irish end early but it was Notre Dame that would record the first official shot on goal as Brennan Ali and Dashel Oliver caught the Spartans on a change and raced up ice with Danny Nelson in tow.
MSU took the early lead shortly after when a shot from the slot beat Nicholas Kempf stick side to make it a 1-0 game at 3:07 of the game.
The Irish responded just over two minutes later after a face-off deep in the offensive zone was won by Pano Fimis. The initial shot from the point rang wide but Carter Slaggert outmanned a Spartan defender along the boards to set up Dashel Oliver for his first collegiate goal.
MSU was called for the first infraction of the night at 7:16 of the opening frame and the Irish saw the powerplay get to work early. Despite chances on the man-advantage, the Irish were unable to convert and play resumed at full strength just under halfway through the first frame.
The Spartans were called again, this time for hooking, at 11:06 of the first period but the powerplay was short-lived as the Irish were called for holding just 38 seconds later. Just 14 seconds after played resumed with four skaters a side, the Irish were called for holding the stick and faced a four-on-three challenge for 1:22 before killing off the remainder of the penalties down two men.
ND was successful on the kill and returned to full strength in a knotted game, 1-1, with six minutes to play in the first.
The game remained even through the final minutes of the period as the teams skated to the locker rooms in the 1-1 tie through 20 minutes played, despite a pair of chances for the Irish in the waning seconds.
MSU nearly had the Irish trailing early in the second stanza when a shot rang off the crossbar less than 60 seconds after play resumed. A hooking call on the Irish at 2:05 of the frame gave MSU another powerplay opportunity and they capitalized just 35 seconds in to make it a 2-1 game as a tic-tac-toe play beat a diving Kempf top shelf.
The Spartans were called for a hold at 4:38 of the second and the Irish powerplay unit hopped back over the boards. Cole Knuble fired a pass from Paul Fischer on net and it dinged the bar but the official emphatically waved off the goal and play continued. The Irish continued to pressure the Spartan net but play would not be frozen for over a minute, allowing for the Irish to challenge the Knuble shot. At the next stoppage, the Irish called for a review and it was determined the puck had crossed the goalline and the clock was reset to 4:44 in a 2-2 game.
The two teams skated even to the first media break of the frame where the Irish saw another powerplay chance after a roughing call behind the net sent a Spartan to the box for two minutes. A hooking call on the Irish negated the final 17 seconds of the ND powerplay opportunity and the score remained stagnant, 2-2, as both teams managed to kill off their respective penalties.
A collision in the crease midway through the second period sent Kempf to the locker room to be further evaluated and Luke Pearson took over between the pipes for the Irish. Less than a minute after taking over the Irish crease, it was Pearson who was run over and was slow to get up as the Spartans were called for roughing at 13:50 of the stanza.
The Spartans managed to kill off the minor and the game was still knotted 2-2 late in the frame before the Irish were called for a hold with 3:36 to play in the period. The Irish looked to have escaped the penalty unscathed but a shot from MSU with two ticks left on the kill beat Pearson through the five-hole and it was a 3-2 game.
Despite outshooting the Spartans through the first 40 minutes played, 28-25, the Irish headed to the locker room trailing by a goal as they prepared for the third period.
The two teams skated even in the third, with the Irish searching for the equalizer while outshooting the top-ranked Spartans, 11-3, through the first 15 minutes of the frame.
After an icing call against the Spartans sent play back into the Irish offensive end, ND called timeout to draw up their final comeback push at 17:24 of the third.
The Irish came out of the timeout with the extra attacker poised at the point leading MSU to use their timeout before play resumed. The Spartans nearly capitalized on the empty net after an errant pass deep in their zone trickled into the neutral zone but Paul Fischer stole the puck back and set the Irish offense back up in a race up ice.
MSU would eventually find the back of the empty net at 18:41 of the third to make it a 4-2 contest and send Pearson back to the Irish crease. That score would hold through the final horn as the Irish fell to the top-ranked Spartans Thursday evening.
GOALS
- Dashel Oliver evened the score 1-1 at 5:10 of the first period when his shot in the slot beat MSU’s Trey Augustine in the crease. After a face-off draw won by his classmate Pano Fimis back to Axel Kumlin at the point, who rang a shot towards net. Kumlin’s shot whistled wide and it was Carter Slaggert who gathered it along the boards, fighting off the Spartan defender before chipping the puck over to Fimis in the far circle. There, he found his linemate in Oliver alone in the slot where he buried his shot.
- The Irish powerplay unit got to work in the second period with Danny Nelson lining up at the dot to take the draw. The captain won the face-off and fed a pass back to Paul Fischer at the point who connected with Cole Knuble for a shot on net. Knuble celebrated momentarily but play continued as the official behind the net waved off the shot and the two teams would continue to skate for nearly the remainder of the penalty. A frozen puck by Augustine late on the Irish powerplay gave way for Notre Dame to challenge the Knuble shot and after a brief review it was a tie game as his shot was deemed to hit the crossbar before the back of the net and bouncing back out into the paint for play to continue.
KEY STATS
- Skating in his 100th collegiate game, Cole Knuble tied the game partway through the second period as his shot from the near circle hit the back of the net for the powerplay tally.
- With his first period lamp lighter, Dashel Oliver has his first collegiate goal with the Irish. The freshman picked up a pass from Pano Fimis, burying his first shot attempt of the night to even the score up 1-1 at 5:10 of the first.
- The Irish netminders combined for 27 saves in the contest with Kempf registering 18 stops between the pipes before missing the latter half of the game following a collision in the crease. Luke Pearson came into the game in relief of the injured starting goalie and boasted a .900 save percentage in the final 25:44 of play.
UP NEXT
The Irish and Spartans meet in their final regular season contest of the 2025-26 year Friday evening for a 6pm puck drop. The series finale is set to air on Big Ten Network.