SOUTH BEND, Ind. — The home season has ended for the Notre Dame hockey program as the Irish fall to No. 3/3 Michigan State Saturday evening, 5-2.
The Spartans got on the board early in Saturday’s finale after a series of sprawling saves by Nicholas Kempf. The opening goal came at 2:25 of the opening period when a shot from the far circle went high, glove side, beating Kempf in net..
Nearly halfway through the first frame, Cole Knuble raced through the neutral zone before having his stick knocked from his hands and the Spartans were sent to the box for interference and Notre Dame saw its first powerplay opportunity of the night.
A scrum in front of Trey Augustine in the MSU net sent a skater from both sides to the box for roughing after the whistle. Neither team was able to convert during the open ice and play returned to full strength.
MSU nearly took a two-goal lead with under two minutes to play in the first period but a sliding save from Kempf in the crease kept it a 1-0 game.
The score would hold through the remainder of the period as the Irish looked to bounce back from the early Spartan goal in the second period.
It took the Irish just 32 seconds to even the score in the second period after Grant Silianoff tucked a shot under the pads of Augustine for the 1-1 score.
The Spartans got one back at 4:23 of the second period to reclaim their lead before extending their lead at 6:15 off a deflection in front of the net that beat the glove of Kempf.
A late penalty against the Irish as time wound down on the second saw them kill off 12 seconds before the end of the frame as they trailed 3-1 heading into the final period of regulation.
The score stayed stagnant through the midway point of the third period before Ryan Helliwell drew a tripping penalty deep in the defensive zone and the Irish had another shot on the powerplay.
It took the Irish just 13 seconds to convert on the man-advantage as Justin Janicke buried a one-timer from the slot to pull within one of the Spartans at 9:11 of the third period.
Shortly after the Irish goal, Notre Dame was sent to the box for a slash and were tasked with two minutes on the kill. The Spartans would convert on the man-advantage to regain the two-goal lead with 9:04 to play in regulation.
The Irish opted for the extra attacker late in the contest looking to overcome the two-goal deficit but MSU would capitalize on the open net across the ice for the 5-2 final.
GOALS
- Carter Slaggert fed a pass along the boards to Hunter Strand who centered a pass to Grant Silianoff on the doorstep. After his first whack on goal was denied, the graduate forward tucked the puck under the pads of Trey Augustine to make it a 1-1 contest less than one minute into the second stanza.
- The Irish powerplay unit continued its success streak with a goal from Justin Janicke just 13 seconds into the man-advantage halfway through the third period. After Danny Nelson won the face-off in the offensive end, it was Cole Knuble, Blake Biondi and Janicke who set up the tic-tac-toe scoring sequence.
KEY STATS
- With his third period goal Saturday, Justin Janicke extended his goal-streak to five games while he also rides a six-game point streak (5-4-9).
- With an assist on the final Irish goal of the night, Cole Knuble extended his point streak to five games and boasts 37 on the season now behind 11 goals and 26 assists.
- With 45 saves in the contest, Nicholas Kempf registered a career-best between the pipes for the Irish.
- As the final horn sounded on the regular season finale congratulatory messages played on the video board as current and former players offered messages to Catalina Family Head Hockey Coach Jeff Jackson in his final game behind the Irish bench inside Compton Family Ice Arena.
UP NEXT
The Irish will travel to Minneapolis, Minnesota next week to take on the Golden Gophers in a best of three Big Ten Quarterfinals. In their last meeting, Blake Biondi net the overtime game-winner in his home state to give the Irish the weekend split.