SOUTH BEND, Ind. – The University of Notre Dame hockey team defeated conference foe Penn State 4-1 Friday night in front of a sold out Compton Family Ice Arena.
Despite being heavily outshot in the opening period of play, the Irish took a 2-0 lead into the first intermission behind goals from Danny Nelson and Trevor Janicke.
The younger Nelson opened the scoring at 6:28 of the first period to give the Irish the 1-0 lead with a rebound tap in out front.
Notre Dame was sent to the box for a penalty for a hook late in the period and once again the Irish were tasked with the kill at 18:18 of the period.
While skating shorthanded, Nelson found Janicke on the breakaway who buried a shot in the final second to take the 2-0 lead into the intermission.
The Irish saw their first power play opportunity of the night early in the middle frame but were unable to capitalize as they held the 2-0 lead through the halfway point of the contest.
At 10:56 of the second period the Nittany Lions took advantage of a loose puck and cut the Irish lead in half.
Maddox Fleming reclaimed the team’s two goal lead less than four minutes later, firing a shot from atop the far circle, beating the PSU netminder for the 3-1 score at 14:35 of the second period.
The Irish scored the final dagger at 18:45 of regulation for the 4-2 final when Ryan Siedem fired the puck 195 feet across the ice into the empty net.
With the win, the Irish move to 12-11-2 on the season and are 6-7-2 in conference play while holding third place in the Big Ten standings.
GOALS
- Danny Nelson’s fifth goal of the season came at 6:28 of the opening period for the 1-0 score. A shot from Jake Boltmann at the blue line hit the pads of Noah Grannon in the Penn State net before the rebound sailed onto the tape of Nelson for the opening goal
- Nelson then recorded his fourth career multi-point night with the primary assist on Trevor Janicke’s goal in the final minute of the first period. A cross-ice pass from Nelson found Janicke on the breakaway, skating in alone on the goalie before firing his shot into the back of the net with just 0.6 seconds remaining
- The Irish rookies continued their successful night when Maddox Fleming scored his third of the season with a shot from the circle to give Notre Dame the 3-1 tally.
- Ryan Siedem’s second of the season sailed nearly the length of the ice before stopping dead center in the opposite net 195 feet away from its starting point. The graduate defenseman scored on the empty net at 18:45 of the third period for the final goal of the night, unassisted.
KEY STATS
- With the win, Ryan Bischel stopped 38 of 39 shots faced for a .974 save percentage. The Medina, Minnesota native stopped 17 shots in the opening frame, backstopping the Irish to the 2-0 lead after one period of play.
- The Irish blocked 22 shots on the contest. Jumping in front of Penn State’s shots the most were Jake Boltmann and Cole Knuble with four blocks each.
- With four shots on net in addition to his blocked ones, Knuble led the team in shots on goal while fellow rookie Danny Nelson led the team in points with a goal and an assist.
- Six Irish individuals highlighted the box score Friday night with four different goal scorers in the win, including Nelson, Janicke, Fleming and Siedem.
- With his two-point night, Nelson tied his previous career high.
UP NEXT
The Irish close out the month with the series finale against the Nittany Lions on Saturday at 6:05 p.m.