CHICAGO — A third period rally from the Irish set Notre Dame up for an eight-round shootout thriller at Wrigley Field Friday night against Penn State, 3-3. The Irish and Nittany Lions clashed in the historic building, officially skating away with the 3-3 tie, but it was Ryan Helliwell’s efforts in the shootout, on top of Nicholas Kempf’s play in net that ultimately clinched the second league point for the “home” Irish.
Grant Silianoff got the Irish on the board early with a home-run rebound off Jack Larrigan’s shot to give the Irish the opening tally.
The Nittany Lions would answer less than a minute later to even it up at 1-1 just over halfway through the first period.
Notre Dame fired the next four shots on goal to even the shot count but were unable to convert and the two sides continued to skate in a 1-1 stalemate.
The Irish were called for a trip at 13:19 of the first and the penalty kill unit saw its first test of the night. The special teams unit successfully killed off the infraction and returned to full strength hockey with the score knotted late.
Penn State was called for interference with 2:15 to play in the opening frame and the Irish were quick to capitalize, taking the 2-1 edge off a goal from Justin Janicke with under a minute to go.
Notre Dame carried the one-goal game into the first intermission and looked to hold onto that lead through the second 20 minutes but a late goal by the Nittany Lions evened it up as the two teams skated to their respective lockers after 40 minutes of play.
Penn State carried the momentum from their late second period goal into the third, beating Nicholas Kempf in net with 19:50 still to go in the frame.
The Irish offense refused to let up as they found themselves trailing for the first time of the night.
The Irish had their second powerplay opportunity of the game at 7:59 of the final frame but despite a few grade-A chances, Notre Dame could not find twine and continued to trail a little over halfway through the third.
Shortly after returning to five-on-five play, the Irish picked up the puck and dominated possession in the offensive end. It was Carter Slaggert who net the crucial game-tying tally at 11:02 of the third period ti keep Irish hopes alive..
Notre Dame was relentless on the attack through the remainder of the frame but could not break the PSU netminding for the elusive fourth goal.
The two teams battled but neither side could find the go-ahead tally through 60 minutes of play and overtime loomed.
In the extra session, the Irish outshot their opposition 4-2 but both goaltenders stood tall in their crease to keep it knotted late. The Irish had one last chance at the net as overtime wound down but remained tied with the Nittany Lions after 65 minutes of hockey with the teams needing a shootout to determine the extra league point.
After Penn State scored in the opening round and the Irish were stopped, Hunter Strand evened the score 1-1 with a floater over the shoulder of Arsenii Sergeev in the Penn State net. Nicholas Kempf stood his ground at the opposite end, stopping the next shot, and the six more that followed, to help the Irish clinch victory Friday night.
In the eighth round of the shootout, senior defenseman Ryan Helliwell heard his number called and hopped over the boards to make his attempt. After originally lining up on the wrong side of the puck, the blueliner skated in on net and roofed a shot, sending the water bottle in the air. With cheers erupting from the crowd and Notre Dame bench alike, it was Kempf who was tasked with one final save.
The Chicago native read the Nittany Lion attempt from the start, dropping for the save before looking behind him to confirm the results as his teammates rushed the ice.
Through 65 minutes of official stats, Kempf made 39 saves between the pipes, excluding his seven in the shootout to clinch the extra Big Ten point.
GOALS
- Zach Plucinski fed a pass across the zone to Jack Larrigan who came to a knee trying to bury a one-timer from the far circle. His shot bounced off the pads of the Arsenii Sergeev in the Penn State net. The loose puck found Grant Silianoff with a wide open net, burying it at 7:29 of the opening period.
- Cole Knuble leapt in the air to keep the puck onsides before finding Blake Biondi deep who shoveled a pass back through the slot to Justin Janicke. The senior settled the puck and skated just inside the near circle before firing a shot into the back of the net to take the 2-1 lead with 41 seconds to go in the first.
- Henry Nelson ripped a shot in from the point which was blocked out in front. Jack Larrigan and the defenseman who blocked Nelson’s original shot battled for the puck before Larrigan kicked it towards Silianoff who fed it over to Carter Slaggert alone in the circle.
KEY STATS
- Friday’s contest marked career game 100 for graduate forward Ian Murphy.
- With two points on the night, including his first assist of the season, Grant Silianoff led the team in the category.
- Carter Slaggert net his first goal of the season on a pivotal play in the third period, setting the Irish up for the shootout win after notching the game-tying tally at 11:02 of the third.
- Ryan’s Helliwell and Hunter Strand each scored in the shootout, with Nicholas Kempf picking up seven saves in the eight-round endeavor.
- With an assist on the first goal of the night, graduate defenseman Zach Plucinski tallied his first point of the year.
UP NEXT
The Irish and Nittany Lions close out the second game of the two-game series back home in Indiana Sunday night with a 5pm ET puck drop set inside Compton Family Ice Arena.