SOUTH BEND, Ind. - Notre Dame closed out the preseason portion of its schedule on Saturday with a 2-1 overtime win over the University of Toronto inside Compton Family Ice Arena.
Paul Fischer played the role of the hero, scoring the game winner in the first minute of overtime off the assist from Sammy Nelson on the power play.
Cole Brown also played a pivotal role in the comeback victory, leveling the game in the final four minutes of regulation to send it to overtime.
Patrick Quinlan impressed in his first taste of play at the collegiate level, finishing with 27 saves while allowing just one goal to get the win.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Fighting Irish created the majority of shots in the early stages of play but a giveaway in their own defensive zone led to the first goal of the game, scored by Toronto’s Ryan Evenhuis to give the visitors a 1-0 lead at the 7:52 mark of the first period.
With fewer than seven minutes left in the opening period the Irish were whistled for a major but the penalty kill unit performed admirably, allowing just four shots and allowing no goals and keeping the deficit to just one at the end of the first 20 minutes of play.
The Notre Dame offense continued to put pressure on the Toronto goalie in the second period but were unable to produce the equalizer despite multiple great chances. The Irish outshot the Varsity Blues 12-9 in the second period.
All the Irish chances finally paid off in the final four minutes of the third period. The freshman defenseman Danny Klaers connected with Brown, who was camped out on the backside of the crease, to tie the game at 1-1 and force the overtime session.
Notre Dame began the extra period on the power play with a 4-on-3 advantage and wasted little time cashing in on the opportunity. Sammy Nelson found Fischer just inside the zone and the senior found free space from the top of the slot and fired his shot into the back of the net to deliver the Irish the win.
UP NEXT
Notre Dame opens the regular season with a home series against Niagara on Thursday, Oct. 8 and Friday, Oct. 9 with each game starting at 7 p.m. ET inside Compton Family Ice Arena. The games will be streamed on Peacock and fans can purchase tickets for the game here.