EAST LANSING, Mich. – The University of Notre Dame hockey program fell 5-2 at the hands of Michigan State Friday night in East Lansing, Michigan.
The game started off fast with both teams trading possession and shots on net in the first few minutes.
The Spartans were whistled for the first penalty of the night, boarding, at 14:08 of the game to send Notre Dame to the powerplay. Despite multiple looks on net, including a shot through traffic from Drew Bavaro, the Irish were unable to capitalize and the two teams returned to even strength.
Notre Dame was called for a hook in the final minutes of the first period and headed to their first penalty kill of the night with 1:35 to play in the stanza.
MSU peppered the Irish end with shots on their man-advantage but the Notre Dame defense buckled down to keep it scoreless.
Ryan Bischel boasted a season-best period save count of 22 in the opening period to send the Irish to the locker rooms for the first intermission still knotted 0-0.
The Irish were called for another hook just 21 seconds into the second stanza and were tasked with 22 seconds of a 5-on-3 disadvantage.
ND successfully killed their first penalty before MSU was whistled for their second infraction of the game and the two teams skated 4v4 for a short while before an Irish powerplay. At 3:07 of the second the two sides finally saw even strength play with the score still knotted 0-0.
On their 32nd shot of the night, MSU beat Bischel in net for the 1-0 tally. The Spartans drew Bischel out of the crease and a backdoor shot found the back of the open net at 5:46 of the frame.
The Irish answered moments later, dominating possession following the ensuing faceoff and evening the tally off the stick of Grant Silianoff just 79 seconds after the Spartan goal.
An Irish penalty for too many men resulted in the Spartans taking the 2-1 lead at 11:22 of the second period.
The score remained stagnant through the end of the period and the Irish skated to the locker room down by one heading into the third frame.
MSU extended their lead just 18 seconds into the final period of regulation while skating 4-on-4 to make it a 3-1 deficit for the Irish.
The Irish got one back off the stick of Hunter Strand but two more goals in favor of the home team, including one on the empty net, led to the 5-2 final.
GOALS
- Grant Silianoff opened the scoring for the Irish off a net front scramble at 7:05 of the second period to tie things up 1-1. Trevor Janicke battled for the puck along the side of the net, chipping it over to Cole Knuble at the top of the crease who passed the puck over to Silianoff, sneaking it passed an outstretched Trey Augustine in the MSU net. The Spartans challenged the call on the ice but the goal was confirmed and Silianoff had his third of the season.
- Paul Fischer sent a pass over to Knuble along the halfway to set up Hunter Strand’s powerplay tally to cut the Irish deficit to one goal at 8:22 of the third period. The goal was his second of the season and gave the junior a two-game scoring streak.
KEY STATS
- The Irish finished the night with 37 shots on goal, led by three individuals with four a piece.
- With 51 saves between the pipes Friday night, Ryan Bischel recorded his second-best save count of his career. The night was also the third 50+ save game of his career.
- Grant Silianoff and Hunter Strand each scored for the Irish in the loss while Cole Knuble, with an assist on both goals, doubled his career-point total and tallied his first multi-point game.
UP NEXT
The Irish close out the first half of the season with game two of the series with Michigan State tomorrow night, Dec. 9. Puck drop on Saturday is set for 6 p.m. on B1G+.