SOUTH BEND, Ind. – No. 13 Notre Dame scored twice during a 65 second span in the third period adding two more late to turn a one-goal game into a 7-2 victory over Penn State in Big Ten Conference action on Friday evening inside Compton Family Ice Arena.
The Nittany Lions fall to 14-14-1 on the year and 5-13-1-1-1-1 in Big Ten play while Notre Dame improves to 19-9-0 overall and 11-6-0-5-1-0 in conference action.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Notre Dame opened the scoring late in the first period as the Irish scored their sixth shorthanded tally of the season as Graham Slaggert skated in uncontested firing a shot over the left shoulder of Nittany Lion sophomore net-minder Liam Souliere (Brampton, Ontario) for the 1-0 lead at 18:50 of the opening frame.
- Justin Janicke doubled the lead for the hosts early in the second period as he received a stretch pass at the blueline and beat his defender at the far half-wall before lifting the puck over the blocker of Souliere for the 2-0 score at the 3:28 mark.
- Penn State cut the deficit in half as junior Connor Mcmenamin (Collegeville, Pa.) caused a turnover at the Irish line and he found classmate Connor MacEachern (Brooklin, Ontario) and the later finished past the glove of Notre Dame goaltender Ryan Bischel for the 2-1 score at 14:26 of the middle stanza.
- The Irish quickly regained the two-goal edge with a powerplay tally as Chase Blackmun fired a shot from the point that bounced off the back glass and then off Souliere's back and into the net for the 3-1 score at the 18:49 mark.
- The Nittany Lions once again pulled within a goal, 3-2, as junior Tyler Gratton (Pottstown, Pa.) snuck one in at the near post after sophomore Christian Berger's (St. Louis, Mo.) initial bid from the point bounced off the end boards at 3:47 of the third period.
- Notre Dame responded again as it was Trevor Janicke this time redirecting a pass from Adam Karashik through the five-hole of Souliere for the 4-2 score at 8:40 of the third period.
- Just 65 ticks later Hunter Strand lifted a backhanded shot over the glove of Souliere for the 5-2 lead at 9:45 of the third period.
- Landon Slaggert and Max Ellis added goals just 33 seconds apart late in the third period to account for the 7-2 final score.
GOALTENDING
Souliere drops to 4-3-1 on the year after making 23 saves in the defeat while Bischel improves to 9-4-0 after stopping 32-of-34 shots in the victory.
NOTES
- Penn State held the 34-30 edge in shots on goal but were unable to score on five powerplay chances. Notre Dame went 1-for-5 on the man-advantage.
- The seven goals allowed are the most by the Nittany Lions since a 7-1 defeat to these same Fighting Irish on March 6, 2021.
- Penn State is now just 1-11-0 this season when its opponent scores first. The Nittany Lions are also now 0-7-1 when trailing entering the third period.
- The goal for MacEachern is his 13th of the year as he is now one behind junior Kevin Wall (Penfield, N.Y.) for the team lead.
NEXT UP
Both teams return to the ice tomorrow night in South Bend to close out the season series with a 6:00 p.m. puck drop.
For more information on the 2021-22 season presented by the Penn State Bookstore: Official Bookstore of Penn State Athletics, visit the men's hockey page at GoPSUsports.com or call 1-800-NITTANY Monday-Friday from 8 a.m. – 5 p.m.