Hockey Drops Weekend Series at MSU – Notre Dame Fighting Irish – Official Athletics Site

EAST LANSING, Mich. – The University of Notre Dame hockey team dropped a hard-fought Saturday night at Michigan State, 3-2, to fall to 13-14-3 on the season.

It took the Irish just over five minutes to get their first shot on net, but a quick shot off the stick of Solag Bakich at 5:05 of the first resulted in two good looks but no goal.

Likewise, in seven minutes of action, the Irish defense allowed just one shot on net, easily deflected by Ryan Bischel to remain scoreless midway through the first period.

On their second shot on net, the Spartans took advantage of a four-on-three advantage to make it 1-0 at 8:17.

Landon Slaggert leveled the situation a moment later on a pass from Chayse Primeau at 13:14 of the first period, making the situation 1-1.

The Spartans took a 2-1 lead after a battle on the boards. MSU carried the puck through the far circle before centering it to the net in front of a stretched Bischel. The Spartan forward lifted the puck over Bischel’s glove for the winning layup heading into the first intermission.

Despite plenty of action on both ends of the ice in the second period, the score remained tied until Primeau scored his second point of the night on a power play goal at 17:45 of the frame to make it 2-2.

MSU brought down an Irish defender with 5:00 left on the clock and was sent to the box for the rest of the period. The Irish took advantage once in the five-minute major on Primeau’s layup to make it 2-2 going into the final period of regulation.

The Irish were whistled for delay of game early in the third after the officials had a lengthy discussion, and MSU scored on the ensuing power play to make it 3-2 just four minutes into the third.

With 9:09 left in the third period, the Irish received their fourth penalty of the night. Despite successfully killing it off, Notre Dame was still looking for the tying goal with less than seven minutes remaining.

In a last-ditch effort, the Irish pulled their senior netminder in favor of an extra forward just under two minutes into the game. However, a valiant effort by the Irish attacking team proved empty-handed and the team fell to the final 3-2.

GOALS

• Junior Vice Captain Landon Slaggert scored his fourth goal of the year by skating the puck up the boards and into the slot before ripping a wrist shot to make it 1-1. Chayse Primeau fed the puck to Slaggert on the boards after picking off a pass from Zach Plucinski.
• Chayse Primeau now has four goals and seven points in his last six games after scoring late in the second period to tie the game at 2-2. Chase Blackmun passed the ball across the blue line to Justin Janicke, who skated through the far post before feeding the puck to Primeau, who put it behind Dylan St. Cyr in the MSU crease.

KEY STATISTICS

• With a goal and an assist on Saturday night, Chayse Primeau now leads the team with 20 points. The center has seven points in its last six games, including four.
• Ryan Bischel made 25 saves between the pipes.
• Ireland’s blueliners also jumped in front of seven shots in the contest, with three individuals blocking two shots each.
• Hunter Strand led the Irish in the class with five shots.

NEXT

The Irish return to Compton Family Ice Arena for a regular season home opener next weekend against Ohio State. On Friday night, there will be a fan appreciation party at 19:35 at Notre Dame, after which the regular season home game ends on Saturday at 18:00. Fans are asked to stay after the second game as the team honors ten seniors and graduate students for their contributions to Irish hockey.