Irish Hockey suffered a pair of 5-1 losses at home this weekend to a ranked Buckeyes squad, completing a season sweep of Notre Dame for Ohio State.
Photo by The Irish Tribune
Friday
Notre Dame got on the board first thanks to a power play goal from Blake Biondi. The forward’s tenth score of the season came 17:31 into the first period following a tripping call on the Buckeyes. Cole Knuble and Paul Fischer were credited with assists on the PPG.
Ohio State tied the game up less than a minute later after Davis Burnside beat Irish Goalie Owen Say to make it a 1-1 contest.
The Buckeyes added two goals in the second in a 2:02 span with under five minutes remaining in the period to give themselves a 3-1 lead. Ryan Gordon’s first of his two goals on the night when he got one past Say 16:42 into the period would end up being the game-winner.
In the final period, despite four power play opportunities for the Irish, they could not find the back of the net as they managed just four shots in the 6:13 with a man advantage. The Buckeyes added two goals in the final minute including an empty-netter and Gordon scored his second of the night with 26 seconds to play in the contest to secure their 5-1 win.
Key Player Stats:
Blake Biondi (ND): 1 goal on 3 shots, 1 blocked shot
Ryan Gordon (OSU): 2 goals, 1 blocked shot, +2
Key Team Stats:
Shots: OSU (32) - ND (28)
Power Play Success: ND (1-5) - OSU (0-3)
Penalty Minutes: OSU (10) - ND (6)
Faceoffs Won: ND (36) - OSU (27)
Saturday
If you just looked at the box scores from this weekend’s series you might experience deja vu considering they show the exact same results. Notre Dame scores first but Ohio State ties it up before the end of the first period, then the Buckeyes add two goals in the second, and finally two more goals in the third to put the icing on the cake for the visitors.
Danny Nelson put the Irish up 1-0 9:50 into the game when he beat the Buckeye goalie for his 11th goal of the season. Brennan Ali and Fischer earned assists on the game-opening score.
A testy first period featuring six penalties (three on each team) ended with a game-tying power play goal from the Buckeyes’ Gunnarwolfe Fontaine with under two minutes to play. The Irish were a man down following a kneeing call on Zach Plucinski.
9:37 into the second period, Ohio State’s Sam Deckhut was awarded a goal after barrelling into Irish goaltender Nicholas Kempf. After review, the officials allowed the goal and gave Deckhut a penalty for charging the goaltender. As unfair as this appeared, it was far from the only reason Notre Dame lost on Saturday.
Burnside gave the Buckeyes a 3-1 lead with 2:30 left in the second period.
In the third, Ohio State added two goals about midway through the period in a 1:58 span.
A large credit for Saturday’s win should be given to OSU goalie Logan Terness who finished with 41 saves in the 5-1 victory.
Key Player Stats:
Danny Nelson (ND): 1 goal on 9 shots
Davis Burnside (OSU): 1 goal on 3 shots, 2 assists, +2
Gunnarwolf Fontaine (OSU): 1 goal on 4 shots, 1 assist, +1
Logan Terness (OSU): 41 saves, 1 goal against
Key Team Stats:
Shots: ND (42) - OSU (30)
Power Play Success: OSU (1-2) - ND (0-3)
Penalty Minutes: OSU (12) - ND (10)
Blocked Shots: ND (13) - OSU (10)
Faceoffs Won: ND (32) - OSU (23)
Notre Dame hits the road next weekend for a series with Penn State, whom the Irish split with in early January as a part of The Frozen Confines.
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