Irish Hockey outlasted the Penn State Nittany Lions in below-freezing temperatures at Wrigley Field in an eight-round shootout in a game between two programs amidst disappointing campaigns. We recap the thrilling contest below:
Photo by The Irish Tribune
Both teams’ offenses and goalies were on display all night.
Notre Dame got on the board first, about seven and a half minutes into the game. Forward Grant Silianoff connected on his second goal of the year off a rebound opportunity assisted by forward Jack Larrigan and defenseman Zach Plucinski, the defender’s first point of the season, to give the Irish a 1-0 lead.
Penn State responded less than a minute later when the Lions’ Tyler Paquette wristed a shot right past Irish goalie Nicholas Kempf to tie the game at 1-1.
With under a minute remaining in the period and with less than 30 seconds on a power play opportunity thanks to a Penn State interference call, Irish forward Justin Janicke put Notre Dame back on top 2-1. Forwards Blake Biondi and Cole Knuble were credited with assists on Janicke’s sixth goal of the year. A heads-up play by Knuble to catch the puck mid-air ultimately led to this one-goal advantage heading into the second period.
The second frame was a highly defensive, quick-moving period. It was not until about 30 seconds remaining that Penn State’s Matt DiMarsico found the back of the net to tie the game at two heading into the final period. Both teams combined for just 19 shots and the Irish were able to kill the lone penalty during the second.
The Nittany Lions continued their offensive burst just ten seconds into the final period when Aidan Fink added his ninth goal of the season to give his squad a 3-2 lead.
About eleven minutes into the period, the Irish tied it back up 3-3 when forward Carter Slaggert scored his first goal of the season thanks to assists from Silianoff and Larrigan.
Both goalies played extremely well after this, combining for 30 saves in the final period to force an overtime period. Notre Dame played well in the five-minute extra time, outshooting the Lions 4-2, but this was not enough as the game needed a shootout to determine a winner.
In the shootout, after allowing one goal in the first round, Kempf recorded seven consecutive saves to keep the Irish alive. Notre Dame forward Hunter Strand tied the shootout at one in the second round and no goals were scored after this until the eighth round. Defenseman Ryan Helliwell netted the eventual game-winner with a couple of fakes to send the Irish home happy.
These two teams will see each other tomorrow, Sunday, in South Bend to complete this weekend set.
Key Player Stats:
Arsenii Sergeev (PSU): 43 saves, 3 goals against
Nicholas Kempf (ND): 39 saves, 3 goals against
Grant Silianoff (ND): 1 goal on 3 shots, 1 assist, 1 blocked shot, +2
Aiden Fink (PSU): 1 goal on 2 shots, 1 assist, +2
Key Team Stats:
Shots: ND (46) - PSU (42)
Power Play Success: ND (1-2) - PSU (0-2)
Faceoffs Won: PSU (45) - ND (33)
Click to Join! - https://www.facebook.com/groups/legionoftheleprechaun
Comments