Notre Dame Hockey: Irish Down Buckeyes, Win B1G Regular Season Title

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish hockey team took the ice Friday night against the Ohio State Buckeyes with a chance to clinch the Big Ten Regular-Season Championship. The crowd at the Compton Family Ice Arena was not disappointed, as the game was end-to-end action from the first puck drop.

The Irish opened the first period on the offensive, putting pressure on the Buckeyes from the opening faceoff. Unable to convert however, Notre Dame found themselves transitioning to defense quickly as Ohio State responded with some pressure of their own. The back and forth continued for much of the first period until the Irish broke the deadlock.

Dylan Malmquist was able to control the puck and carry it into the offensive before finding Andrew Oglevie with a cross ice feed past a sliding Buckeye defender. Oglevie was able to redirect the puck past Sean Romeo and into the open net to give the Irish the 1-0 lead. The rest of the period continued in a similar fashion until Notre Dame’s Jack Jenkins was called for slashing with only :6 seconds remaining in the period.

The second period began just as the first ended. Notre Dame was able to kill off the holdover penalty before both team traded chances early on until Notre Dame was called for another penalty. This time, the Buckeyes were able to convert on the power play and tied the game at 1. That didn’t last long, however, as Notre Dame wasted little time regaining the lead.

The Irish were able to force a turnover in the offensive zone after a failed clearing attempt from the Buckeyes. The puck eventually found its way to Jordan Gross who slotted past Romeo and gave the Irish the 2-1 lead.

The beginning of the third period saw a flurry of penalties from both teams that resulted in seperate instances of 5-on-3 and 4-on-4 hockey. As the period wore on the Irish began to play a defensive game and the Buckeyes took advantage putting a ton of pressure on Cale Morris and the rest of the Irish defense. With 2:04 remaining Ohio State pulled Romeo for the extra attacker. The Buckeyes sustained pressure for most of the remainder of the game, but were unable to find the equalizer, giving Notre Dame the 2-1 win and clinching the Big Ten Regular Season Championship in the process.

Scoring

ND - Andrew Oglevie (12) at 12:49 in the 1st from Dylan Malmquist (8) and Cal Burke (8)

OSU - Kevin Miller (4) on the PP at 6:52 in the 2nd from John Wiitala (8) and Gordi Myer (6)

ND - Jordan Gross (7) at 9:36 in the 2nd from Jake Evans (23) and Cam Morrison (12)

Goalies

ND - Cale Morris stopped 31 of 32 shots to earn the win

OSU - Sean Romeo stopped 27 of 29 shots in the loss

Penalties

OSU - Mason Jobst, 2 for slashing at 17:23 in the 1st

ND - Jack Jenkins, 2 for hooking at 19:54 in the 1st

ND - Mike O’Leary, 2 for high sticking at 5:21 in the 2nd

OSU - Matthew Weis, 2 for cross-checking at 13:55 in the 2nd

OSU - Mason Jobst, 2 for tripping at 15:06 in the 2nd

ND - Andrew Peeke, 2 for high sticking at 17:49 in the 2nd

OSU - Matt Joyaux, 2 for holding at 3:06 in the 3rd

OSU - Mason Jobst, 2 for holding at 4:41 in the 3rd

ND - Andrew Oglevie, 2 for slashing at 5:28 in the 3rd

OSU - Sasha Larocque, 2 for hooking at 6:21 in the 3rd

ND - Jordan Gross, 2 for roughing at 10:40 in the 3rd

OSU - Matt Miller, 2 for interference at 10:40 in the 3rd

ND - Jake Evans, 2 for boarding at 14:14 in the 3rd

Three Stars

1. Jordan Gross
2. Cale Morris
3. Andrew Oglevie

Up Next

The Irish close out their series with the Buckeyes on Saturday night, February 10 at 7:05. Due to the regular season championship, Notre Dame receives a bye in the Big Ten Tournament, and will host a semifinal match at Compton Family Ice Arena on Saturday March 10 followed by, should they advance, the final on Saturday March 17.