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Following last night’s 5-4 home victory against the Arizona State Sun Devils, the Irish returned to Compton Family Ice Arena for another matchup but fell to the visitors after Notre Dame’s third-period drive proved to not be enough.
First Period
Two Irish penalties in the first led to a shaky start for Notre Dame and it was the Sun Devils who put the first goal on the board about halfway into the first with a score from James Sanchez. By the end of the first period of play, the Sun Devils had outshot the Irish 12-7.
Second Period
The Irish momentum showed up in the second period of play; the Irish returned to the ice to outshoot the Sun Devils 13-9 by the end of the period. The surge materialized with Spencer Stastney’s second goal of the season about 7 minutes in, but the Sun Devils reacted with a goal from Jarrod Gourley to reclaim the lead with just less than five minutes to go in the second.
Second of the season for 2️⃣4️⃣. #GoIrish pic.twitter.com/JOdzM8FIdn
— Notre Dame Hockey (@NDHockey) January 10, 2021
Third Period
Both squads upped the aggression into the third as the awesomely named Johnny Walker snagged the Sun Devils’ third goal of the night about halfway into the period. Notre Dame’s Max Ellis responded with a quick second goal for the Fighting Irish. However, Arizona State’s Matthew Kopperud shut down the Irish momentum with two consecutive goals barely two minutes apart. Ellis came back to claim a third Irish goal, but the Sun Devils had locked it in to end it 5-3 Arizona State.
Turn around and bury it, @Maxellis91.#GoIrish pic.twitter.com/hTqYcCJic3
— Notre Dame Hockey (@NDHockey) January 10, 2021
Game Summary
Scoring
Arizona State: James Sanchez at 11:43 in the 1st with assists from Johnny Walker and Ryan O’Reilly
Notre Dame: Spencer Stastney at 06:35 in the 2nd with assists from Grant Silianoff and Michael Graham
Arizona State: Jarrod Gourley at 15:27 in the 2nd with assists from Ryan O’Reilly and Michael Mancinelli
Arizona State: Johnny Walker at 08:19 in the 3rd with an assist from Chris Grando
Notre Dame: Max Ellis at 10:51 in the 3rd with assists from Jake Pivonka and Nick Leivermann
Arizona State: Matthew Kopperud at 12:38 in the 3rd with an assist from Johnny Walker
Arizona State: Matthew Kopperud at 14:36 in the 3rd with assists from Johnny Walker and Ryan O’Reilly
Notre Dame: Max Ellis at 14:42 in the 3rd with an assist from Solag Bakich
Penalties
Notre Dame: Matt Hellickson for cross-checking at 05:45 in the 1st
Notre Dame: Jake Boltmann for hooking at 09:39 in the 1st
Notre Dame: Zach Plucinski for high sticking at 17:54 in the 1st
Arizona State: Jarrod Gourley for cross-checking at 09:16 in the 2nd
Notre Dame: Colin Theisen for contact to the head at 11:02 in the 3rd, game misconduct
Goalies
Notre Dame: Ryan Bischel, 23 saves
Arizona State: Justin Robbins 26 saves
Moving Forward
The Fighting Irish will head to Minneapolis to take on the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers on Friday, January 15 at 8 p.m. To watch the game, check out Fox Sports North Plus or stream online with Fox Sports Go.
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