Notre Dame Hockey: Irish Overpower Ohio State Buckeyes in 8-1 Showing in Columbus

While the Notre Dame Fighting Irish have struggled on the penalty kill and on the power-play this season, fans saw a major turnaround from the Irish in these respects and others in this weekend’s two-game series against the Ohio State Buckeyes. On Saturday, the Irish finished out the series with an 8-1 victory against the guys in scarlet and gray.

First Period

Fans started to see Irish cohesion reminiscent of the season before last as the first period played out. The visitors from South Bend eventually more than doubled the Buckeyes’ 7 shots with 16 in the period. Following a five-minute major for Ohio State’s Evan McIntyre, the Irish got on the board with nearly five minutes left in the first with a power-play goal from Colin Theisen. Not even three minutes later, Notre Dame’s Spencer Stastney snatched another goal. Barely 30 seconds after that, Nick Leivermann found the back of the net for the Irish to close out a period that had gold and blue all over it.

Second Period

The Irish carried that rapid-fire into the second period of play with a goal from Cam Burke about ten minutes in and another from Pierce Crawford just 15 seconds later. Graham Slaggert got in on the action with another goal, his fifth of the season, about four minutes later to bring the game to 6-0 Irish. The period ended with a penalty on Ohio State’s Dylan Messina for delay of game.

Third Period

Notre Dame wasted no time capitalizing on the power-play opportunity and chalked up another point with a goal from Nick Leivermann about two minutes into the third. Things seemed to point to an Irish shutout, but Ohio State’s Kamil Sadlocha put the Buckeyes on the board with a goal about two minutes later. As the two squads got past the halfway point of the period, Solag Bakich scored to bring it to 8-1 Irish. The victory brings the Irish to 27 points in the conference standings.

Game Summary

Scoring

Notre Dame: Colin Theisen at 15:03 in the 1st with assists from Landon Slaggert and Graham Slaggert

Notre Dame: Spencer Stastney at 18:21 in the 1st with assists from Trevor Janicke and Jesse Lansdell

Notre Dame: Nick Leivermann at 18:50 in the 1st with assists from Colin Theisen and Alex Steeves

Notre Dame: Cam Burke at 09:42 in the 2nd with assists from Pierce Crawford and Ryder Rolston

Notre Dame: Pierce Crawford at 09:57 in the 2nd with assists from Cam Burke and Jake Boltmann

Notre Dame: Graham Slaggert at 16:16 in the 2nd with assists from Landon Slaggert and Alex Steeves

Notre Dame: Nick Leivermann at 01:41 in the 3rd with assists from Alex Steeves and Graham Slaggert

Ohio State: Kamil Sadlocha at 04:04 in the 3rd, unassisted

Notre Dame: Solag Bakich at 10:42 in the 3rd with assists from Pierce Crawford and Cam Burke

Penalties

Ohio State: Ryan Dickinson for hitting after whistle at 07:25 in the 1st

Notre Dame: Alex Steeves for hitting after whistle at 07:25 in the 1st

Ohio State: Evan McIntyre for checking from behind at 14:18 in the 1st, 5-minute major, game misconduct

Notre Dame: Jesse Lansdell for interference at 10:46 in the 2nd

Ohio State: Dalton Messina for delay of game at 19:49 in the 2nd

Ohio State: Gustaf Westlund for slashing at 01:15 in the 3rd

Goalies

Notre Dame: Dylan St. Cyr, 24 saves Nick Sanford, 1 save

Ohio State: Ryan Snowden, 17 saves Evan Moyse 11 saves

Moving Forward

The Irish will take on the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers on Friday, February 12 at 7:30 p.m. in South Bend. To catch the came, watch on TV With NBCSN or stream online with NBC Sports.

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