Notre Dame Hockey: Irish Trounce Boston College, 8-2

It was a rare Wednesday night puck drop at Compton Family Ice Arena when the no. 13 Notre Dame Fighting Irish played their final non-conference game of the season against the Boston College Eagles. The odd timing of the game was due to the fact that COVID-19 protocols forced the Eagles to postpone from the initial scheduled date of November 26th.

First Period

Boston College entered the evening with three straight defeats to start 2022, but wasted no time getting out in front early. Just 17 seconds in, Marc McLaughlin buried one past Matthew Galajda to make it 1-0 in a period that saw the Eagles registered eight of the first nine shots. However, the momentum would shift when the Irish killed off two penalties, followed by a Grant Silianoff redirect that tied the game after a review by the officials.

Second Period

The middle frame started with the Irish unexpectedly given a five-minute power-play due to the review of a play near the end of the first. Matt Argentina was retroactively called for contact to the head and given a game misconduct. 54 seconds into the non-expiring major penalty, Spencer Stastney gave the Irish a 2-1 lead. This would set the tone for the rest of the contest.

Near the midway point of the period, Ryder Rolston and Trevor Janicke each got goals of their own to extend the lead. After a whistle with just under five minutes to go in the period, Nikita Nesterenko took down Jesse Landsdell from behind, giving BC their second five-minute major and game misconduct. Just sixteen seconds into the power-play, Landsdell got in on the scoring. A minute and fifteen seconds later, on the same power-play, Rolston got his second of the night to make it 6-1

Third Period

A goal from Trevor Kuntar shrunk the Irish lead to 6-2, but it was too little too late, as Graham Slaggert and Rolston added to Notre Dame’s lead in the final minutes. The latter completed the first hat trick of his college career with his third period goal. Rolston, the Chicago Blackhawks prospect, now has nine goals on the season. Matthew Galajda was also incredible between the pipes for Notre Dame. The grad transfer stopped 40 of 42 shots en route to an 8-2 victory.

Game Summary

Scoring

Boston College: Marc McLaughlin at 00:17 in the 1st, assisted by Colby Ambrosio

Notre Dame: Grant Silianoff at 12:02 in the 1st, assisted by Nick Leivermann and Spencer Stastney

Notre Dame: Spencer Stastney (PPG) at 00:54 in the 2nd, assisted by Jesse Landsdell and Grant Silianoff

Notre Dame: Ryder Rolston at 11:33 in the 2nd, assisted by Solag Bakich

Notre Dame: Trevor Janicke at 13:11 in the 2nd, assisted by Spencer Stastney and Landon Slaggert

Notre Dame: Jesse Landsdell (PPG) at 15:11 in the 2nd, assisted by Grant Silianoff and Chase Blackmun

Notre Dame: Ryder Rolston (PPG) at 16:46 in the 2nd, assisted by Graham Slaggert and Landon Slaggert

Boston College: Trevor Kuntar at 01:36 in the 3rd, assisted by Casey Carreau

Notre Dame: Graham Slaggert at 08:19 in the 3rd, assisted by Landon Slaggert and Trevor Janickie

Notre Dame: Ryder Rolston at 19:42 in the 3rd, assisted by Grant Silianoff and Graham Slaggert

Penalties

Notre Dame: Team penalty for too many players at 03:49 in the 1st

Notre Dame: Chase Blackmun for roughing at 08:36 in the 1st

Boston College: Matt Argentina, game misconduct for contact to the head at 00:00 in the 2nd

Boston College: Nikita Nesterenko, game misconduct for hitting from behind at 14:55 in the 2nd

Notre Dame: Chase Blackmun for hooking at 04:03 in the 3rd

Notre Dame: Justin Janicke for holding at 10:19 in the 3rd

Notre Dame: Ryan Helliwell, misconduct for roughing at 15:17 in the 3rd

Goalies

Notre Dame: Matthew Galajda, 40 saves

Boston College: Henry Wilder, 18 saves

Boston College: Eric Dop, 7 saves

Moving Forward

The Irish will host the Minnesota Golden Gophers on Friday, January 28, at 7:30 PM ET. The game can be streamed on Peacock.