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The Notre Dame Fighting Irish returned to Compton Family Ice Arena Saturday to close out the series against the Minnesota Golden Gophers with a comeback. The Irish were hungry coming off a 5-1 loss Friday to the Gophers. However, the second time around, the Irish took it all the way to OT to earn the win.
First Period
After the home team killed off an early slashing penalty on Notre Dame’s Hunter Strand, Max Ellis put the Irish on the board with his fifteenth goal of the season. A string of penalties on members of both squads followed Ellis’ goal, but neither team capitalized on the power play.
With just about three minutes left in the first, Notre Dame’s Trevor Janicke doubled the Irish score with his tenth goal of the season and assists from both Landon and Graham Slaggert. By the end of the period, the Irish narrowly outshot the Gophers 9-8.
Two sweet passes lead to a from @trevorjanicke.
— Notre Dame Hockey (@NDHockey) January 29, 2022
That gives the Irish a first period lead. The second period is underway!
@peacockTV #GoIrish pic.twitter.com/HtRmzfGVXH
Second Period
The Gophers wasted no time getting after it in the second. Minnesota’s Ben Meyers snatched his team’s first goal of the night with just under a minute and a half into the period.
A tripping penalty on Minnesota’s Blake McLaughlin provided the sole power play opportunity of the period for either team, but the score remained 2-1, Irish heading into the third period.
Third Period
Less than two minutes into the third, Minnesota’s Bryce Brodzinski found the back of the net to tie it up 2-2. The two teams went back and forth for the rest of the period, with the Irish outshooting the Gophers 9-6 by the end of regulation, but the tie remained and the game headed into overtime.
OT
Just about half a minute into overtime, Landon Slaggert scored with an assist from his brother Graham to lock in the win for the Irish.
.@slaggs_9 wins it in OT!☘️
— Notre Dame Hockey (@NDHockey) January 30, 2022
What a way to cap off Saturday night hockey in South Bend!#GoIrish pic.twitter.com/0i4s52ZB7I
Game Summary
Scoring
Notre Dame: Max Ellis at 04:30 in the 1st with assists from Spencer Stastney and Cam Burke
Notre Dame: Trevor Janicke at 16:45 in the 1st with assists from Landon Slaggert and Graham Slaggert
Minnesota: Ben Meyers at 01:27 in the 1st with assists from Jackson LaCombe and Matthew Knies
Minnesota: Bryce Brodzinski at 01:23 in the 3rd with assists from Ryan Johnson and Mike Koster
Notre Dame: Landon Slaggert at 00:32 in OT with assists from Graham Slaggert
Penalties
Notre Dame: Hunter Strand for slashing at 03:25 in the 1st
Minnesota: Sammy Walker for slashing at 03:38 in the 1st
Notre Dame: Jesse Lansdell for elbowing at 06:10 in the 1st
Minnesota: Matthew Knies for hooking at 06:37 in the 1st
Minnesota: Ben Meyers for faceoff violation at 07:31 in the 1st
Minnesota: Blake McLaughlin for tripping at 10:57 in the 2nd
Notre Dame: Zach Plucinski for cross checking at 19:22.8 in the 2nd
Goalies
Notre Dame: Ryan Bischel, 24 saves
Minnesota: Justen Close, 20 saves
Moving Forward
The Irish will take on the Penn State Nittany Lions in South Bend on Friday, February 4 at 7:30 p.m. Stream the game with Peacock.
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