Notre Dame Hockey: Irish Get it Done Against Wisconsin to Force Game 3 in Big Ten Tournament

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish edged past the Wisconsin Badgers Saturday in game 2 of the B1G Quarterfinals in South Bend. Despite some penalty kill hiccups, the Irish were able to keep it cohesive and make up for the missed opportunities of Friday’s 3-1 loss.

First Period

Following a cross-checking penalty on Wisconsin’s Ryder Donovan just more than a minute into play, Irish forward Graham Slaggert got after it on the power play and snagged his eleventh goal of the season. This put the Irish on the board less than two minutes into the first. His brother Landon provided an assist.

After several trips to the penalty box for both squads, Notre Dame’s Zach Plucinski scored his team’s second goal of the night with about four minutes left in the period. The Badgers outshot the Irish 14-7 by the end of the period, but the Irish entered the second with the advantage.

Second Period

After nearly half a period of back and forth, it was a holding penalty on Notre Dame’s Jake Boltmann that set the stage for Wisconsin’s Roman Ahcan to trip up the elite Irish penalty kill and score his team’s first goal of the night. This time around, the Irish and Badgers finished the period with nine shots each.

Third Period

About three and a half minutes into the last period, Wisconsin’s Carson Bantle tied it up with the Badgers’ second power play goal of the game.

As the third reached its halfway point, a tripping penalty on Wisconsin’s Tyler Inamoto provided a power play opportunity, but the Irish failed to capitalize.

Notre Dame’s Trevor Janicke found the back of the net with nearly 20 seconds left in the game to lock it in 3-2 Irish and bring it to a game 3.

Game Summary

Scoring

Notre Dame: Graham Slaggert at 01:41 in the 1st with assists from Landon Slaggert and Ryder Rolston

Notre Dame: Zach Plucinski at 16:07 in the 1st with assists from Jake Pivonka and Nick Leivermann

Wisconsin: Roman Ahcan at 09:53 in the 2nd with assists from Mathieu De St. Phalle and Corson Ceulemans

Wisconsin: Carson Bantle at 03:23 in the 3rd with assists from Brock Caufield and Mathieu De St. Phalle

Notre Dame: Trevor Janicke at 19.39.3 in the 3rd with assists from Spencer Stastney and Graham Slaggert

Penalties

Wisconsin: Ryder Donovan for cross-checking at 01:16 in the 1st

Notre Dame: Cam Burke for hooking at 03:12 in the 1st

Notre Dame: Max Ellis for tripping at 04:40 in the 1st

Wisconsin: Dominick Mersch for tripping at 10:12 in the 1st

Notre Dame: Jesse Lansdell for tripping at interference at 10:48 in the 1st

Wisconsin: Corson Ceulemans for holding the stick at 14:16 in the 1st

Notre Dame: Spencer Stastney for interference at 15:41 in the 1st

Wisconsin: Daniel Laatsch for high-sticking at 04:44 in the 2nd

Notre Dame: Jake Boltmann for holding at 09:15 in the 2nd

Notre Dame: Landon Slaggert for contact to the head at 18:36 in the 2nd

Notre Dame: Landon Slaggert, game misconduct at 18:36 in the 2nd

Wisconsin: Tyler Inamoto for tripping at 09:41 in the 3rd

Wisconsin: Roman Ahcan, misconduct at 20:00 in the 3rd

Goalies

Notre Dame: Matthew Galajda, 34 saves

Wisconsin: Jared Moe, 30 saves

Moving Forward

The Irish and Badgers will meet again Sunday, March 6 at 6 p.m. in South Bend for game 3 of the Big Ten Tournament Quarterfinals. Stream the game with Big Ten Network Plus.

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