Big Ten Hockey Tournament: Notre Dame falls to Michigan State 4-2 in game 2

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish returned to home ice Saturday to take on the Michigan State Spartans in the second game of the Big Ten quarterfinals and ended the night with a 4-2 loss. While the Irish had bursts of offensive firepower and scored first, it was the Spartans who set the pace.

First Period

Unlike the slow start of Friday’s opener, Michigan State wasted no time getting after it on offense in Saturday’s first period. The Spartans tested Irish goalie Ryan Bischel just about a half a minute in and eventually outshot the Irish 14-1 around the period’s halfway point. However, a shift change slowed it all down for the Spartans and allowed Notre Dame’s Solag Bakich to chalk up his team’s first goal of the night. Officials reviewed the play for a potential call on the Irish for too many men on the ice, but the goal stood. An interference penalty on Michigan State’s Nicolas Muller soon followed, but nothing resulted from the Irish power play.

Second Period

The two teams took turns firing off shots in the first few minutes of the second. A penalty on Michigan State’s Christian Krygier gave the Irish a chance to set the tone of the middle period, but Notre Dame failed to capitalize. Following a penalty on Notre Dame’s Grant Silianoff, Michigan State’s Jeremy Davidson scored on the power play to tie the game. As time ran out on the second, Michigan State’s Matt Basgall scored to bring it to 2-1, Spartans. This time around, the Irish outshot the Spartans 12-7, but the Spartans had gotten leverage back.

Third Period

The Spartans carried the momentum they had regained into the third. Not even three minutes into the period, Michigan State defenseman Nash Nienhuis found the back of the net to make it 3-1, Spartans. Just about two minutes later, Michigan State’s Karsen Dorwart scored to make it a 4-1 game. The visitors continued to fire everything they had at the Irish net. With the tension turned up, Michigan State’s Davidson headed to the penalty box for cross checking. Irish forward Jack Adams scored the second power play goal of the night almost thirty seconds into Notre Dame’s advantage. The Irish peppered the Spartans’ net, but Michigan State had locked it in to end it 4-2, MSU.

Game Summary

Scoring

Notre Dame: Solag Bakich at 02:47 in the 1st with assists from Trevor Janicke and Ben Brinkman

Michigan State: Jeremy Davidson at 11:22 in the 2nd with assists from Nicolas Muller and David Gucciardi

Michigan State: Matt Basgall at 03:23 in the 2nd with assists from Tiernan Shoudy and Daniel Russell

Michigan State: Nash Nienhuis at 16:33 in the 3rd with assists from Jeremy Davidson and Nicolas Muller

Michigan State: Karsen Dorwart at 14:26 in the 3rd with an assist from Daniel Russell

Notre Dame: Jack Adams at 06:25 in the 3rd with assists from Drew Bavaro and Hunter Strand

Penalties

Michigan State: Nicolas Muller for interference at 02:07 in the 1st

Michigan State: Christian Krygier for roughing at 15:17 in the 1st

Notre Dame: Grant Silianoff for boarding at 12:34 in the 2nd

Michigan State: Jeremy Davidson for cross checking at 06:58 in the 3rd

Goalies

Notre Dame: Ryan Bischel, 28 saves

Michigan State: Dylan St. Cyr, 31 saves

Moving Forward

The Irish and Spartans will meet again at 6 p.m. Sunday, March 5 in South Bend. Watch the game on FS2.

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