Irish Sweep Up Michigan State Spartans With 4-2 Win

The Irish finished their last road series of the regular season in style.

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish closed out their series against the Michigan State Spartans Saturday in Lansing with a W. The game marked the twelfth straight loss for the Spartans despite outshooting the Irish both Saturday and Sunday and dealing blows to the dominant Notre Dame penalty kill in both games of the series.

First Period

Irish forward Justin Janicke scored the first goal of the night and his second of the season with assists from Jack Adams and Spencer Stastney.

A tripping penalty on Notre Dame’s Max Ellis a little more than halfway into the period provided the only power play opportunity for either team in the period, but the Wolverines did not capitalize.

As the period drew to a close, Adams nabbed a second Irish goal with Janicke providing an assist this time around and the two teams headed into the second with a 2-0 Irish score. The Irish had just outshot the Spartans 13-12 by the end of the first.

Second Period

Notre Dame’s Chase Blackmun snatched a third goal for the Irish to carry his team’s momentum forward just about five minutes into the second period of play.

Michigan State’s Jeremy Davidson put his team on the board about 12 and a half minutes into the second, but Stastney scored to bring it to 4-1 a little more than a minute later.

Third Period

The Spartans upped the aggression into the last period of play, eventually outshooting the Irish 29-10 in the third and 59-49 in the whole game.

With just seven seconds left in the final period, Michigan State’s Erik Middendorf shook the elite Irish penalty kill for the second night in a row with his team’s second goal of the game. However, the Irish had already locked it in for themselves and Notre Dame closed out the series with a 4-2 win for the sweep.

Game Summary

Scoring

Notre Dame: Justin Janicke at 06:30 in the 1st with assists from Jack Adams and Spencer Stastney

Notre Dame: Jack Adams at 17:49 in the 1st with assists from Justin Janicke and Hunter Strand

Notre Dame: Chase Blackmun at 05:19 in the 2nd with assists from Jesse Lansdell and Ryan Helliwell

Michigan State: Jeremy Davidson at 12:23 in the 2nd with assists from Jesse Tucker and Erik Middendorf

Notre Dame: Spencer Stastney at 13:31 in the 2nd with assists from Jake Pivonka and Max Ellis

Michigan State: Erik Middendorf (PPG) at 19:53 in the 3rd with assists from Dennis Cesana and Jesse Tucker

Penalties

Notre Dame: Max Ellis for tripping at 12:05 in the 1st

Notre Dame: Spencer Stastney for tripping at 03:24 in the 2nd

Michigan State: Jesse Tucker for unsportsmanlike conduct at 03:54 in the 2nd

Notre Dame: Jack Adams for interference at 11:00 in the 3rd

Notre Dame: Adam Karashik for holding at 18:41 in the 3rd

Notre Dame: Ryan Helliwell for cross-checking at 19:53 in the 3rd

Goalies

Notre Dame: Matthew Galajda, 27 saves

Michigan State: Drew DeRidder, 27 saves

Moving Forward

The Irish will take on the Michigan Wolverines in South Bend on Friday, February 25 at 7:30 p.m. Stream the game with Peacock.

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