
Saturday marked Irish netminder Matthew Galajda’s fifth 30+ save game this season.
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.
Put it on net and good things happen!
.@ZPlucinski11 scores his second of the year to put us up 2⃣.#GoIrish pic.twitter.com/SySuDUhsDe
— Notre Dame Hockey (@NDHockey) March 5, 2022
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 THREE = FORCED ☘️
.@trevorjanicke sends us to a Sunday tiebreaker with this last-second goal assisted by Spencer Stastney and @GrahamSlaggert!#GoIrish pic.twitter.com/vvj9bzPXKr
— Notre Dame Hockey (@NDHockey) March 6, 2022
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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