Notre Dame Hockey: Sun Devils Outdo Irish 5-3 in South Bend

The last minute back and forth was not enough for Notre Dame.

Following last night’s 5-4 home victory against the Arizona State Sun Devils, the Irish returned to Compton Family Ice Arena for another matchup but fell to the visitors after Notre Dame’s third-period drive proved to not be enough.

First Period

Two Irish penalties in the first led to a shaky start for Notre Dame and it was the Sun Devils who put the first goal on the board about halfway into the first with a score from James Sanchez. By the end of the first period of play, the Sun Devils had outshot the Irish 12-7.

Second Period

The Irish momentum showed up in the second period of play; the Irish returned to the ice to outshoot the Sun Devils 13-9 by the end of the period. The surge materialized with Spencer Stastney’s second goal of the season about 7 minutes in, but the Sun Devils reacted with a goal from Jarrod Gourley to reclaim the lead with just less than five minutes to go in the second.

Third Period

Both squads upped the aggression into the third as the awesomely named Johnny Walker snagged the Sun Devils’ third goal of the night about halfway into the period. Notre Dame’s Max Ellis responded with a quick second goal for the Fighting Irish. However, Arizona State’s Matthew Kopperud shut down the Irish momentum with two consecutive goals barely two minutes apart. Ellis came back to claim a third Irish goal, but the Sun Devils had locked it in to end it 5-3 Arizona State.

Game Summary

Scoring

Arizona State: James Sanchez at 11:43 in the 1st with assists from Johnny Walker and Ryan O’Reilly

Notre Dame: Spencer Stastney at 06:35 in the 2nd with assists from Grant Silianoff and Michael Graham

Arizona State: Jarrod Gourley at 15:27 in the 2nd with assists from Ryan O’Reilly and Michael Mancinelli

Arizona State: Johnny Walker at 08:19 in the 3rd with an assist from Chris Grando

Notre Dame: Max Ellis at 10:51 in the 3rd with assists from Jake Pivonka and Nick Leivermann

Arizona State: Matthew Kopperud at 12:38 in the 3rd with an assist from Johnny Walker

Arizona State: Matthew Kopperud at 14:36 in the 3rd with assists from Johnny Walker and Ryan O’Reilly

Notre Dame: Max Ellis at 14:42 in the 3rd with an assist from Solag Bakich

Penalties

Notre Dame: Matt Hellickson for cross-checking at 05:45 in the 1st

Notre Dame: Jake Boltmann for hooking at 09:39 in the 1st

Notre Dame: Zach Plucinski for high sticking at 17:54 in the 1st

Arizona State: Jarrod Gourley for cross-checking at 09:16 in the 2nd

Notre Dame: Colin Theisen for contact to the head at 11:02 in the 3rd, game misconduct

Goalies

Notre Dame: Ryan Bischel, 23 saves

Arizona State: Justin Robbins 26 saves

Moving Forward

The Fighting Irish will head to Minneapolis to take on the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers on Friday, January 15 at 8 p.m. To watch the game, check out Fox Sports North Plus or stream online with Fox Sports Go.

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