MADISON, Wis. — Despite a strong opening period for the University of Notre Dame hockey program Friday night, the Irish ultimately fell to No. 4/4 Wisconsin, 4-2, on the road.
The Irish dominated play early, winning the opening draw and holding possession in the offensive end for the opening moments. The Badgers eventually gained control of the puck and Ryan Bischel was forced to make a series of Richter-level saves to keep the game scoreless through the first six minutes of play.
Hunter Strand opened the scoring Friday night with a shot into the wide open net following a feed from Justin Janicke on the rush. The Irish third line extended the lead at 17:22 of the period with a shot in front of the crease to make it 2-0 late in the first.
A penalty against the Irish with 80 seconds left in the opening period sent the Irish on the kill but a pair of big saves from Ryan Bischel between the pipes kept the Badgers scoreless and held Notre Dame’s 2-0 lead through 20 minutes of play.
The two teams returned to the ice for the second period with the Irish tasked with 40 more seconds on the penalty kill. A successful win by Danny Nelson at the face-off circle to start the period gave the Irish some room in the man-down scenario and they eventually killed it off.
Just 4:55 into the second stanza, the Irish were whistled for a facemask infraction and faced a five-minute penalty kill. The Irish penalty kill unit of J Janicke, Siedem, Strand and Fischer created a four-on-one rush the other way but were unable to capitalize and play continued.
The Badgers thought they had cut the lead in half with a shot top shelf at 8:51 of the second period but a Notre Dame challenge deemed the play offsides and the Irish penalty continued. Centerman D Nelson created yet another shorthanded opportunity to kill off the waning seconds of the major penalty.
The Irish saw their first powerplay action of the night at 13:26 of the second period but could not convert on the man-advantage and the score was stagnant at 2-0 late in the frame.
A pair of Wisconsin goals just 15 seconds apart in the final minute of the second period knotted the game up 2-2 through 40 minutes of play.
The Badgers scored their third goal in less than two minutes of game action to take the 3-2 lead just 1:18 into the third period as the Irish found themselves down for the first time all night.
A hit along the Irish bench sent a second Irish blueliner to the locker room early and the visitors were tasked with killing their second major penalty of the night. The Irish successfully killed off their second major of the night and continued to trail the Badgers by a goal late in regulation Friday night in Madison.
After killing off the major the Irish called timeout in the offensive zone and opted for the extra attacker but the Badgers took advantage of the empty net to make it 4-2 at 18:00 on the clock for the final goal of the night.
GOALS
- Hunter Strand opened the scoring Friday night with his fourth tally of the season. Racing up ice and into the offensive end, Justin Janicke fed a pass through the slot to his linemate Stand for the 1-0 lead at 8:25 of the first period. Tyler Carpenter who picked up the initial Wisconsin turnover was credited with the second assist on the play.
- The third line combined for their second goal of the night at 17:22 of the first period to give the Irish the 2-0 lead with Carpenter ultimately finding twine with the assists credited to Strand and J Janicke.
KEY STATS
- The Irish third line accounted for both goals in the contest with Hunter Strand and Tyler Carpenter both netting a goal while Justin Janicke tallied two assists in the first period.
- Despite going 0-2 on the powerplay, the Irish managed to kill off all five penalties assessed their way, including a pair of five minute majors to keep the game close late in the contest.
- Ryan Bischel finished the night with 34 stops in net, including 18 saves in the opening frame to give the Irish the 2-0 lead after one period of play.
- The Irish continued their strong play at the face-off circle, winning 51.6-percent of the draws led by Cole Knuble with 13 wins and Hunter Strand with a 60-percent success rate.
UP NEXT
The Irish and Badgers conclude the season series Saturday night with a 6pm CT puck drop set for streaming on B1G+.