Buckeyes score power-play goal in third to hold off Irish for 3-2 Big Ten hockey victory

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Notre Dame’s inability to stay out of the penalty box Friday night ended a spirited third-period comeback against Ohio State.

Trailing 2-0 heading into the final period against the Buckeyes in their Big Ten hockey series opener, the Irish tied the game only to give up Scooter Brickey’s game-winning power-play goal at 11:32 as the Buckeyes won their first league contest of the season, 3-2, before 5,762 fans at Value City Arena.

Goals by senior defenseman Drew Bavaro (1:05) and freshman center Danny Nelson (9:33), playing in his first game after winning a gold medal for Team USA in the World Juniors Championship, allowed coach Jeff Jackson’s Irish to wipe out an early 2-0 Ohio State lead. 

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But the last of Notre Dame’s four minor penalties of the evening, a slashing call against grad right wing Patrick Moynihan at 11:01, was followed by fifth-year senior Brickey’s ninth goal of the season, a wrister from the top of the faceoff circle through a screen of players 31 seconds later to beat Irish goaltender Ryan Bischel, who stopped 34 other shots on a busy night.

The loss by the 10-11-2 Irish was their third in a row since a non-conference home-ice sweep of Augustana after Christmas. But more important, it was Notre Dame’s sixth Big Ten loss in a row, leaving the Irish 4-7-2 in the Big Ten for fourth place with 15 points, 15 behind league-leader Wisconsin. Ohio State, now 4-0-1 in its last five games, improved to 9-8-4 overall but stayed last in the seven-team Big Ten with its 1-8-2 league record for seven points. The teams meet against Saturday at 7 p.m.

Notre Dame killed off its first three penalties in the first period and began to find its legs in the final two periods. But Ohio State goalie Logan Terness made 19 of his 26 saves in the final two periods, including seven after Brickey’s eventual game-winner. His final stop was a glove save on Bavaro with 4.9 seconds remaining after Nelson won a draw with 10.2  seconds left following a slashing penalty to Ohio State’s Dalton Messina.

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But with the Irish skating with a 6-on-4 edge, the 6-foot-2 Nelson, one of the most successful faceoff players in the nation who had already won 12 of 20 in the game, failed to win his final draw from OSU senior Patrick Guzzo, allowing the Buckeyes to clear their own zone as time expired.

The Buckeyes dominated the first period with the help of three Irish tripping penalties and outshot the Irish 16-7 but managed just a 1-0 lead. The Irish managed to negate any further damage by winning 14 of 19 faceoffs in the period and also blocking six shots. They would finish with a 37-30 edge in faceoffs and a 17-14 edge in blocked shots.

Bischel, who had 15 saves in the period, made three saves during the first Buckeye power play with Moynihan off at 3:30. The Irish goaltender then made two more with Cole Knuble off at 10:10, and he added four saves with defenseman Ryan Helliwell off at 13:00. 

Ohio State finally prevailed with the teams at full strength when center Messina tipped home the rebound of a shot by defenseman Nathan McBrayer at 16:16. At the other end of the ice, Terness was tested seven times and made three critical saves, including back-to-back on Maddox Fleming and Tyler Carpenter at the 9:00 mark and then one on Knuble after he returned from the penalty box at 12:28.

Notre Dame dominated the first portion of the second period, outshooting Ohio State 6-3 at the start. Each team had a shot off the pipe – Joe Dunlap of Ohio State at 3:37 and Michael Mastrodomenico of Notre Dame at 8:15.

The Buckeyes then made it 2-0 at 9:42 when leading scorer Stephen Halliday beat Bischel with a backhander over the shoulder after the puck bounced off a Notre Dame skate. 

The Irish would finish with a 10-9 edge in shots and had their chances, including a 3-on-1 at the 11:15 mark before Grant Silianoff got off a weak shot. Terness then stopped shots by Danny Nelson at 12:02, Paul Fischer at 12:24 and Hunter Strand near the doorstep at 18:09.

 Bavaro cut into the lead at 1:05 of the third period when he kept the puck in the offensive zone after passes from Landon Slaggert and Moynihan and beat the screened Terness with a 35-foot blast. It was Bavaro’s fifth goal of the season. Nelson would then tie it after freshman Brennan Ali sent him around the Ohio State defense and he beat Terness at 9:33 for his fourth goal of the season.

OHIO STATE 3, NOTRE DAME 2

At Value City Arena/Jerome Schottenstein Center, Columbus, Ohio

Notre Dame | 0 | 0 | 2—2

Ohio State | 1 | 1 | 1—3

First Period—Scoring: 1. Ohio State, Dalton Messina 4 (Nathan McBrayer, Joe Dunlap) EV 16:16. Penalties: Notre Dame 3-6, Ohio State 0-0.

Second Period—Scoring: 2. Ohio State, Stephen Halliday 6 (Davis Burnside, Nathan McBrayer) EV 9:42. Penalties: Notre Dame 0-0 (3-6), Ohio State 1-2 (1-2).

Third Period—Scoring: 3. Notre Dame, Drew Bavaro 5 (Landon Slaggert, Patrick Moynihan) EV 1:05; 4. Notre Dame, Danny Nelson 4 (Brennan Ali) EV 9:33; 5. Ohio State, Scooter Brickey 9 (Stephen Halliday, Cam Thiesing) PP 11:32. Penalties: Notre Dame 1-2 (4-8), Ohio State 1-2 (2-4).

Shots on goal: Notre Dame 28 (7-10-11), Ohio State 37 (16-9-12). Goalie saves: Notre Dame, Ryan Bischel 34 (15-8-11), Ohio State, Logan Terness 26 (7-10-9).

Power-play opportunities: Notre Dame 0 of 2, Ohio State 1 of 4. Faceoffs won: Notre Dame 37 (14-10-13), Ohio State 30 (5-11-14). Blocked shots: Notre Dame 17 (6-7-4), Ohio State 14 (2-6-6).

Referees: Sean Fernandez and Brian Aaron. Linesmen: Jake Davis and Justin Cornell. A: 5,762 (18,809).

Big Ten standings: 1. Wisconsin 10-2-0, 30 points (19-4-0 overall); 2. Michigan State 8-1-2, 28 points (14-4-3 overall); 3. Minnesota 5-4-3, 17 points (11-6-4 overall); 4. Notre Dame 4-7-2, 15 points (10-11-2 overall); 5. Michigan 3-5-2, 12 points (9-7-3 overall); 6. Penn State 2-6-3, 11 points (10-8-3 overall); 7. Ohio State 1-8-2, 7 points (9-8-4 overall).

Friday’s results: Ohio State 3, Notre Dame 2; Michigan State 5, Penn State 0; Michigan 12, Stonehill 4 (non-conference); Minnesota 4, Robert Morris 2 (non-conference); Wisconsin 5, Lindenwood 0 (non-conference).

Saturday’s games: Notre Dame at Ohio State, 7 p.m.; Michigan State at Penn State, 4:30 p.m.; Robert Morris at Minnesota, 6 p.m. (non-conference); Stonehill at Michigan, 7 p.m. (non-conference); Lindenwood at Wisconsin, 8 p.m. (non-conference).