Ohio State sophomore defenseman Nathan McBrayer (8) celebrates his goal to make it 4-1 in the third period against Notre Dame. The No. 9/11 Buckeyes completed the sweep, defeating the Fighting Irish 5-1 Saturday. Credit: Ohio State Athletics
Two up, two down in South Bend, Indiana, as the Buckeyes swept the Irish.
No. 9 Ohio State (18-8-2, 11-6-1 Big Ten) secured two, back-to-back 5-1 wins against Notre Dame (9-18-1, 3-14-1 Big Ten) thanks to a combined 10 unanswered goals in a Big Ten matchup Friday and Saturday nights.
Buckeyes forward Davis Burnside paved the way for Ohio State thanks to his two goals in the series that helped the Buckeyes advance to 4-0 on the season versus the Irish.
Game 1
With three and a half minutes to go in the first period, Notre Dame struck first with a power play goal from forward Blake Biondi, assisted by forward Cole Knuble.
Ohio State responded not even a minute later. Buckeye defenseman Damien Carfagna went streaking down the left side and centered a pass to Burnside, who put it into the back of the net to tie the score at one.
Ohio State goaltender Logan Terness made seven saves in the second period to keep the Buckeyes level with the Irish.
Just when it looked like the second period had winded down, Ohio State took the lead.
Buckeye forward Ryan Gordon weaved through Notre Dame players with the puck to get a shot off at Irish goaltender Owen Say. Say’s save rebounded back to Gordon’s stick for another shot, one that secured the go-ahead goal for Ohio State.
Then, two minutes later, Buckeye forward Riley Thompson tallied his 13th goal of the season off a backhanded shot right out in front of Say’s net with three Fighting Irish defensemen hot on his tail.
It wasn’t until Say skated off the ice for an Irish extra attacker when Ohio State forward Patrick Guzzo buried the puck in the back of the empty net to take a 4-1 lead with a minute to go in the contest.
Say skated back on the ice to ensure the Buckeyes didn’t score again. But it didn’t matter.
Just 20 seconds later, Buckeye defenseman Theo Wallberg set Gordon up for a remarkable between-the-legs goal which gave Ohio State its fifth goal of the night, and Gordon his second.
The score closed out the game and secured Ohio State’s 5-1 victory.
Game 2
Ten minutes into the game, Notre Dame struck first for the second night in a row. Irish forward Danny Nelson scored after he received a centering pass from forward Brennan Ali.
The response from the Buckeyes came eight minutes later.
Carfagna completed a cross-ice pass to forward Gunnarwolfe Fontaine, which set him up for a snipe from the right circle that tied up the score.
The energy picked up in the second period with 14 total shots on either goal before the nine-minute mark.
Ohio State forward Sam Deckhut gave the Buckeyes a 2-1 lead nine and half minutes into the second with an unassisted breakaway goal that caused him to collide with Irish goaltender Nicholas Kempf.
Eight minutes later Burnside tallied his second score of the series off a top-shelf shot, assisted by defenseman Chris Able to close out the second period.
The Buckeyes kept the pedal to the metal.
Halfway through the third, Ohio State defenseman Nathan McBrayer got a pass from the right circle from forward James Hong and lasered a shot from the blue line past the Fighting Irish defense and into the back of Kempf’s net.
And then only two minutes later, Buckeye forward Jake Rozzi passed the puck through the Irish defense to Burnside, before he redirected it to forward Williams Smith for a tap-in goal to finish the series sweep with another 5-1 win.
Ohio State will be back in action Friday and Saturday when it takes on Wisconsin at the Schottenstein Center. Game one can be watched on Big Ten+ and game two on Big Ten Network.
