SOUTH BEND, Ind. - On a night when the men’s ice hockey team continued its torrid power play streak, it was an even-strength goal that catapulted the Spartans to victory Friday.
Senior left winger Sean Patchell scored the game-winner with 1:18 remaining in the game, lifting MSU (4-1-1) over Notre Dame 3-2 at the Joyce Center.
Patchell took a perfect feed from senior linemate John Nail and smashed a one-timer past Fighting Irish goaltender Tony Zasowski.
“It was a great feeling for our line,” Patchell said. “I didn’t have a very good game on Friday so it was in the back of my mind to make something happen.”
Sophomore goalie Ryan Miller played a stellar game in net, as the Irish peppered him with 42 shots. Miller turned away a career-high 40 of the shots to earn the win.
Coming into the series, MSU head coach Ron Mason said he wanted to get senior goaltender Joe Blackburn some playing time, but Miller’s outstanding play gave the coach little choice.
“I was just trying to give the guys a chance to get the puck in the net at the other end,” Miller said. “Our defense was fine, Notre Dame just found some holes.”
In the tight-checking third period, MSU did not get a shot on Zasowski for the first 12 minutes. The Spartans caught a break midway through the third when the sophomore left winger was only whistled for a minor penalty while breaking up a breakaway chance for the Irish.
The home crowd felt Irish left winger Dan Carlson deserved a penalty shot after Jackson tripped him just inside the MSU blue line. Mason said he thought the play was legal.
On the ensuing Irish power play, Miller made two spectacular saves to preserve the tie.
The Spartans’ first two tallies came with a man advantage, giving them five for the two-game series sweep. MSU has converted on eight of its last 18 power play chances.
Senior right winger Rustyn Dolyny and junior right winger Adam Hall each took advantage of Irish penalties assisting on each other’s goals in the first period.
Dolyny opened the scoring at 5:49 of the first period, jabbing a loose puck over Zasowski following sophomore defenseman John-Michael Liles’ point shot. Zasowski had trouble corralling the Spartans’ shots, surrendering rebounds throughout the night.
Notre Dame right winger Rob Globke evened the score at 1-1 13:06 into the opening frame, poking the puck past Miller during four-on-four play.
Hall gave the lead back to MSU, scoring his team-leading fourth goal at 19:24 of the opening period. Hall beat Zasowski cleanly with a wrist shot from the right circle after freshman center Jeremy Jackson set up the play with a perfect pass from behind the Irish net.
Once again, the Irish (2-5-1) answered MSU’s lead, this time on a goal by right winger Ryan Dolder 16:21 into the second period. Notre Dame outshot MSU 19-10 in the period.
Mason said he’s happy with where the team is after six games, but they still “have a long way to go.”
“I love the way our guys are digging down,” Mason said. “On the road, you have to get goals from guys other than your stars and that’s what we did tonight.”
MSU received a scare when senior left winger Damon Whitten was drilled into the boards from behind by Irish defenseman Brett Lebda. Lebda was ejected from the previous night’s game for checking Liles from behind. He received another misconduct penalty Friday, this time for unsportsmanlike conduct in the third period.
Despite getting up slowly, Whitten remained in the game. MSU did lose sophomore defenseman Brad Fast to injury in the first period, but Mason said he should be ready for the icers’ next game, in Ann Arbor against Michigan on Nov. 4.
