The return to South Bend could not have started much worse for graduate transfer goaltender Dylan St. Cyr.

After spending four seasons with the Fighting Irish, St. Cyr got the start Friday night against some of his old teammates, who netted five goals on him in a 5-0 defeat.

Notre Dame sophomore forward Justin Janicke got the scoring going by converting a 3-on-2 midway through the period. The Spartans nearly tied the game a minute and a half later on a shot from freshman forward Karsen Dorwart that hit the post and stayed out of the net.

Then, junior forward Ryder Rolston, who had three points in the night, scored to give the Fighting Irish a 2-0 lead at the first intermission.

Five combined penalties were called in the second period – two by Notre Dame and three by Michigan State. Neither team could cash in on the power play. However, graduate defenseman Nick Leivermann scored on a shot through traffic at 2:27 for the lone goal of the period.

Michigan State’s comeback attempts in the third were dwindled by an early goal from graduate forward Chayse Primeau, who, like Rolston, also had three points in the night. Sophomore forward Hunter Strand added the fifth and final Notre Dame goal of the night midway through the period.

Notre Dame goaltender Ryan Bischel made 30 saves in the shutout victory while St. Cyr made 28, his highest of the season through Friday night.

Fifth-year defenseman Cole Krygier led MSU with five shots on goal while sophomore defenseman David Gucciardi was an abysmal -4 on the night.

Game 2

Despite the poor showing Friday night, Head Coach Adam Nightingale stuck with mostly the same lineup Saturday, including St. Cyr back in net. It resulted in a much crisper game on the Michigan State side, and MSU tied Notre Dame, 1-1, with the Spartans earning the extra point in a shootout.

Michigan State was first on the board in the opening period when Notre Dame coughed up the puck in the neutral zone and MSU quickly countered. Dorwart fired a shot on net and senior forward Jagger Joshua cleaned up the rebound for his fourth goal in three games, tying a career-high for goals in a season.

Krygier committed seven minutes worth of penalties in the first period on consecutive minor and major penalties, but the Spartans were able to fend off the Notre Dame power play.

Notre Dame tied the game in the second period off a goal from Leivermann and the two teams skated evenly the rest of the way through regulation.

In overtime, MSU outshot Notre Dame, but the Spartans couldn’t break Bischel, leading to a tie and a shootout for the game’s second point.

Leivermann and sophomore forward Tanner Kelly both scored in the first round of the shootout. Then, Notre Dame graduate forward Jackson Pierson was stopped by St. Cyr while Dorwart scored. St. Cyr made one more save on Rolston to earn MSU the extra point.

Freshman forwards Daniel Russell (20) and Tiernan Shoudy (13) were top on the team in shots on goal Saturday night while St. Cyr made a season-high 39 saves, beating out his total saves from Friday night.

Michigan State heads back to East Lansing for a four-game homestand versus Wisconsin (2-6-0) Nov. 4-5 and Ohio State (7-2-1) Nov. 10-11.