Coming in at 7-1-0, the Spartans were hot off of a sweep over Ohio State and continuing a two-weekend homestand. The Fighting Irish were recently beaten in their two-game series against the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.

It took just a minute and nine seconds Friday night for the Fighting Irish to strike first.

With a shot to the net, Notre Dame’s Danny Nelson tipped in the puck to set up an early 1-0 lead. It was a reality check for the Spartans, whose turnovers plagued their chances of playing in their offensive zone. But the chances MSU did have were key opportunities.

The slow start and frustration for the Spartans turned into back-to-back goals in the final 6:15 of the first period. Junior forward Tiernan Shoudy was the first to get MSU on the board, tying the game at one apiece.

Just 64 seconds later on a shorthanded opportunity, MSU senior forward Red Savage capitalized on a Notre Dame turnover, going five-hole on Irish goaltender Owen Say to give the Spartans a lead into the second period.

"Don't chase the game, keep doing it the right way and believe over time if you do it the right way, it does help you get closer to us trying to perfect who we need to be as a hockey team," MSU head coach Adam Nightingale said postgame.

The beginning of the second period saw a flurry of penalties.

Special teams for both sides made an immediate appearance. Just over a minute into the period, Notre Dame had a chance on the man advantage and capitalized quickly with an equalizing score. But shortly after, MSU got a chance of its own on the power play and junior forward Joey Larson scored to put the green and white ahead yet again.

Then came a stint of quick goals.

Notre Dame scored to tie it at three apiece. Just 12 seconds after came a goal from MSU sophomore forward Charlie Stramel, putting the Spartans ahead by one.

MSU secured a two-goal lead a minute and a half later, with junior forward Karsen Dorwart grabbing his first score of the season.

The scoring frenzy ceased in the final 10 minutes, as did the power plays and penalty kills. The Spartans had a lead to protect in the final 20 minutes but treated it like an even game. 

Dorwart tagged on a power play goal just six seconds into the man advantage for his second of the night, giving the Spartans a three-goal lead. The scoring wouldn’t stop there as MSU freshman forward Mikey DeAngelo secured his first goal of the season and his first as a Spartan. 

With an MSU penalty kill in the final two minutes of the third period, MSU freshman forward Shane Vansaghi and senior defenseman David Gucciardi went two-on-one down the ice and Gucciardi capitalized with a shorthanded goal.

"In the second period I thought we did a lot of good things. We were able to get to our game, and the third says a lot about our group to keep playing the right way and finish the job and not play the scoreboard," Nightingale said.

With the 8-3 win over the Fighting Irish on night one of a two-game series, the Spartans move to 8-1-0 overall and 3-0 in conference play.

MSU will be back for game two of the series on Saturday, Nov. 16 at 8 p.m. against the Fighting Irish at Munn Ice Arena.