ALBANY, N.Y. (UND Athletics)– Graham Slaggert’s power play goal just 1:38 into overtime gave the third-seeded Fighting Irish the 2-1 victory of No. 2 seed North Dakota om Thursday night at the Albany Regional semifinal at MVP Arena.
UND sees its season come to an end at 24-13-1, capturing its third straight regular season title and 34th appearance in the national tournament. Despite the bitter end, Head Coach Brad Berry applauded his players for coming together during a season of expected rebuilding and contending for a national title.
Brent Johnson scored his second goal of the season late in the first period, firing a shot through traffic and beating goaltender Matthew Galajda to give the Fighting Hawks a 1-0 lead after one period. However, the Fighting Irish (27-11-0) evened the score just 1:03 into the middle frame on Landon Slaggert’s tally to close the scoring in regulation.
Notre Dame nearly won the game in the dying seconds, but an approximate 12-minute review by the officials deemed that the clock had expired before the puck entered the net to send the contest into overtime.
It was there that the green and white were whistled for an interference penalty just 14 seconds into the stanza, allowing Graham Slaggert to fire a shot through a screened Zach Driscoll and send the Irish to Saturday’s regional final against top-seeded Minnesota State.
Driscoll stopped 23 shots in his final collegiate game while fellow graduate transfer Connor Ford finished with three blocked shots and a 15-9 night in the faceoff circle.
Riese Gaber fired a career-high nine shots on goal, but his best chance came near the midway point of the third period when the sophomore was awarded a penalty shot. The Gilbert Plains, Man., native swung in wide, but fired a shot wide to keep the game tied at 1-1.
For more information regarding North Dakota hockey, follow on social media @UNDmhockey or online at FightingHawks.com.
NOTES: North Dakota finishes the season with a 24-13-1 overall record … Final shots on goal were 25-24 in favor of Notre Dame … UND went 27-19 in the dot, led by Ford … Riese Gaber led all players with nine shots on goal … Brent Johnson scored his second-career goal … Carson Albrecht and Tyler Kleven returned to the lineup after missing last weekend’s game in the NCHC Frozen Faceoff … UND went 0-for-2 on the power play while Notre Dame was 1-for-3 … Riese Gaber was denied on a penalty shot with 9:30 to play in the third, the first of his career … UND’s last four NCAA Tournament losses have come either in overtime or with 0.6 seconds on the clock.
Game Recap: Men’s Hockey | 3/24/2022 9:10:00 PM | Alec Stocker Johnson, FightingHawks.com
