SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Michigan State led twice Thursday night and still left Notre Dame with a loss, as the Irish scored 21 seconds into overtime to beat the fourth-ranked Spartans 3-2 in the opener of a Big Ten series.
Shane Vansaghi scored both Michigan State goals. His first came 1:56 into the second period to end a scoreless first 40 minutes of near misses, and his second, midway through the third, put the Spartans back in front 2-1.
Neither lead lasted long. Notre Dame answered each goal within about four minutes, first when freshman Sammy Nelson redirected a feed from his brother Danny early in the second, then when Pano Fimis cleaned up a rebound in front at 10:59 of the third to make it 2-2.
Overtime was brief. Sammy Nelson lost the opening faceoff, won the puck back, skated past a defender and beat the Michigan State goaltender from the edge of the circle. It was the fastest home overtime winner in Notre Dame program history.
Notre Dame freshman goalie Patrick Quinlan stopped 33 shots. The Irish also blocked 17 shots to Michigan State’s five and have now won three straight, moving to 5-6 overall and 3-2 in the Big Ten.
The loss followed a split with Boston University last weekend at Munn Ice Arena, where Michigan State dropped the opener 6-2 before a 5-0 shutout win the next day.
The teams meet again Friday at 7 p.m. at Compton Family Ice Arena. Michigan State then opens a home-and-home rivalry series with Michigan, playing in Ann Arbor on Nov. 20 and hosting the Wolverines in East Lansing on Nov. 21.
From the HERE City State Desk.
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