The Notre Dame Fighting Irish returned to home ice Saturday to take on the Michigan State Spartans in the second game of the Big Ten quarterfinals and ended the night with a 4-2 loss. While the Irish had bursts of offensive firepower and scored first, it was the Spartans who set the pace.
First Period
Unlike the slow start of Friday’s opener, Michigan State wasted no time getting after it on offense in Saturday’s first period. The Spartans tested Irish goalie Ryan Bischel just about a half a minute in and eventually outshot the Irish 14-1 around the period’s halfway point.