NO LUCK FOR IRISH SKATERS ON FRIDAY THE 13TH AS HOST NO. 15 BUCKEYES RALLY FOR 2-1 OVERTIME VICTORY

by | Dec 14, 2024 | Headlines, Hockey, RRSN News | 0 comments

By JOHN FINERAN

Friday the 13th was not kind to Notre Dame’s hockey team against No. 15 Ohio State in their Big Ten Conference game at Value City Arena in Columbus, Ohio.

Ohio State defenseman Brent Johnson scored at 1:53 in overtime shortly after Notre Dame clanged its fourth shot of the night off a goal pipe, and freshman Nicholas Kempf saw his heroic 41-save performance go wasted in a 2-1 loss, the eighth straight in league play for coach Jeff Jackson’s Fighting Irish (6-11-0 overall, 1-8-0 Big Ten for 4 points).

The 6-foot-2 Kempf, a standout for the U.S. Under-18 team a year ago and a fourth-round NHL draft pick of the Washington Capitals last summer, was given the starting nod by Jackson over junior Owen Say, who has been Notre Dame’s workhorse for most of the first half of the season. And Kempf didn’t disappoint in a duel with Ohio State’s 6-foot-4 sophomore Kristoffer Eberly, who turned aside 18 Irish shots and was fortunate that another four which eluded him found metal.

Notre Dame sophomore center Jayden Davis hit the pipe at 13:15 of the first period, but the Irish took a 1-0 lead at 16:40 when sophomore center Danny Nelson won a faceoff draw back to sophomore Cole Knuble, who then passed the puck over to junior defenseman Axel Kumlin. Kumlin skated into the faceoff circle to the left of Eberly and fired the puck on net just as Nelson skated in and tipped the puck home for his seventh goal of the season.

Notre Dame maintained the lead through the end of the first period thanks to Kempf, who made four saves to finish the first 20 minutes with 11 stops. He then added 18 more in the second period as coach Steve Rohlik’s Buckeyes (12-4-1, 5-2-0 Big Ten for 13 points) outshot the Irish 18-5. Nelson found the metal behind Eberly at 4:11 to keep the Irish lead at 1-0 before Kempf made five saves to deny the Buckeyes on a power play beginning at 6:48. Notre Dame’s leading scorer Cole Knuble then rang a shot off the pipe at 10:44.

Just 17 seconds into the third period, Kempf denied Ohio State’s Patrick Guzzo twice before being knocked in the back of the head and sprawling to the ice. After being examined by trainer Kevin Ricks, Kempf remained in the game and stopped five more shots before Notre Dame was penalized for too many men on the ice at 7:32.

Kempf denied Ohio State’s Gunnarwolfe Fontaine’s shot at 8:18 before Davis Burnside knocked home the rebound two seconds later to tie the game at 1-1. It was the only one of 13 shots to elude the Irish goaltender, who went into the overtime period with 41 saves.

With the teams skating three aside, Eberly denied Knuble 17 seconds into the overtime period, and Notre Dame continued to mount pressure in the Buckeyes’ zone. At 1:20, Irish graduate right wing Blake Biondi hit the pipe and the Buckeyes got control of the puck. Fontaine came up with the puck in the Irish defensive zone and passed it over to Johnson, who skated across and fired a shot that glanced off Kempf’s left thigh and into the net to continue Notre Dame’s league losing streak.

The teams will conclude the 2024 portion of their schedule Saturday night at 7.

OHIO STATE 2, NOTRE DAME 1 (OT)

At Value City Arena/Jerome Schottenstein Center, Columbus, Ohio

Notre Dame              1          0          0          0—1

Ohio State                 0          0          1          1—2

First Period—Scoring: 1. Notre Dame, Danny Nelson 7 (Axel Kumlin, Cole Knuble) EV 16:40. Penalties: Notre Dame 0-0, Ohio State 1-2.

Second Period—Scoring: None. Penalties: Notre Dame 1-2 (1-2), Ohio State 1-2 (2-4).

Third Period—Scoring: 2. Ohio State, Davis Burnside 7 (Gunnarwolfe Fontaine, Aiden Hansen-Bukata) PP 8:20. Penalties: Notre Dame 1-2 (2-4), Ohio State 0-0 (2-4).

Overtime—Scoring: 3. Ohio State, Brent Johnson 2 (Gunnarwolfe Fontaine, Damien Carfagna) 3-on-3 1:53. Penalties: Notre Dame 0-0 (2-4), Ohio State 0-0 (2-4).

Shots on goal: Notre Dame 19 (8-5-5-1), Ohio State 43 (11-18-13-1).

Goalie saves: Notre Dame (41), Nicholas Kempf 41 (11-18-12-0); Ohio State (18), Kristoffer Eberly 18 (7-5-5-1).

Faceoffs won: Notre Dame 35 (11-10-13-1), Ohio State 19 (8-6-5-0).

Power-play opportunities: Notre Dame 0 of 2, Ohio State 1 of 2.

Blocked shots: Notre Dame 18 (2-9-7-0), Ohio State 17 (9-6-2-0).

Referees: Tom DellaFranco and Jonathon Sitarski. Linesmen: Jake Davis and Tommy George. Attendance: 4,009.

Records: Notre Dame 6-11-0, 1-8-0 Big Ten for 4 points; Ohio State 12-4-1, 5-2-0 Big Ten for 13 points.

BIG TEN STANDINGS: (Numbers in parentheses are that school’s rankings in this week’s USCHO.com media poll / USA Hockey-The Rink Live coaches poll / Pairwise rating):

  1. (1/1/2) Minnesota 8-0-1, 24 points (15-2-2 overall)
  2. (rv/nr/31) Wisconsin 5-6-0, 18 points (7-9-1 overall)
  3. (3/2/4) Michigan State 5-1-1, 16 points (12-2-1 overall)
  4. (15/15/12) OHIO STATE 5-2-0, 13 points (12-4-1 overall)
  5. (8/8/9) Michigan 4-3-0, 11 points (10-6-1 overall)
  6. (rv/nr/36) NOTRE DAME 1-8-0, 4 points (6-11-0 overall)
  7. (nr/nr/35) Penn State 0-8-0, 1 point (7-9-0 overall)

Thursday, Dec. 12: Penn State 4, Army 1 (non-conference)

Friday, Dec. 13: Ohio State 2, Notre Dame 1 (OT); Wisconsin 4, Michigan 0; Michigan State 3, Minnesota 3 (OT) (Michigan State won shootout, 2-0).

Saturday, Dec. 14: Notre Dame at Ohio State, 7 p.m.; Wisconsin at Michigan, 7 p.m.; Michigan State at Minnesota, 6 p.m.

GAME RESULTS FOR TEAMS IN USCHO.com MEDIA POLL

  1. Minnesota (Big Ten) (15-2-2) tied No. 3 Michigan State 3-3 (OT) (Michigan State won shootout 2-0) Friday. Next: Saturday vs. No. 3 Michigan State (12-2-1).
  2. Boston College (Hockey East) (12-3-1) beat No 10T UMass Lowell 3-2 Monday. Next: Jan. 10 vs. Merrimack; Jan. 11 at Merrimack.
  3. Michigan State (Big Ten) (12-2-1) tied No. 1 Minnesota 3-3 (OT) (Michigan State won shootout 2-0) Friday. Next: Saturday at No. 1 Minnesota (15-2-2).
  4. Denver (NCHC) (13-4-0) lost at No. 10T Colorado College 5-4 Friday. Next: Saturday vs. No. 10T Colorado College (10-4-1).
  5. Maine (Hockey East) (12-2-2) did not play. Next: Dec. 29 vs. Bentley.
  6. Western Michigan (NCHC) (10-3-1) did not play. Next: Dec. 29 vs. Michigan Tech in 2024 Great Lakes Invitational at Grand Rapids, Mich. (Van Andel Arena).
  7. Providence (Hockey East) (12-3-2) did not play. Next: Dec. 28 vs. Northeastern in Ledyard Classic at Hanover, N.H. (Thompson Arena).
  8. Michigan (Big Ten) (10-6-1) lost to Wisconsin 4-0 Friday. Next: Saturday vs. Wisconsin (7-9-1).
  9. St. Cloud State (NCHC) (10-6-0) lost at No. 16 North Dakota 2-0 Friday. Next: Saturday at No. 16 North Dakota (10-7-1).

10T. Colorado College (NCHC) (10-4-1) beat No. 4 Denver 5-4 Friday. Next: Saturday at No. 4 Denver (13-4-0).

10T. UMass Lowell (Hockey East) (10-4-2) lost to No. 10T Boston College 3-2 Monday. Next: Dec. 29 vs. Simon Fraser (exhibition).

  1. Minnesota State (CCHA) (13-4-2) beat Lake Superior State 2-1 Friday. Next: Saturday vs. Lake Superior State (8-8-1).
  2. Boston University (Hockey East) (9-6-1) beat Massachusetts 4-2 Wednesday; beat U.S. Under-18 team 7-5 Friday (exhibition). Next: Dec. 29 at Yale.
  3. Cornell (ECAC) did not play. Next: Jan. 3 vs. Massachusetts in Desert Hockey Classic at Tempe, Ariz. (Mullett Arena).
  4. Ohio State (Big Ten) (12-4-1) beat Notre Dame 2-1 (OT) Friday. Next: Saturday vs. Notre Dame (6-11-0).
  5. North Dakota (NCHC) (10-7-1) beat No. 9 St. Cloud State 2-0 Friday. Next: Saturday vs. No. 9 St. Cloud State (10-6-0).
  6. Dartmouth (ECAC) (6-3-2) tied New Hampshire 3-3 (OT) (New Hampshire won shootout 1-0) Friday. Next: Dec. 29 vs. Alaska-Anchorage in Ledyard Classic at Hanover, N.H. (Thompson Arena).
  7. Quinnipiac (ECAC) (8-6-1) did not play. Next: Dec. 29 vs. American International.
  8. Arizona State (NCHC) (8-7-1) did not play. Next: Dec. 28 vs. U.S. Under-18 (exhibition).
  9. Clarkson (ECAC) (11-5-2) did not play. Next: Dec. 29 vs. Concordia (Que.) (exhibition).

Receiving votes

Massachusetts (Hockey East) (8-7-2) lost to No. 13 Boston University 4-2 Wednesday. Next: Dec. 28 vs. Simon Fraser (exhibition).

New Hampshire (Hockey East) (7-4-3) tied No. 17 Dartmouth 3-3 (OT) (New Hampshire won shootout 1-0) Friday. Next: Saturday vs. U.S. Under-18 (exhibition).

Bentley (Atlantic Hockey) (10-5-2) did not play. Next: Dec. 29 at No. 5 Maine.

Colgate (ECAC) (8-8-2) did not play. Next: Jan. 4 vs. Concordia (Que.) (exhibition).

Notre Dame (Big Ten) (6-11-0) lost at No. 15 Ohio State 2-1 (OT) Friday. Next: Saturday at No. 15 Ohio State (12-4-1)

Princeton (ECAC) (5-4-1) did not play. Next: Dec. 28 at Army.

Bemidji State (CCHA) (8-7-3) tied Michigan Tech 2-2 (OT) (Bemidji State won shootout 1-0) Friday. Next: Saturday vs. Michigan Tech (8-5-2).

Connecticut (Hockey East) (7-7-1) did not play. Next: Dec. 28 vs. Alaska in Kwik Trip Holiday Face-Off at Milwaukee, Wis. (Fiserv Forum).

Harvard (ECAC) (3-5-2) did not play. Next: Jan. 1 vs. No. 18 Quinnipiac.

Michigan Tech (CCHA) (8-5-2) tied Bemidji State 2-2 (OT) (Bemidji State won shootout 1-0) Friday. Next: Saturday at Bemidji State (8-7-3).

Union (ECAC) (9-6-1) lost to Vermont 6-2 Friday. Next: Saturday vs. Vermont (5-8-3).

Wisconsin (Big Ten) (7-9-1) beat No. 8 Michigan 4-0 Friday. Next: Saturday at No. 8 Michigan (10-6-1).

Sacred Heart (Atlantic Hockey) (9-7-3) did not play. Next: Dec. 28 at American International.

Holy Cross (Atlantic Hockey) (8-8-1) did not play. Next: Dec. 31 at Long Island.

Others

Penn State (Big Ten) (7-9-0) beat Army 4-1 Thursday. Next: Jan. 3 vs. Notre Dame in Frozen Confines at Chicago (Wrigley Field).

Augustana (CCHA) (9-7-1) tied  Alaska-Anchorage  2-2 (OT) Thursday (Augustana won shootout 1-0); at Alaska-Anchorage (4-11-3) Friday, late. Next: Jan. 3-4 at No. 10T Colorado College.

Long Island (Independent) (8-6-1) beat Stonehill 3-1 Friday. Next: Saturday vs. Stonehill (6-15-0)

Bowling Green (CCHA) (6-7-2) beat Northern Michigan 2-0 Friday. Next: Saturday vs. Northern Michigan (1-15-1).

Omaha (6-9-0) (NCHC) lost to Lindenwood 3-2 Friday. Next: Saturday vs. Lindenwood (4-12-1).

Northeastern (Hockey East) (4-7-3) at Merrimack (4-10-1) Saturday.

Robert Morris (Atlantic Hockey) (6-7-2) at Canisius (5-9-2) Saturday and Sunday.

Rensselaer (ECAC) (5-8-1) at Mercyhurst (Hockey East) (2-14-2) Saturday and Sunday.

Related Stories

Kirk Kennedy calls it a career at Kankakee Valley

Jan 21, 2026

The Kankakee Valley High School Athletics Department announces the retirement of Head Varsity Football Coach Kirk Kennedy, concluding a 31-season career as one of Indiana’s most accomplished high school football coaches. Coach Kennedy led the Kougar football program...

MATT’S MATCHUPS 2025-26 HOOPS – WEEK NINE

Jan 20, 2026

More progress was made as I went 14-3 (82 percent) last week. My overall record is now 117-41, which has me at 74 percent for the season. TUESDAY Elkhart (5-6) at Michigan City (8-5): The Wolves roared past Elkhart, 66-61, a year ago. Alonzo Newbern’s four points were...

Big Ten Weekly Women’s Basketball Central – Jan. 20-26

Jan 20, 2026

Big Ten Weekly Women's Basketball Central - Jan. 20-26 Big Ten. Big News. • Half of the Big Ten’s 16 games will be featured on national platforms this week, while the remaining games will be streamed live on B1G+ (visit bigtenplus.com for more information). A top-15...

Big Ten Weekly Men’s Basketball Central – January 20-26

Jan 20, 2026

Big Ten Weekly Men's Basketball Central - January 20-26 Big Ten. Big News. Entering this week’s action, every Big Ten team has played at least seven conference games so far. The only remaining unbeaten squads in league play were Purdue (7-0) and Nebraska (7-0). For...

Indiana Recognized as Recipient of Iconic NFF MacArthur Bowl

Jan 20, 2026

  The Hoosiers claim the trophy for the first time in school history, concluding their historic season with a dramatic 27-21 win over Miami (FL) in the CFP National Championship. IRVING, TEXAS (Jan. 20, 2026) - The National Football Foundation (NFF) & College...

2026 COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYOFF NATIONAL CHAMPIONS NEWS CONFERENCE

Jan 20, 2026

Click the links below to download a transcript from the 2026 College Football Playoff National Champions News Conference, featuring Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti, Offensive Player of the Game QB Fernando Mendoza, Defensive Player of the Game DL Mikail Kamara, OL...

No.1 IU outlasts Miami to win the National Championship

Jan 20, 2026

Perfection Punctuates National Title   MIAMI -- Sometimes nice guys do finish first. They do so because they care, because they push, because they do what’s expected and then more, on the field and away from spotlights and glory. And then they make history. On...

Maryland, Nebraska, and Wisconsin Garner Men’s Basketball Weekly Honors

Jan 19, 2026

Maryland, Nebraska, and Wisconsin Garner Men’s Basketball Weekly Honors Terrapins’ Coit, Badgers’ Blackwell, and Huskers’ Frager earn Big Ten weekly accolades Co-Player of the Week Diggy Coit, Maryland G –Grad. – 5-11 – Columbus, N.J. - Scotland (Pa.) Campus Sports •...

Iowa Collects Big Ten Weekly Women’s Basketball Honors

Jan 19, 2026

Iowa Collects Big Ten Weekly Women’s Basketball Honors Hawkeyes’ Stuelke and Deal earn weekly awards Player of the Week Hannah Stuelke, Iowa Sr. – Forward – Cedar Rapids, Iowa – Cedar Rapids Washington • Paced the Hawkeyes with 22 points on 10-for-14 shooting with...