Sammy Nelson's Heroics Seal 3-2 OT Win Over #4 Michigan State - Notre Dame Athletics

Sammy Nelson scored his second goal of the night just 21 seconds into the extra session to give Notre Dame a 3-2 overtime victory over No. 4 Michigan State in the series-opening game on Thursday at Compton Family Ice Arena.

The win marks three straight victories for the Irish, all coming in Big Ten play with two of those wins secured in overtime. Notre Dame now stands at 5-6 overall and 3-2 in the conference.

Sammy Nelson turned in the best performance of his young career, picking up his first multi-goal game as a collegiate player. Both of his goals were assisted by one of his two older brothers on the squad, Danny Nelson.

Pano Fimis also found the back of the net for the Irish, extending his goal streak to two games and his point streak to four games. Fimis dominated at the faceoff dot as well, winning 10 of his 15 draws.

Freshman goaltender Patrick Quinlan put together another standout performance in net, stopping 33 shots while allowing two goals to earn his third win in as many games.

Notre Dame held the upper hand in the scoreless opening period, generating 10 shots to the Spartans’ six. The game broke open early in the second frame when Shane Vansaghi scored at the 1:56 mark to put Michigan State ahead.

The Irish answered immediately. Danny Nelson slid a pass to his younger brother Sammy on the backside, allowing Sammy to redirect the puck past the goaltender and tie the game at 1-1 just over three minutes into the period.

Quinlan turned away a number of quality saves in the latter half of the second period to keep the score deadlocked through 40 minutes of play.

Michigan State reclaimed the lead in the third period when Vansaghi scored his second goal of the evening, putting the visitors up 2-1 despite Notre Dame outshooting them 11-4 over the first ten minutes of the frame.

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Resilience defined the Irish response once again. Fimis collected a loose puck after a shot from Henry Nelson near the crease and deposited it past the Spartan netminder to knot the score at 2-2 at the 10:59 mark of the third period.

With regulation solving nothing, the teams moved to a five-minute 3-on-3 overtime session. Sammy Nelson lost the initial faceoff, quickly won back possession, skated past a defender, and snapped a shot from the edge of the circle to seal the 3-2 win.

The decisive strike 21 seconds into overtime stands as the quickest overtime goal scored by the Irish since Cam Morrison netted the winner at RPI after 13 seconds, and is the quickest overtime goal at home in program history.

The victory improves Notre Dame’s record against Michigan State in South Bend to 34-33-1. The Irish successfully overcame two separate deficits, trailing 1-0 and 2-1, and answered both Spartan goals within a span of four minutes.

Defensively, the Irish blocked 17 shots compared to just five for Michigan State. For the second straight game and the third time this season, all three Nelson brothers recorded at least one point, with Sammy notching two goals, Danny adding two assists, and Henry contributing one assist. Notre Dame holds a 3-0 record when all three Nelson brothers have recorded a point in the same game.

Sammy Nelson brings his season totals to three goals and two assists. Fimis holds five points on the year, while Danny Nelson leads the team with 12 points off five goals and seven assists after his multi-point performance.

Paul Fischer added an assist, giving him four helpers over his last three games and tying him for the team lead with seven assists on the season.

The two teams return to the ice for the second game of the series on Friday, Nov. 13, at 7 p.m. ET inside Compton Family Ice Arena, with a live stream available on Peacock.