SOUTH BEND, Ind. - Senior Calle Ridderwall scored twice in the second period to lift No. 17 Notre Dame to a 2-1 home victory over top-ranked Boston College before a sellout crowd of 2,857 fans at the Joyce Center.
The Fighting Irish captured the coveted Lefty Smith - John "Snooks" Kelley Memorial Trophy, awarded annually to the victor of the game between the Eagles and Irish, presented tonight by Lefty Smith himself.
Senior Brian Gibbons lifted Boston College to a 1-0 lead on a power-play goal with 47.0 seconds left in the first period and goaltender John Muse recorded 32 saves in 58:53 for the visiting Eagles, who suffered their first defeat of the four-game season and fall to 3-1-0.
Gibbons tallied the game's first goal on the power play, redirecting captain Joe Whitney's shot from the point past Notre Dame sophomore goaltender Mike Johnson. Steven Whitney also assisted on the score.
Ridderwall notched the tying goal at 6:44 of the middle period, capitalizing on a BC turnover deep in the Fighting Irish offensive zone. The Stockholm, Sweden, resident later tallied the game-winning goal while the Irish were skating with a two-man advantage at 17:11, a goal that snapped a streak of 26 straight Eagle opponent penalties killed while also lifting an opponent to their first lead over BC this season (a span of 217 minutes, 11 seconds).
Notre Dame outshot the visiting Eagles, 34-29 in the game, including a 12-5 edge in a third period in which the Eagles were penalized four times and killed 5:41 of man-advantage time. BC finished 8-for-9 on the penalty kill in the contest.
Notre Dame sophomore forward Riley Shahaan was hauled down in a shorthanded situation at 7:04 of the third period, resulting in an option for a penalty shot. The Irish declined in favor of two-minute penalty that nullified the Eagle power play.
Muse recorded eight saves in the first period, and 12 saves in each of the second and third periods. He falls to 2-1-0 on the season.
Johnson stopped 28 shots to capture his fourth victory in his fourth start of the season.
Team Records: Boston College - 3-1-0; Notre Dame - 4-1-0
Game Notes: Notre Dame senior Ryan Guentzel connected with the crossbar twice on snap shots in the first period ... The Eagles fell to 8-6-2 in 16 meetings under head coach Jerry York, including a 4-2-1 record in seven games in South Bend, Ind. Saturday's contest concluded a 14-game home-and-home series between the Eagles and Fighting Irish that began in York's first season at the Heights (1994-95). BC and Notre Dame will begin a new six-game home-and-home series next winter (in South Bend, Ind.).