ANN ARBOR, Mich. — For the first time since November 10, 2018, the University of Notre Dame hockey team dropped a regular season contest at Yost Ice Arena as they fell to the Michigan Wolverines 4-0 Friday night.
Michigan scored early with a shot off the draw to take the 1-0 lead but the Irish continued to pressure the Wolverine end relentlessly, looking for the equalizer in the opening minutes of Friday’s contest.
Danny Nelson and Ryan Siedem put up a strong defensive effort as the Wolverines tried to clear the puck out of their end before Nelson nearly had the Irish on the board just over halfway through the contest.
Shortly after the first media timeout of the night, the Irish were called for a hook and the visiting penalty kill unit went to work. The Irish successfully killed off the game’s opening penalty.
An Irish rookie was thrown into the boards twice with the officials deeming the second hit a penalty. The Irish challenged the play for a major but were unsuccessful and lost their timeout at 15:17 of the first frame.
The Wolverines scored on the ensuing penalty as the Irish faced a 2-0 deficit through oner period of play.
Nearly halfway through the second stanza, Landon Slaggert and Patrick Moynihan created a rush up ice that was stalled when a Wolverine player’s knee collided with that of Moynihan and the graduate was slow to get up. The Wolverines were assessed a two-minute minor for the play. Notre Dame peppered the Michigan net with shots on the man-advantage but were unable to capitalize as the home team returned to full strength.
The Irish were whistled for a pair of penalties late in the second period, skating a man-down for nearly the final 3:30. The Wolverines capitalized on the first infraction before the Irish escaped to the intermission with just under a minute remaining on the second.
Landon Slaggert nearly had the Irish on the board less than a minute into the third period when Ryan Siedem found the captain alone up ice for the shorthanded chance. The senior’s shot trickled through the pads of Jake Barczewski in the Wolverine crease but, in a game of inches, the puck hit the far post and stayed in the paint to keep the Irish off the stats sheet.
A late major against the Irish forced the penalty unit back onto the ice with 8:24 to play in regulation. The elder Slaggert was once again found on the breakawy, racing up ice alongside his brother Carter, and before he could get a shot off was tripped up and awarded a penalty shot. The captain could not convert on the shot and the Irish continued to trail by three late in the game.
Moments later, Danny Nelson and Cole Knuble connected on an odd-man rush of their own but the shot off the stick of Knuble sailed wide and play wound up at the opposite end of the ice where the Wolverines took advantage of the major penalty to make it a 4-0 game.
The score would remain through the final horn as the Irish fell at the hands of the Wolverines inside Yost Ice Arena.
UP NEXT
The Irish conclude the regular season tomorrow night with a 6:30pm puck drop inside Yost Ice Arena.
The Irish and Wolverines are now tied in the Big Ten Conference standings and face a critical game two in hopes of keeping home ice playoffs alive.