SOUTH BEND, Ind. – The No. 2 Fighting Irish completely dominated No. 18 Michigan at Arlotta Stadium on Saturday afternoon, winning by a final score of 19-9 to improve to 5-1 on the season.
The starting attack dazzled on the day, as Jake Taylor, Chris Kavanagh and Pat Kavanagh combined for 20 points to pace Notre Dame. Taylor scored a season-high seven goals, finishing just one shy of his own program record for goals in a game.
Chris Kavanagh had his best passing game of his career, posting a personal best six assists and adding a goal while his brother Pat posted two goals and four assists. Freshman Jordan Faison also had a hat trick, matching his career high for goals in a game with three.
The Irish defense continued its dominant run of play, limiting the Michigan attack to just nine goals. All-American goalie Liam Entenmann was superb in goal, making 14 saves. Defensively, Shawn Lyght and Ben Ramsey each added a pair of caused turnovers in the contest.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The game was tight after the opening 15 minutes of action, as the score was level at 3-3 at the end of the first frame. Devon McLane scored the opener on Notre Dame’s only extra-man opportunity of the day. After two Michigan goals gave the visitors the lead with five minutes left in the period the Irish responded with goals from Faison and Pat Kavanagh before the Wolverines tied it at three.
The Irish completely took over the game in the second quarter, reeling off seven unanswered goals over a span of nine minutes to blow the game wide open at 10-3. Notre Dame’s midfield was responsible for the first three, coming from McLane, Max Busenkell and Eric Dobson. Two Faison goals and one apiece from Taylor and Chris Kavanagh capped off the run before Michigan scored with less than two minutes left in the half to give the Irish a 10-4 advantage at the break.
The third quarter turned into the Jake Taylor show, as the graduate student finished everything on the crease and scored six goals in the frame. The attackman posted the first four goals of the third quarter and then added the final two. Will Angrick also found the back of the net for the second straight game to give the Irish another 7-1 quarter, making the score 17-5 heading into the final quarter.
With the game out of reach, Michigan managed to outscore the Irish 4-2 in the final frame giving Notre Dame its third straight win, all against Big Ten opponents, by a final score of 19-9.
NOTRE DAME NOTES
- The Irish extend their lead in the all-time series against Michigan to 6-1 with the win and have won each of the last four matchups.
- The Notre Dame defense has now held five of its six opponents in 2024 to 10 goals or less.
- Notre Dame’s EMO continues to be the premier unit in the country, cashing in on its only opportunity in the win and has now scored on 14-of-18 opportunities on the season.
- The six offensive starters combined for 20 points (10G, 10A) in the victory.
- Taylor’s seven goals are tied for the second most in a game in program history, just one shy of his record of eight which he recorded in his first career start against Syracuse during the 2022 season.
- Entenmann’s 14 saves are tied for his season high and he now has 608 in his career. The graduate student became just the fourth player in program history to reach the 600 save milestone.
- Chris Kavanagh recorded his first six-assist game of his career and he now has 15 points over the last two games.
- Pat Kavanagh’s six-point effort gives him 250 for his career off 93 goals and his program-record 157 assists.
- Faison recorded his third hat trick of the season and he has scored in all six games in his young career.UP NEXT
The Irish are back in action at Arlotta Stadium at 2 p.m. ET on Saturday, March 30, as they take on No. 6 Syracuse in Notre Dame’s ACC opener. The game will air on ACCN.
— ND —