Women’s Hockey
The Irish played three games over the weekend, traveling to Madison, Wis. for four games, two each against the host Badgers and Michigan State.
On Friday, Notre Dame fell 4-0 after a quick start from the Badgers. Wisconsin scored early in the first period to start the game, but sophomore goaltender Allison Stankowicz made 11 saves in the period to keep the deficit at two. Stankowicz continued to play well, making another 12 saves in the second, only allowing one goal at the 6:06 minute mark. The Irish, down 2-0, came out flying in thethird period, matching the Badgers in shots on goal. Though the Badgers found the net twice in the period to push the lead to 4-0, the Irish finished the game strong, Stankowicz finished with 30 saves for the Irish.
Barely 12 hours later, the Irish returned to the ice against Wisconsin again, this time starting junior goaltender Mary Salvi in net against the Badgers. The Irish came out hard, looking for retribution from the previous day’s game. Sophomore forward Jackie Dunn got Notre Dame on the board for the first time all weekend, shooting a rebound of a shot from junior defenseman Lauren Gabel into the upper right hand corner of the net. Shortly after, sophomore forward Alex Stern and freshman forward Ana Grandinetti skated into the offensive zone two-on-two, and after battling it out in the corner, Stern put a shot on net, which Grandinetti was able to put in on the rebound.
The Badgers responded with two goals of their own before the end of the first period and continued the onslaught with two more goals in the second. Salvi played well in net, making numerous saves to keep the Irish close. Despite numerous scoring opportunities, the score remained the same at 4-2 Badgers.
Later in the day, Notre Dame came out to play Michigan State. Although they let in an early Spartan goal, the Irish dominated the period. Sophomore goaltender Regina Engel made eight saves in the period to keep the score at 1-0. The momentum continued into the second, as sophomore forward Madison Ratcyz scored at the 11:52.
The Irish continued to dominate play and drew two penalties. On the second power play, Dunn scored off a lose puck in the offensive zone.
The Spartans came back with a goal of their own to start the third period, tying the score at 2-2, but Engel made a series of saves to keep Michigan State from taking the lead. Despite three power plays in the third, the Irish were unable to find the net, and the Spartans snuck a goal past Engel to take the lead. The Irish received two penalties of their own near the very end of the game, and Michigan State converted on the power play to make the score 4-2.
On Sunday morning, the Irish took on the Spartans again in their final game of the weekend, and Stankowicz got the start in net. The game remained scoreless into the second period until an interference penalty by Dunn gave the Spartans a power play goal with less than two minutes left in the period.
The Irish dominated during the third period, outshooting the Spartans 12 to four. They kept the pressure on the Spartan net, but Michigan State held on to their one-goal lead to win the game.
Men’s Hockey
The Irish traveled to Ann Arbor, Mich. on Friday to take on Michigan in a two-game series. Playing a Wolverine squad that was headed to Nationals, the Irish fell twice, 5-0 and 2-0. Though Notre Dame threw close to 80 shots on net during the two games, the Irish were unable to find the back of the net. Junior goaltender Justin Dancu and sophomore goaltender Nick Stasack played well in the losses.
Wrestling
Notre Dame continued to build upon its successful inaugural season as the team recorded three wins and only one loss at the Glass City Duals in Toledo, Ohio on Saturday. Toledo hosted the round robin-style team tournament that featured eight teams. The Irish began the day with a rematch against their most recent opponent, Michigan. The Irish won handily with a final score of 35-24, after winning 28-23 two weeks earlier at home. In its second match, Notre Dame fell to sixth-ranked Grand Valley State 31-21. The Irish bounced back from their loss to defeat Bowling Green 39-24. With this victory, the Irish finished second in their pool and were slated to wrestle Pittsburgh for third place at the event. Notre Dame lost to Pittsburgh 27-21 in South Bend on Jan. 19, and the Irish wrestlers were eager to avenge that loss. The Irish prevailed 27-23, marking a strong finish to a successful day. Freshman Garrett Schmelling and sophomore Ben Evans were key contributors to the team’s achievements, wrestling in the 141-lb. and 197-lb. weight classes respectively. Both wrestlers finished the day with four wins and no losses. Schmelling’s continued his undefeated season, and his record now stands at 9-0. The team’s season record is now 4-5, 4-1 in its last five matches. Notre Dame will continue to work to improve as it looks forward to the final event of the year, the Great Lakes Conference Tournament, which will be held March 1 at Grand Valley.
