Yost Ice Arena has turned a cold shoulder to Notre Dame hockey as of late. After the thrilling overtime victories of 2021-22 and 2022-23, the Irish have now lost six consecutive games at Michigan with a Wolverine sweep this weekend. Notre Dame fell 2-1 in overtime on Friday and 4-2 in regulation on Saturday, dropping to 5-5-0 overall and 1-3-0 in Big Ten play.
Say’s showcase not enough in Friday’s overtime loss
To start the weekend, junior goaltender Owen Say put forth an effort reminiscent of Ryan Bischel’s February 2023 performance that helped Notre Dame clinch home postseason ice at Yost. With Michigan outshooting Notre Dame 47-19, Say kept the Irish in the hockey game, making 45 saves — at least 10 in every regulation period — to force the game into overtime.
Michigan controlled most of Friday’s game thanks to a distinct advantage at the faceoff dot. The Wolverines captured 51 of the 79 available draws, dropping Notre Dame’s faceoff percentage from second nationally to 16th nationally in a single night.
After the first period went down scoreless, Michigan began to take the upper hand in the second period, putting 19 shots on Say. Notre Dame, however, capitalized on a rare opportunity to deposit the game’s first goal. With Michigan entering the Irish zone with a 3-on-1, junior defenseman Michael Mastrodomenico made a fine lunging play to break up a cross-ice feed and kickstart Notre Dame in transition. Sophomore forward Brennan Ali scooped up the puck and marched into the Michigan end in a 2-on-1, opting to shoot and pinpointing the upper left corner of the net. On Ali’s second goal of the season, Notre Dame led 1-0 with 13:31 to play in the second period.
Michigan would answer nine minutes later on a wrister from Josh Eernisse. Say made the initial save, but his rebound kicked out to the low slot, where Kienan Draper wrapped a follow-up try around Say and into the net. With goals from a pair of Detroit Red Wing draft selections, the series opener entered the third period level at 1-1.
Early in the third period, Michigan’s power play — which led the nation in conversion rate last year — went on a 5-on-3 for 66 seconds. The Irish hung on tight and managed to kill off another penalty midway through the period. After Say made 11 saves in the final period, the horn sounded and Notre Dame turned the page to overtime for a second consecutive Friday night.
Unsurprisingly, the 3-on-3 setup in overtime favored the speedy and skillful Wolverines, who produced all four of the extra period’s shots. Two minutes into overtime, reigning Big Ten First Star of the Week led a 2-on-1 Michigan rush up the right side, firing on goal. Say made the initial stop, but Werner beat Notre Dame’s backcheckers to the rebound and squeezed it through for the game-winning goal.
Rough start holds the Irish back on Saturday
Night two yielded a better performance from Notre Dame skaters, but you never would have guessed it from the game’s first three minutes. Just 41 seconds in, Michigan turned its first offensive-zone possession of the night into a goal as Michael Hage whipped his fifth of the year past Say from the slot. A minute and 27 seconds later, the Wolverines doubled up on Werner’s fifth goal. His sharp-angle shot from the bottom of the circle was headed wide, but it clanked off the helmet of freshman defenseman Jaedon Kerr and trickled over the Irish goal line.
The bad nearly went worse for Notre Dame midway through the first period, as Michigan jumped on back-to-back power plays. However, the Irish penalty killers, which went 8 for 8 on the weekend, held the Wolverines down. With the game settling down, Notre Dame responded to Michigan in the first period’s final four minutes. Sophomore forward Cole Knuble carried a puck battle down to the left dot in the Wolverine zone, setting up Ali to step into a drag-and-fire shot that went top-shelf. Ali’s second goal of the weekend had Notre Dame within a 2-1 deficit at the first intermission.
After being outshot 16-7 in period one, Notre Dame would outshoot Michigan 22-18 the rest of the way. Michigan, however, restored its two-goal lead six minutes into the second period on a Thomas Daskas wrister that clipped Say’s glove and dropped into the cage. The Irish came back with another late-period answer, pushing a 3-on-2 into Michigan’s zone in the final minute. Senior forward Hunter Strand slipped a pass over from the high slot to the left dot, where graduate forward Blake Biondi slammed a one-timer home. Having scored for the first time since Oct. 11, Biondi celebrated by taking off his glove, reaching his right hand behind his helmet and tossing the invisible monkey off his back.
Down 3-2 throughout the third period, Notre Dame found several opportunities to tie. Strand and sophomore forward Danny Nelson each had a point-blank look from the low slot, but one shot went high and another into the chest of Michigan goaltender Cameron Korpi. Notre Dame also went on a power play midway through the frame but couldn’t cash in. With two minutes remaining, Say went to the Irish bench for an extra attacker, but Notre Dame struggled to sustain possession time in the Michigan zone. After a tie-up in neutral ice, the puck trickled back toward the gaping Irish goal, and Jackson Hallum tapped it in with 20 seconds left to seal the Michigan sweep.
With three Big Ten points through four games to start November, the Irish will play, on paper, their toughest series of the first half this weekend. Notre Dame will face No. 4 Michigan State in East Lansing with the Spartans having just swept No. 13 Ohio State at Munn Ice Arena.
