NOTRE DAME, Ind. — Graham Slaggert scored, but #14 Notre Dame dropped a 3-1 decision to Michigan on Saturday night inside a sold out Compton Family Ice Arena (4,971).
Cale Morris finished with 32 saves for the Irish while Strauss Mann stopped 25 shots in net for the Wolverines.
Michigan finished 1-for-4 on the power play, while Notre Dame was 0-for-4.
How It Happened
The Irish took an early 1-0 lead at 1:45 of the first period when Jake Pivonka sent a wrist shot towards the net from the high slot that Slaggert tipped in for his third goal of the season. Tory Dello earned the second assist on the goal, while Cal Burke helped provide the screen in front.
Notre Dame put together back-to-back penalty kills midway through the first period that included a couple big saves by Morris and a Spencer Stastney shot block on the doorstep.
The pair of penalty kills helped the Irish take the 1-0 lead into the first intermission.
The Wolverines evened the score on a power-play tally by Nick Blankenburg at 11:28 of the second period.
Morris made a breakaway stop on Nick Pastujov at 13:39 of the frame before Jack Summers put Michigan up 2-1 with 3:27 left in the stanza, a lead they would hold after two periods of play.
The Irish nearly tied it up early in the third when Jake Pivonka tipped a Nate Clurman shot, but the puck hit the post behind Mann’s glove and skipped across the crease past the other post.
The Irish pulled Morris in favor of the extra attacker with 1:21 to play, but Jake Slaker scored an empty-net goal in the final minute to make it a 3-1 final.
Up Next
- Notre Dame will hit the road next weekend for a two-game series at No. 7/8 Ohio State.
- Game one (Jan. 17) is slated for a 6 p.m. ET start on the Big Ten Network, while game two (Jan. 18) features a 5 p.m. ET puck drop (BTN+).
Notes
- Dating back to Notre Dame’s 3-0 shutout of Penn State on December 14, Cale Morris has stopped 166 of his last 172 shots against for a .965 save percentage over the five game stretch.
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