SOUTH BEND, Ind. — The regular season concluded last week with the Irish completing a sweep of the Ohio State Buckeyes on the road in thrilling fashion. After taking game one in overtime Thursday, the Irish stunned the home crowd with a goal at the buzzer to send game two to a similar fate, an overtime win and series sweep. For their contributions to the two-game affair, Paul Fischer and Evan Werner have been recognized by the Big Ten Conference as First and Third Stars of the Week, respectively. Both juniors finished the series with four points against the rival Buckeyes.
A Hobey Baker Memorial Award candidate, Fischer was named First Star of the Week after registering two points in both contests to close out the regular season. His four points led all defensemen nationally while ranking fourth-most nationally – tied with his teammate and fellow honoree, Werner. He was the lone conference blueliner to register four points in the week-long stretch. After recording a pair of assists in a matter of 1:46 Thursday night to give the Irish the 3-2 lead late in the first period, Fischer tallied the second assist on the team’s opening goal Friday night, scored on the powerplay to tie things up with 8.8 seconds to play in the first. He capped off his weekend by scoring the latest goal ever recorded in regulation in program history, netting the game-tying goal at 19:59.9 of the third period to force overtime and set the Irish up for the sweep. The goal, his sixth of the season, came with the extra attacker on the ice and 0.1 seconds remaining in regulation to make it a 3-3 contest in Columbus.
The team’s leader in points this season with 33, Werner recorded his third four-point night of the season Thursday night as the Irish topped the Buckeyes 5-4. Highlighted by his overtime dagger Thursday to give the Irish the win, Werner also had a goal late in the first period as well as two assists in the contest to round out his night. He picked up the primary assist on the team’s first goal of the game Thursday night, finding Sutter Muzzatti at 16:03 of the first period. He then followed it up with a goal of his own just 1:46 later to close out a three-goal sequence by the Irish to give them the lead heading into the first intermission. He added an assist to the team’s second period goal before scoring the overtime game-winner to cap off the four-point night. His single game point total was one of just two four-point performances nationally over the past week while his four points came in less than half the time-on-ice as his counterpart. Additionally, his line combined for 10 points on the weekend, including eight points in Thursday night’s contest. After finishing with a plus-four on-ice rating Thursday, he posted a plus-one on Friday night to finish the series at plus-five.
Both Fischer and Werner were on the ice for the overtime goal Thursday night before following it up with the extra-man shift late Friday to tie it up.
The Irish look to carry the momentum of the past few weeks into the postseason as they head North to Michigan for a Wednesday night matchup against the nation’s top-ranked Wolverines. Puck drop is slated for 7pm and will stream on B1G+.