SOUTH BEND, Ind. — The University of Notre Dame hockey team got off to a hot start in the first period Friday night against the Michigan Wolverines but ultimately fell 5-3 to the visitors inside Compton Family Ice Arena.
The Irish got off to an early lead as Cole Knuble buried a shot at 7:19 of the opening period to start the scoring before linemate Blake Biondi extended the Irish lead with a powerplay goal less than halfway through the first period.
Shortly after the graduate’s goal, the Irish were called for a trip and looked to have killed off the infraction but a goal from the Wolverine powerplay unit in the final seconds of the penalty drew them within one.
The Wolverines then evened things up late in the frame as a shot was deflected past Nicholas Kempf in the crease to make it a 2-2 game at 16:08 of the first.
The score remained stagnant through the end of the period as the teams skated to their respective locker rooms knotted in the 2-2 tally.
Michigan took the lead at 3:12 of the second period as the Irish found themselves trailing for the first time all evening after a shot beat a sprawling Kempf post-to-post.
The Wolverines extended their lead at 8:39 of the second period when a shot from the near circle beat Kempf five-hole.
A powerplay goal at 11:58 of the second gave the Wolverines their fifth goal of the night as the Irish trailed 5-2 just over halfway through the contest.
With just under three minutes to play in the second period, Axel Kumlin buried his fourth goal of the season to cut the Irish deficit to two goals heading into the second intermission.
Despite a number of looks late in the third period as the Irish opted for the extra attacker, they were unable to convert with the extra man and the 5-3 score went final.
The team’s leading scorer, Cole Knuble had a hand in all three Irish goals Friday night. The sophomore center opened the scoring against the Wolverines before picking up the second assists on the latter Notre Dame tallies. With eight goals and 13 assists to date this season, Knuble is the first Irish skater to eclipse 20 points on the year.
UP NEXT
The Irish and Wolverines close out the regular season series Saturday night with a 6:05pm puck drop inside Compton Family Ice Arena.