By: Meg Lange
MADISON, Wis.– The Irish bounced back Saturday night with a convincing 6-1 victory over Wisconsin to cap off their regular season road slate. Owen Say earned the nod in net for game two of the weekend series, stopping 31 of his 32 shots faced en route to the victory while six individuals posted multi-point nights to secure the win.
Irish junior Niko Jovanovic opened the scoring early when he buried his first collegiate goal within the first five minutes of the game. His shot sailed top shelf over Tommy Scarfone’s shoulder in the Badger net to put the Irish on the board first.
The Irish held momentum as the Badgers were called for hooking shortly after the opening goal, sending the Irish to the power play for the first time of the night. The Irish got caught in a change and a penalty was called for too many men on the ice shortly after as the two teams would skate four-on-four for the last 35 seconds of the Badgers’ infraction.
Neither team was able to convert on the condensed man-advantage opportunity and each side returned to full strength.
The Irish got another shot at the powerplay in the final minutes of the opening period and Justin Janicke capitalized, extending the lead with just 5.6 seconds left in the first to send Notre Dame to the intermission with the 2-0 lead.
It was the Irish who would be shorthanded towards the start of the second period as they were whistled for elbowing just 3:26 into the frame.
After killing off that infraction both sides were whistled for penalties as either team saw a shortened chance on the man-advantage as well as a long stretch of four-on-four.
While a man looked on from the penalty box from both teams, Cole Knuble served up a beautiful goal, shot off the backhand, beating Scarfone in net at 7:44 to make it a 3-0 game less than halfway through the second period.
The Badgers got one back late in the second stanza off a rebound to snap Owen Say’s shutout bid after 21 saves between the pipes. The Badgers’ goal came with 3:25 to play in the period but Danny Nelson quickly silenced the home crowd with an answer just seven seconds later to reclaim Notre Dame’s three-goal lead.
A scrum in front of the Irish crease after the whistle just under five minutes into the third had Wisconsin challenge for a potential major after a Badger fell down as tempers flared. After a brief review, it was determined there was no penalty on the play and Wisconsin was charged their timeout.
The two sides continued to skate five-on-five through the midway point of the third before Ian Murphy found his way to the front of the net to make it a 5-1 game. The Murphy goal forced a change in net for the Badgers as William Gramme entered the game for Wisconsin.
With the Badgers looking for momentum just over halfway through the contest, the visitors were called for a penalty in front of the Irish net and were tasked with another kill. After an official review, a five-minute major was assessed and sent a Notre Dame defenseman to the locker room early.
While already on the man-advantage, Wisconsin elected to pull their netminder in favor of a sixth attacker at 12:39 of the third. With an Irish player still in the box serving the major penalty, the Irish were able to clear the puck towards the empty net without the fear of icing stopping play. Defenseman Paul Fischer sent the puck the entire length of the ice, clearing it from behind the Irish net but his shot at the empty net would trickle just wide and the Badgers set up another attack with the two-man advantage.
With just under five minutes to play in regulation, and just 13 seconds left on the major kill, Grant Silianoff sealed the win for the Irish with an empty net tally, shorthanded, to lift the Irish to the 6-1 final and weekend split.
GOALS
- The Irish jumped out to an early lead after Niko Jovanovic one-timed a shot into the back of the net for his first collegiate goal. Henry Nelson sent a cross-ice pass to Axel Kumlin in the Irish zone where the junior defenseman then skated the puck through the neutral zone and dumped it deep into the Badger zone. The clear bounced off the boards and onto the stick of Jovanovic who buried his shot high glove-side for the 1-0 tally.
- As time wound down on the first period, Owen Say caught the Badgers on the kill and quickly fired a pass to Danny Nelson who stood at the far blueline. The sophomore then tossed a pass over to Cole Knuble who played tic-tac-toe with Blake Biondi and Justin Janicke for the 2-0 lead as 5.7 seconds remained on the clock in the first.
- Knuble further extended the Irish lead as he and H. Nelson combined at the blue line to make it a 3-0 game at 7:44 of the second. Kumlin chipped the puck along the boards deep in the Irish zone where Knuble picked it up. The sophomore then beat his man at the blueline, tipping the puck out of the Irish end and racing through the neutral zone. As he neared the opposite blueline, Knuble fed a pass across to H. Nelson who stood in anticipation to enter the zone before feeding a pass back to Knuble who skated through a pair of defenders before backhanding his shot into the net.
- The team’s leader at the dot, Danny Nelson was on the ice for the center ice faceoff following the Wisconsin goal at 16:35 of the second. The sophomore center won the puck back to Michael Mastrodomenico who raced up ice before firing a shot on net. Scarfone made the initial save in the Badgers net but Brennan Ali stood at the doorstep and tried to tap the puck in. Ali was unable to get a full handle on the puck before Scarfone swept it out of his crease but the Badgers’ netminder swept it right onto the stick of the team’s leading goal-scorer Danny Nelson who buried his opportunity just nine seconds after Wisconsin got on the board, silencing the crowd.
- Ian Murphy net his first goal in over a month to make it a 5-1 game partway through the third period. The graduate forward’s patience with the puck at the top of the crease paid off as he baited the Badgers’ netminder before roofing a shot over the glove en route to the goal. Blake Biondi and Justin Janicke were both credited with assists on the play.
- The final goal of the night came off the stick of Grant Silianoff who fired a shot nearly 130- feet into the back of the empty net as the Irish fought to kill off a five-minute major penalty late in the contest. His goal came during a six-on-four disadvantage as the Badgers opted for the extra attacker while the Irish were shorthanded.
KEY STATS
- Opening the scoring early in the contest for the Irish on Saturday, Niko Jovonovic recorded his first collegiate goal Saturday against the Badgers.
- Six individuals recorded multi point games including, Michael Mastrodomenico, Axel Kumlin, Justin Janicke, Henry Nelson, Cole Knuble and Blake Biondi.
- With tonight’s contest in the books Justin Janicke has tallied 30 points on the season. Together with fellow forward Cole Knuble they are the first set of teammates to tally 30+ points on a season since the 2018-19 season when Bobby Nardella boasted 34, followed by Cal Burke and Dylan Malmquist with 30 points each.
- Sophomore Danny Nelson tallied points in both games on the weekend, tallying two goals and two assists against the Badgers.
- Cole Knuble is currently on a three-game point streak having tallied four assists and two goals in the Irish’s last three games.
- Irish Captain Justin Jankicke has recorded a four-game point-streak, scoring an assist in each of the Irish’s last four games. As well as a three game goal streak scoring a goal in each of the team’s last three games.
- Irish graduate forward Blake Biondi is riding a four-game point-streak, tallying two goals and three assists in his last four outings.
- Paul Fischer led the team in blocked shots Saturday, tallying four on the night.
- Senior netminder Owen Say saved 31 of 32 shots on goal in the contest against Wisconsin on Saturday night.
- Having each scored a goal both nights against the Badgers, Danny Nelson and Justin Janicke boast 13 goals each and lead the team in the category.
UP NEXT
The Irish will close out the regular season next weekend with a series at home against Michigan State University. Friday night’s game will be the team’s annual Irish Wear Green night as the program honors its 11 seniors and grad students prior to puck drop.
Fans are encouraged to arrive early to honor its graduating class with the pregame ceremony set to begin at 6:45 p.m.