TEMPE, Az. — The University of Notre Dame hockey team opened the 2025-26 season on the road at the annual Ice Breaker tournament, taking on hosts No. 15/15 Arizona State in the season opener, ultimately dropping a 5-3 decision to the home Sun Devils.
The Irish wasted no time putting the offensive pressure on Friday night, firing two shots on goal off the stick of Michael Mastrodomenico less than 20 seconds into play.
The Irish were whistled for the first infraction of the night as Henry Nelson tied up a Sun Devil from a potential breakaway but was called for a hold at 5:27 of the opening frame. The team’s top penalty kill unit spent 91 seconds on the ice before Carter Slaggert was able to clear it the length of the ice and get a change in. The Irish killed off the remainder of the ASU man advantage.
Shortly after the kill though the Irish headed back to the box for hooking and were tasked with a second man-disadvantage at 8:16 of the first period.
The Irish returned to full strength and brought the pressure back into the ASU end with Danny Nelson and Evan Werner each recording shots but the Irish were unable to break the netminder between the pipes.
ASU was whistled for a hook at 13:08 of the frame to give the Irish their first powerplay opportunity of the year. After a lengthy review, the Irish were also assessed a penalty – a major for head contact – and the two teams skated four a side for the next two minutes.
A misplayed puck by an Irish defenseman found the tape of a Sun Devil on the powerplay and his shot beat Kempf over his blocker as they took the 1-0 lead.
Cole Knuble had a chance shorthanded in the waning seconds of the penalty kill but his shot was stuffed aside and the score remained 1-0.
The Sun Devils extended the lead after a broken Irish stick in the neutral zone created an odd-man rush the other way and the shot beat Kempf in the crease.
The score would remain through the horn as the Irish headed to the locker room trialing by two after the first 20 minutes of the season.
A backhanded tap beat Kempf five hole just 54 seconds into the middle stanza as the Sun Devils took a 3-0 lead.
The first goal of the season came off the stick of Henry Nelson who ripped a one-timer from the blue line through traffic to get the Irish on the board.
The Irish were charged with a bench minor shortly after but the kill would be negated when ASU was flagged for a delay of game after a face-off violation with 1:12 to go on the Notre Dame kill.
Notre Dame’s Jaedon Kerr drew a penalty deep in the offensive zone just over halfway through the contest and the Irish saw their second powerplay opportunity of the night following a hook against the Sun Devils.
The Irish capitalized on the man advantage as Paul Fischer found the back of the net with a shot from above the far circle, beating Samuel Urban in the ASU net. The Sun Devils answered shortly after to reclaim their two-goal lead and would find the back of the net once more before the end of the frame to take the 5-2 lead into the intermission.
Notre Dame saw 11.3 seconds of powerplay action before the end of the frame and would see the remainder of the man-advantage when the two teams returned to the ice for the third period.
The Irish had a few strong chances during the remaining powerplay to start the third period but were unable to convert and the two sides were back to full strength.
ASU called timeout with 13:14 to play in regulation and shortly after their return to play, the Sun Devils were called for a trip after Evan Werner got tangled up with a defender near the Sun Devil net.
The Irish powerplay unit returned to work at 7:22 of the final frame but the Sun Devils defended their net and held the Irish scoreless on the man-advantage midway through the period.
Carter Slaggert made it a two-goal game again with a tally at 12:10 of the third period with assists to Sutter Muzzatti and Axel Kumlin.
With 5:15 to go in regulation, and the Irish buzzing from their third goal of the night, a hit by the Sun Devils along the halfwall was reviewed for a potential major. After a lengthy review the call was determined to be a minor for boarding and the Irish headed to the powerplay once more, trailing by two.
After being unable to convert on the man advantage, the Irish were whistled for an infraction themselves, a hold, with 2:50 to play in regulation and were forced to sit for two minutes.
The Irish called timeout with 55.9 seconds to play and opted for the extra attacker when they returned to play but it was not enough as the score went final and the Irish dropped their season opening contest inside Mullett Arena.
GOALS
- In his collegiate debut, Pano Fimis skated the puck into the offensive end, dangled a defender and fed the puck back to Henry Nelson who stood waiting for the one-timer at the blue line. The junior, Nelson, ripped a shot through traffic to get the Irish on the board.
- Paul Fischer danced along the blue line before taking his opportunity on the powerplay and firing a shot into the back of the net for his first of the season. Evan Werner picked up the primary assist on the play to register his first point in an Irish sweater, while Cole Knuble had the second apple on the goal.
- Axel Kumlin, Sutter Muzzatti and Carter Slaggert combined for the team’s third goal of the night. Kumlin created the rush, skating through the neutral zone before dishing the puck across the o-zone where Muzzatti got a bit of the puck before Slaggert gathered it and fired a wrist shot from the near dot, beating Connor Hasley glove side for the tally.
KEY STATS
- With the lone assist on H. Nelson’s opening goal, Pano Fimis tallied his first collegiate point.
- Evan Werner tallied his first point with the Irish as he registered the primary assist on Fischer’s powerplay goal in the second period.
- Recording the primary helper on Slaggert’s third period goal, Sutter Muzzatti tallied his first point for the Blue and Gold.
- The Irish outshot the Sun Devils 50-38, marking their first 50-plus shot count since October 26, 2023 against Mercyhurst with former Irish netminder (then Laker) Owen Say in the crease.
- Nicholas Kempf stopped 33 shots between the pipes for the Irish in his season debut.
- Fimis played second line center for the Irish Friday night, his first for the Irish. The freshman led the team at the dot among those with multiple attempts, boasting a 66.7-percent mark with 10 face-off wins on 15 chances.
- Friday night marked the first game of the Sheahan Era for Notre Dame hockey as Catalino Family Head Hockey Coach made his debut behind the bench, becoming the fifth head coach in program history.
UP NEXT
The Irish close out the Ice Breaker Tournament Saturday afternoon with a 3pm MST puck drop set against No. 8/9 Quinnipiac. The meeting will mark the first for the two storied programs.
Notre Dame then returns home for their home-opening series against St. Lawrence, October 16-17 with puck drop slated for 7pm for both games inside Compton Family Ice Arena.