NOTRE DAME, Ind. — An offensive battle went in favor of the visitors Friday night inside Compton Family Ice Arena as the Irish dropped a 7-4 decision to the No. 2/2 Wisconsin Badgers, presented by Jordan Lexus of Mishawaka. The Irish held a two-goal lead after the first 20 minutes of play but a back-and-forth second period would see the Badgers up by one after 40 minutes. A pair of empty net goals for the visiting Big Ten foe sealed the Notre Dame team’s fate Friday night as they fall to 4-10-1 on the season heading into the final game of 2025.
For the third consecutive game, the Irish offense struck first when Evan Werner and Sutter Muzzatti connected on a sequence of passes before Werner fired a shot through the slot and into the back of the Badgers net at 3:11 of the first period.
The Irish defense buckled down after the Irish goal, blocking a handful of shots to keep the Badgers off the board as they clung to the one-goal lead through the midway point of the period.
A rather uneventful rest of the period culminated with the Irish pressing the Wisconsin end late in the frame. With less than 60 seconds to play in the period, Maddox Fleming fired a shot on net where Paul Fischer got a stick on the saucer, redirecting it past the Badgers’ netminder Eli Pulver to make it a 2-0 contest with 41 seconds to go in the opening period.
The Irish took the two goal lead into the second stanza while Wisconsin made a change in goal to start the middle 20 minutes. It took the Badgers just 31 seconds to slash the Irish lead in half after a shot by Fischer from the blueline was blocked and chipped out to a Badger in the neutral zone who skated in on Nicholas Kempf uncontested.
Wisconsin tied it up at 3:43 of the second period after an odd-man rush into the Irish end beat Kempf in the crease.
The Irish saw the first powerplay opportunity of the night at 4:37 of the second period. The Irish special teams unit, which ranks third nationally on the man-advantage, wasted no time with the edge as Pano Fimis net his second of the season just 17 seconds into the powerplay to make it a 3-2 game.
Cole Brown nearly had the Irish back up by a pair shortly after but his attempt on the doorstep bounced just wide and play remained 3-2.
The Badgers responded with a shot off the far post at 11:26 of the second period to even things back up after a miscommunication at the blueline by a pair of Irish skaters ended with the puck behind them.
Both teams would head to the box at 15:08 of the second stanza after a roughing call against the Badgers led to embellishment on the Irish. The two teams would skate four a side looking to break the 3-3 stalemate late in the frame. The Irish would see a second skater sent to the box with 32 seconds remaining on the embellishment infraction. With the nation’s top-ranked powerplay unit on the ice for the first time Friday night, the Irish got a pair of looks on the Badgers’ net when Knuble and Muzzatti raced up the ice shorthanded looking for the goal. Knuble’s two chances were both sticked aside by Wisconsin’s goalie and play eventually returned to the Irish defensive end.
A trip on the ensuing face-off sent another Irish skater to the box and Notre Dame was forced to kill off 67 seconds of a five-on-three chance for Wisconsin.
The Irish managed to kill off the full powerplay chance for the visiting Badgers to swing momentum in their favor during the waning minutes of the second but a Wisconsin goal at 19:37 sent the home team to the locker room with their first deficit of the night, looking for a response.
And Notre Dame did just that – they answered. When the two teams retook the ice for the third, the home team peppered the visitors’ end looking for the equalizer. Jaedon Kerr chipped the puck from deep in the defensive end out into netural ice where a Wisconsin player settled it. Werner outbodied the Badger skater at the opposing blueline, stealing the puck and crashing in towards net aside Brennan Ali to make it a 4-4 game with his second of the night. The Badgers responded just 1:03 later though to reclaim their lead at 2:26 of the third, making it a 5-4 game.
With 3:12 to play in regulation the Irish called timeout in favor of the extra attacker. With their net empty at the other end of the ice, Notre Dame saw a handful of good looks in the following seconds off the sticks of Knuble and Ali but neither were able to break the Badger netminding and they continued to trail by a goal with under two minutes to play.
The Badgers would find the back of the empty net at 17:33 of the third to make it a two-goal game with time running out on an Irish comeback. With the Irish netminder pulled once more as Notre Dame searched for two late tallies but the second-ranked Badgers capitalized again for the 7-4 final.
Irish netminder Nicholas Kempf stopped 30 shots to keep the Irish in the game Friday night before being pulled late in the third in favor of the extra attacker. He now boasts 445 saves on the season and a .899 save percentage in 15 games played for the Irish in the first half of the season.
GOALS
- Evan Werner hopped the boards for the change, picking up a pass from Michael Mastrodomenico as he touched the ice. The junior forward then skated into the offensive end before feeding a pass to Sutter Muzzatti who used his outside edge to get the puck to his stick before chipping it back over to Werner for the shot into the back of the net.
- The Irish doubled their lead with a deflection in front of the net by Paul Fischer with 41 seconds to play in the first period. Maddox Fleming fired the puck on net where Fischer tipped it past the Badger netminder for the 2-0 tally. Carter Slaggert also earned an assist on the play, his first of the year.
- Notre Dame’s top powerplay unit continued its successful ways Friday when Pano Fimis capitalized on the man-advantage just 17 seconds into the powerplay opportunity. Paul Fischer fed the puck to Cole Knuble from the blueline who quickly tapped the puck to Fimis who one-timed it past Wisconsin’s Daniel Hauser in the crease to give the Irish the 3-2 lead at 4:54 of the second period.
- After Wisconsin pulled ahead for the first time Friday night, Werner evened the tally at 4-4 just 83 seconds into the final period of regulation. The junior forward’s team-leading seventh of the season came unassisted after he picked off a Wisconsin skater in the neutral zone.
KEY STATS
- Michael Mastrodomenico, skating in his 100th career game for the Irish, picked up the secondary assist on the game’s opening goal.
- Pano Fimis’ goal on the powerplay was his first tally since October 24 against Robert Morris. The freshman, who has eight assists on the year now ranks tied for the team lead in points among his class, matching Cole Brown’s 10 points (2-8-10).
- With two goals Friday, Evan Werner extended his point streak to four games and boasts four goals and two assists dating back to November 15.
- After picking up a goal and an assist Friday against the Badgers, Paul Fischer’s six-game point streak marks a career best for the defenseman (3-5-8).
- With a goal in Friday night’s matchup against the Badgers, Sutter Muzatti extends his point streak to three games and capitalizes with four assists since November 26.
- After picking up an assist in Friday night’s game, Cole Knuble marks a three game point and assist streak since November 26.
- The Irish went into the weekend ranked third on the powerplay, operating at a rate of .310. With just one opportunity Friday night, the Irish were perfect on the man-advantage, finding the back of the net on their lone shot on goal during powerplay time. The powerplay unit now boasts 14 goals on the year and is operating at a clip of .326.
- The special teams unit remained perfect on the night, posting two successful kills against the nation’s top-ranked powerplay, including killing off over a minute of five-on-three hockey in a knotted 3-3 contest.
- With his third multi-point game of the season, Fischer’s 15 points leads the Irish. The junior defenseman now owns five goals and 10 assists and is averaging 1.00 points per game which leads the team.
- Werner’s two-goal night gives him seven lamp lighters on the year which leads the team in the category. Additionally, his six assists put him at 13 points in his first campaign with the Irish, ranking third on the team in the category.
- The Irish headed into the weekend with a .546 faceoff win rate which was sixth nationally. Friday’s contest saw the promising centers trailing the Badgers 25-22 at the dot heading into the third period, but a strong showing in the final 20 minutes where they went 18-7 gave them the 43-29 overall edge Friday night, led by Sutter Muzzatti who boasted 19 wins on 26 attempts.
UP NEXT
The Irish close out the 2025 calendar year with the series finale against the No. 2/2 Badgers Saturday night at 5pm. Saturday’s contest is presented by Beacon Health System and will feature the annual teddy bear toss and photos with Santa on the main concourse throughout the evening.
Following the game, the team will host its post game skate with the Irish as they celebrate the holiday season with their fans.