ANN ARBOR, Mich. — A chaotic third period, including a combined 144 minutes of penalties in the the final 20 minutes, saw the Irish fall to the top-ranked Michigan Wolverines Saturday night by a score of 7-4.
Michigan opened the scoring just 2:26 into play Saturday night, beating Nicholas Kempf to the loose puck in the crease and tucking it past his left pad for the 1-0 tally.
Jayden Davis knotted things up for the Irish shortly after when his first of the year found twine at 7:19 of the opening period to make it a 1-1 game.
The teams skated four a side halfway through the first frame after the first penalties of the night were whistled simultaneously against either team for a play in front of the Irish net.
The Wolverines snapped the tie with 3:21 to go in the first period when they crashed in on Kempf, drawing him out of position before tapping a shot into the net, taking the 2-1 score into the first intermission.
Five goals were scored across both sides in the second stanza, with the Irish netting a pair thanks to Evan Werner and Caeden Carlisle.
The period started out with an Irish holding call resulting in a Michigan powerplay goal early in the frame before both teams were called for a play behind the Irish net to make it four-on-hockey once again. The extra ice turned into more space less than a minute later following a roughing call on the Irish and a major on the Wolverines to have both teams skating with three on the sheet.
Both teams managed to kill off the infractions unscathed before Evan Werner found the back of the net at 8:11 of the frame. Michigan challenged the play for goaltender interference but the call on the ice stood and the Irish were within a goal, down 3-2.
Michigan answered with a shot two minutes later to reclaim their two-goal lead before adding another to their tally at 15:39 of the second period.
Caeden Carlisle’s first of his career drew the Irish back within two as they trailed 5-3 heading into the final period of regulation.
The Irish swung momentum back in their favor at 6:59 of the third when Axel Kumlin net his shot from the bottom of the far circle to make it 5-4 but Michigan would answer with a one-timer at 9:11 to make it a 6-4 contest. The Irish challenged a previous play for a potential major which would negate the Wolverine goal but were unsuccessful, losing their timeout.
A pair of penalties for unsportsmanlike conduct sent a player from both sides to the box for two minutes and the Wolverines capitalized on the special teams action, making it 7-4 just 23 seconds in. The Irish managed to kill off the remainder of the 4v4 action.
After an altercation at center ice, the Irish were tasked with a five-minute kill to close out the game. A scrum to end the night finalized the game with the Wolverines taking the victory, 7-4.
GOALS
- Rookies Dashel Oliver and Cole Brown raced the puck into the Wolverine end before the latter dumped it along the boards. Oliver collected the puck at the corner, feeding a pass back to Brown who fed the puck into the slot for Jayden Davis to fire it home. The goal marked Davis’ first of the season.
- A netfront scramble saw Evan Werner poke the puck free and over the goal line for his team-leading eighth of the season. Jaedon Kerr and Danny Nelson were credited with assists on the play as bodies crowded the crease before the puck eventually crossed the line. Michigan challenged the play but the call on the ice stood and Werner was credited with the goal in his former barn.
- Caeden Carlisle closed out the second period scoring when his shot from the circle sailed top shelf into the Wolverine net. Jayden Davis and Dashel Oliver were each credited with assists on the gaol, marking the first career multi-point games for both.
- Axel Kumlin’s second of the year came at 6:59 of the third period as the senior drew the Irish within a goal. Carter Slaggert picked up the puck at the Irish blueline and sent it over to Cole Knuble who skated through the neutral zone with the puck on his stick before sending it across the crease to Kumlin who tucked it in at the backdoor.
UP NEXT
Notre Dame closes out its five-game road stretch next weekend at Penn State, Jan. 16-17. The Irish and Nittany Lions are set to face-off for the first time this season Friday at 7pm on B1G+ before closing out the series with an 8pm puck drop live on Big Ten Network Saturday night.