SOUTH BEND, Ind. — The University of Notre Dame hockey team lost a heartbreaker in overtime to #2/2 Michigan Saturday evening, 2-1. The Irish are now 3-4-1 on the season and will look for their first conference win of the year next weekend in Minnesota.
With shots even at 2-2 early, the Irish saw the night’s first powerplay opportunity after a collision in the ND crease resulted in goaltender interference on the visiting Wolverines.
The Irish had three solid chances during the man-advantage but were unable to convert and the game remained scoreless through the first nine minutes of action.
An interference call against the Irish at 9:49 of the opening period saw the special teams unit back on the ice, this time on the kill.
A pair of roughing after the whistle penalties sent the Irish and Wolverines to their respective boxes at 12:55 of the opening period where Danny Nelson took advantage of the extra space on the ice, firing a one-timer into the back of the net to make it a 1-0 contest.
The score would hold through the end of the first frame, with Nicholas Kempf registering 11 saves in the opening 20 minutes to keep the second-ranked Michigan team off the board.
The two teams skated evenly throughout the early moments of the second period before the Irish took a high sticking infraction at 9:36 and were shorthanded for two minutes. On the kill, the Irish limited the Wolverines to just one shot on net. Cole Knuble had two looks on the Wolverine net while the Irish were shorthanded. In the final seconds of the kill, the Irish defense came up big as Kempf made a save but was out of position and a wide open net was served up to a Michigan attacker. Michael Mastrodomenico dove in front of the goal line as the Wolverines looked to capitalize and successfully defended the goal, keeping it a 1-0 game late in the second period.
The Irish continued to hold that one-goal lead going into the third period, as Kempf registered 20 saves combined through the first two frames.
A play in front of the Irish net took a Notre Dame skater down and the play was reviewed for a potential major penalty. After a brief huddle in the box by the officials, it was determined there was no penalty on the play and the teams continued at even strength.
Michigan found the equalizer shortly after the no-call, batting the puck out of midair and beating a sprawled out Kempf in the crease to make it a 1-1 game at 3:23 of the third.
The two teams spent the majority of the third period looking to break the deadlock but neither side was able to breakaway from the other. With 90 seconds to play in regulation and the score still knotted 1-1, the Wolverines were whistled for a penalty and the Irish had a spark. Notre Dame called timeout during the stoppage in play but despite the extra man advantage late in the contest, they were unable to capitalize and the horn sounded on 60 minutes.
In overtime, the Irish saw the final 30 seconds of their powerplay opportunity tick off the clock and the Wolverines were back to full strength.
The two teams traded possession until about halfway through the overtime session when an Irish defender collided with his netminder and the Wolverines took advantage, clinching the game with a shot into the net while Kempf attempted to reset.
The loss drops the Irish to 3-4-1 on the season although they now hold a point in the Big Ten standings following the overtime game.
GOALS
- In the midst of their four-on-four play, Henry Nelson kept the puck onside, picking off a Wolverine at the blue line before dishing the puck over to his brother Danny for the one-timer from atop the far circle. Fellow junior Paul Fischer picked up the second assist on the goal after his pass up ice bounced off a Wolverine and back towards the neutral zone where Henry picked it up.
KEY STATS
- Nicholas Kempf made 38 saves in net for the Irish Saturday evening, including a period-high 16 in the third to force the overtime session. The sophomore netminder tallied three saves in the final 20 seconds of regulation to keep the game alive through 60 minutes played.
- Danny Nelson scored his second goal of the weekend with a first period tally, with his older brother Henry picking up the primary assist on the play.
- Eleven individuals tallied blocks on the day to keep the game close, including Mastrodomenico with a save of the year contender at the end of a second period penalty kill.
- The Irish PK unit was perfect on the night, denying both opportunities for the visiting Wolverines.
UP NEXT
Notre Dame hits the road next weekend as they travel to Minneapolis, Minnesota to face the Gophers for a two-game series, November 7-8.
Puck drop for both games inside 3M Arena at Mariucci is set for 8pm ET and will stream locally on Fox9+ and nationally on B1G+.