SOUTH BEND, Ind. – University of Notre Dame graduate student goaltender Matthew Galajda has signed with Djurgardens of the Swedish Hockey League, the European Elite team has announced.
Djurgardens is based in Stockholm, Sweden and is one of the most successful Swedish hockey teams with 16 Swedish championships. Former Irish All-American defenseman Bobby Nardella played for Djurgardens during the 2020-21 season, racking up 33 points in 47 games.
Galajda played the 2021-22 season with the Irish, helping to lead Notre Dame to the NCAA Albany Regional Final. He made 12 consecutive starts for the Irish to end the season.
The Aurora, Ontario native posted an 18-8-0 record in 2021-22 to go along with a .933 save percentage, a 1.90 goals against average and two shutouts. His .933 saver percentage ranked fifth in the NCAA, while his goals against average ranked seventh. He was a 2022 Big Ten Honorable Mention selection and was also a Hobey Baker Award nominee.
Galajda earned a Master of Science in Business Analytics degree and was named a 2022 AHCA All-American Scholar.
AS A GRADUATE STUDENT
- Joined the 2021-22 Notre Dame roster as a graduate transfer from Cornell University.
- Made 15 saves and earned the victory in the season opener against Long Island (Oct. 9).
- Collected 29 saves in a win at Northern Michigan (Oct. 16).
- Pitched a 22-save shutout, the first of his Notre Dame career, in 6-0 victory over RIT (Oct. 22).
- Made a total of 45 saves and earned a win in both matchups against Holy Cross (Nov. 4-5).
- Collected a total of 46 saves and allowed just one goal in a weekend sweep against Wisconsin (Nov. 12-13).
- Made 22 saves in the 3-2 home win over Michigan State (Dec. 10).
- Tied a career-high with 35 saves in the overtime win at Penn State (Jan. 8).
- Set a career-high with 40 saves in the 8-2 win over Boston College (Jan. 19).
- Made 30 stops with a .938 save percentage in the 4-2 victory over Wisconsin (Feb. 13).
- Collected 36 saves on 37 shots faced in a 2-1 win at Michigan State (Feb. 18).
- Earned 27 saves with a .931 save percentage in a 4-2 road win in East Lansing (Feb. 19).
- Started and won each home matchup against No. 2 Michigan, stopping 59 of 61 shots, leading to B1G Second Star of the Week honors (Feb. 25-26).
- Earned his fifth 30+ save performance with 34 stops in the 3-2 win over Wisconsin in game 2 of the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals (Mar. 5).
- Stopped 24 shots and earned the win in game 3 over the Badgers to advance to the Big Ten Tournament semifinals (Mar. 6).
HONORS AND AWARDS BEFORE NOTRE DAME
- CCM/AHCA Hockey All-America First Team, East Region (2018)
- Hobey Baker Memorial Award finalist (2018)
- Mike Richter Award finalist (2018, 2020)
- Ivy League Player of the Year (2018, 2020)
- Ivy League Rookie of the Year (2018)
- All-Ivy League First Team (2018, 2020)
- ECAC Hockey Rookie of the Year (2018)
- ECAC Hockey All-Rookie Team (2018)
- All-ECAC Hockey First Team (2018)
- All-ECAC Hockey Third Team (2019, 2020)
– ND –