SOUTH BEND, Ind. — The University of Notre Dame trounced the eighth- ranked Minnesota Golden Gophers, 6-1, Friday night to kick off their final regular season home series festivities. Three Irish rookies scored in the win while five tallied at least one point in the game one triumph. The night marked Coach Jackson’s 1,000th career game as a NCAA Division I Head Coach, between his time at Notre Dame and Lake Superior State.
The Irish registered the first shot on net of the contest off the stick of Cole Knuble but the Gophers quickly returned the favor and peppered Ryan Bischel with shots through the opening minutes of Friday’s game.
Minnesota nearly broke the 0-0 tie with a shot early in the frame that trickled through Bischel’s pads but a strong defensive effort by the Irish blue liners cleared the puck from the crease to keep it scoreless.
Moments later Brennan Ali led the footrace up ice the other way to create the odd-man rush. Danny Nelson’s rebound shot could not beat Justen Close in the Gopher net but a quick touch from Carter Slaggert beat the sprawling netminder for the 1-0 tally.
Ali led another breakout late in the period but the Irish couldn’t convert on the rush and they held the 1-0 lead into the first intermission.
It took the Irish just 90 seconds into the second period to extend their lead when Jake Boltmann found Cole Knuble for the 2-0 tally.
The Irish were whistled for the first infraction of the night at 6:03 of the second period. Knuble and Landon Slaggert created a strong shorthanded chance early into the penalty kill but a shot was stifled as the defender got a piece of Slaggert’s attempt and sent it high into the protective netting.
Just seconds after the Irish returned to full strength, Knuble, still on the ice from the successful kill, scored his second of the night to make it a 3-0 game at 8:23 of the middle frame.
The Irish scored twice more before the end of the period, with Landon and Danny Nelson both lighting the lamp in the latter minutes to take the 5-1 lead into the locker room through 40 minutes of play.
The Irish added one more insurance goal late in the third period when Drew Bavaro found the back of the net to make it the 6-1 final.
Ryan Bischel picked up first star of the game honors as his 31 saves backstopped the Irish to victory, the lone Gophers goal coming late in the second period.
GOALS
- Carter Slaggert opened the scoring for the Irish Friday night when his shot beat Justen Close in the Minnesota net for the 1-0 tally. Brennan Ali who fired the initial shot was credited with the second assist while Danny Nelson picked up a primary helper after his rebound was turned aside for Slaggert to capitalize on.
- Cole Knuble made it 2-0 for the Irish early into the second period off a centering feed from Jake Boltmann at 1:30 of the middle frame. Patrick Moynihan also tallied an assist on the play.
- The Irish rookies continued to have themselves a night when Knuble net his second of the night off a deflected shot from Danny Nelson at the point. Justin Janicke was credited with a secondary assist on the play as well for his 12th of the season.
- Landon Slaggert kept the Irish offensive power firing halfway through the second period when his shot off the rebound beat Close in net. The senior captain battled along the halfwall before passing the puck back to Paul Fischer at the point who fed a pass over to Zach Plucinski across the blueline. Plucinski’s shot ricocheted off Close and onto the stick of Landon who buried his chance to make it 4-0.
- Danny Nelson capped off the team’s four-goal period with 36 seconds to play in the second when his wrister found the back of the net after Minnesota had cut into the Irish lead shortly before. After pressing in the offensive zone late in the frame, Minnesota gained possession and looked to clear it out but Carter Slaggert’s pressure on the Gophers’ Sam Rinzel led to a turnover at the blueline where Danny Nelson collected the puck and skated in uncontested.
- Drew Bavaro completed the scoring for the Irish Friday night, faking a shot at the point before walking in to the top of the far circle where he buried a wrist shot for the 6-1 final. Hunter Strand and Paul Fischer were both tabbed with the assists on the goal.
KEY STATS
- Friday’s contest marked career game 1,000 for the Catalino Family Head Hockey Coach Jeff Jackson at the Division I level. Prior to his stint at Notre Dame, Coach Jackson served six seasons as the head coach at Lake Superior State University.
- Six Irish skaters scored in Friday’s contest against the Gophers, including four goals from a trio of freshmen as the young talent shone through in a 6-1 win.
- In addition to Carter Slaggert, Danny Nelson and Cole Knuble’s two goals, Brennan Ali and Paul Fischer also highlighted the box score with helpers in the tilt. In total, the freshmen class combined for 10 of the team’s 17 points Friday night against Minnesota.
- The Irish fired 28 shots on net in the contest while blocking 18 pucks from reaching Ryan Bischel in the Notre Dame crease. Justin Janicke and Danny Nelson each posted a team-best four shots on goal and Paul Fischer’s four blocked shots led the defensive effort in the category.
- Bischel picked up 31 saves in the contest, including all 13 shots faced in the final frame to hold the Minnesota offense to its lowest offensive output of the season.
- At the face-off dot, Cole Knuble recorded a 73.7-percentage, going 14-5 as the Irish registered a 27-23 edge at the circle over the Gophers.
- With his start in net Friday, Bischel recorded his 100th collegiate game played while Justin Janicke laced up his skates for his 100th time with the Irish as well.
UP NEXT
The Irish close out their regular season home slate Saturday evening with a 6pm series finale with the Golden Gophers. Following the contest, fans are asked to remain in their seats as the team honors its graduating members: Ryan Siedem, Jake Boltmann, Grant Silianoff, Patrick Moynihan, Landon Slaggert, Brady Bjork, Drew Bavaro, Zach Plucinski, Trevor Janicke, Ryan Bischel, Joshua Graziano and Brayden Napoli.