**PSA: There will be no Breakdown tomorrow night (and possibly not for the next few Saturdays) due to unfortunately scheduling. Stay tuned**

CLICK HERE for Game Recap from Kristy McNeil and other pertinent information and HERE for current Pairwise Rankings.

 

What just happened (TL;DR): After both teams traded power play goals (and five minute majors) in the first period, Michigan responded with the one thing Notre Dame struggled to do: score. The Wolverines bagged four goals in the second period, effectively ending the game. Great shots from Eric Ciccolini, TJ Hughes, Jackson Hallum, and a great tip from Dylan Duke finished this game early. Notre Dame also appears to have shifted gears becoming the South Bend Bullies, taking many late/cheap hits all evening (mostly on Mackie Samoskevich). This lead to the late-game brawl that ensued after Nolan Moyle cut hard into Ryan Bischel in the crease.

 

FINAL CORSI NUMBERS (www.collegehockeynews.com)

	Total Attempts	Even Strength	Power Play	Close (within 1)	Even Strength %
Notre Dame	50	41	9	24	35%
Michigan	77	66	11	31	65%

Forward Notes.

-On the FSD/MAD line, Adam Fantilli had an off night…at least in the scoring department. He had one assist. BOR-ING. Mackie Samoskevich and Dylan Duke picked up the slack, however, potting a goal each. Fantilli was called for a hilarious five minute major where he did the equivalent of the Jaylen Harrell “nose-wipe” to an opponent. It was called “contact to the head.” Lol. Maybe two minutes…but a five minute major?

-On the HockeyCast this week, Alex and I talked about Michigan’s need for depth scoring. It’s nice to know the team listens to our show and responded nicely. Eric Ciccolini fired a sweet shot into the top corner, moving across the top of the House. Jackson Hallum showed off his speed and hands tallying on a breakaway. TJ Hughes added another, but he’s now on the verge of moving out of the depth scoring category.

Defense Notes.

-After a string of sloppy games, defensively, Michigan looked rather settled and in control on the backend on Friday night. They got stuck in their zone on Forever Shifts a few times, struggling to clear the puck, but it was nearly like the chaos of stretches against Western or BU. The entire blueline corps were mostly steady on the puck and didn’t hang Erik Portillo out to dry much, if at all. They also blocked shots all night, as well.

-Luca Fantilli has worked his way into the lineup as a third of the rotating bottom pairing. I thought he was really good on Friday. He moved the puck pretty well and got forward creating some chances in the offensive zone. He also hustled back and deflected the puck to prevent a 2v1. Luca looked comfortable on his skates on exits, too. Notre Dame didn’t forecheck the way previous opponents did, but on a night were Steve Holtz was scratched, Luca Fantilli looked the part.

 

 

TJ Hughes power play goal is a real thing (Patrick Barron)

 

SPECIAL TEAMS CHART

	PP Opportunities	PP Corsi For	PP Shots/Minute
Notre Dame	1/3	9	1.2 (6/5)
Michigan	2/3	11	1.25 (5/4)

Power Play. Michigan had a very good night on the power play. Mackie Samoskevich floated across the top of the House and fired a shot off the post. It ricocheted off the back of Ryan Bischel’s leg and into the net. Some puck luck? Sure. But it was also a pretty good shot that missed by a small margin. If it hadn’t gone in, TJ Hughes was sitting, waiting, and whacking like a Goal Vulture. After an interrupted, ineffective power play, TJ Hughes capitalized, after Irish defenseman Nick Leivermann fed him from the corner. Hughes was patient, moving into the slot and fired a snipe by Bischel. Just can’t give the Wolverines power plays.

 

Penalty Kill. Michigan didn’t give the Irish many relevant advantages on Friday night. Notre Dame did make their first opportunity count, though. After Portillo sealed the post and the puck trickled just wide, Chayse Primeau made a wild, insane pass that wrapped around the entire net to a waiting Nick Leivermann who fired into the open net just before the power play expired. The Irish got a second power play late in the game, after the game was decided. Michigan killed them off, regardless.

 

 

Mostly a solid, quiet night for the Swedish Bull (James Coller)

GOALTENDING CHART

	Michigan Shots Faced (House)	Notre Dame Shots Faced (House)
First Period	11	13
Second Period	4	18
Third Period	9	13
Overtime	n/a	n/a
TOTAL	24	44

Notes. Erik Portillo was back in net after a weekend absence. While he had some flops and rebound control issues at times –and went a-wandering a few other times- Erik had a low key very solid game. He made a few big saves when he needed to do so (spoiler: one on a 2v1), and even got across really well on one-timer, beating the puck to the far post. The defense was very sound around him during the tighter parts of the game, so he wasn’t asked to carry the team. Still, a ho-hum rock-like performance in a venue that Michigan struggled in last season is another fine notch in his belt.

 

We know he can fly. If Jackson Hallum also has hands like that? Yikes (David Wilcomes)

ODD MAN RUSH CHART

Defense	Rushes	Advs	Escape%	Offense	Rushes	Advs	Scoring%
1st Period	1	2v1	100%		n/a	n/a	n/a
2nd Period	1	2v1	100%		1	1v0	100%
3rd Period	n/a	n/a	n/a		n/a	n/a	n/a
OT	n/a	n/a	n/a		n/a	n/a	n/a
Total	2	2v1 x2	100%		1	1v0	100%

Notes. Michigan gave up a couple of 2v1s. Erik Portillo came out and made a strong pad save on a bomb of a shot. He stopped a bad angle shot on the other one. Overall, only giving up a couple of OMRs is pretty good. Portillo adds a couple of tallies to his OMR Denials.

Jackson Hallum got a breakaway. He was even with both defenseman. Two seconds later, he was strides in alone. Jackson went forehand, backhand, ROOF.

FINAL THOUGHTS

After a pretty even first period (that wouldn’t have been so even if Fantilli’s major was correctly not called), Michigan just blew the doors off of the Fighting Irish. Notre Dame just could not skate with the Wolverines all evening. Alex asked if we could officially call them “bad,” yet. I say…not yet. If Michigan does the same thing tomorrow night in South Bend, then we can talk. Saturday evening, 6pm, on Peacock. Get your plural TVs ready!