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

 

Setting The Stage:  Michigan (7-7-3) looks to rebound from their setback last night as they play their final game before the break which will allow them to get some rest and get healthy.  Seamus Casey leads all NCAA defensemen in scoring with 4 goals and 18 assists for 22 points in 17 games. T.J. Hughes leads all Michigan forwards with 9 goals and 12 assists for 21 points in 17 games which places him in a tie for 7th in the country in scoring. Notre Dame (8-5-2) broke a 2-game losing streak with last night's victory. Landen Slaggert leads the way offensively for the Irish as he has 12 goals and 16 points so far this year and goaltender Ryan Bischel has been steady between the pipes with a .930 save percentage, which is tied for 3rd in the NCAA.

 

 

Gearing Up: Here are the Forward Lines, Defense Pairs and Starting Goalie for Tonight's Game

 

Not Dressed Tonight:

• #2 Rutger McGroarty (Upper Body)
• #21 Jackson Hallum (Season Ending - Lower Body)
• #29 Andrew Albano (3rd Goalie)
• #73  Ethan Edwards (Upper Body)
• #94 Mark Estapa (Lower Body)

 

The Battle:  A solid 60 minute performance by the Wolverines on the road at Notre Dame earned them a hard fought 2-1 victory as they head into the break and can get some of their injured players back for the 2nd half. Frank Nazar III opened the scoring at 6:04 of the first when his shot from slot beat Notre Dame goalie Ryan Bischel under his blocker. The Irish tied the game late in the first when Hunter Strand scored on a cross crease pass after a turnover in the Michigan end when Marshall Warren got hammered into the boards. Coach Naurato challenged that there was a missed major penalty and even though replay showed that there was a possible infraction, the Refs let the goal stand and Michigan lost their time-out. Dylan Duke scored the Wolverines only goal of the 2nd period and the eventual game winner. Duke intercepted a pass going up the boards in the Notre Dame zone and quickly moved the puck to TJ Hughes who was in the high slot. Hughes faked a shot and moved it down low to the left edge of the crease to Gavin Brindley who quickly sent it cross-crease back to Dylan Duke who tapped in the tic-tac-toe play his 8th goal of the season.  Michigan played perhaps their best defensive period of the season in the 3rd as they did a fantastic job of taking away time and space from the Notre Dame players, which resulted in four odd-man rushes in transition.

 

FINAL CORSI NUMBERS (www.collegehockeynews.com)

 

 

     (Frank Nazar III opened the scoring for Michigan tonight – Bill Rapai)

 

Forward Notes:

Playing with predominantly 3 lines and spotting in Chase Pletzke and Tanner Rowe at opportune times was how the Wolverines played it tonight, but to a man they sold out and played a solid 200' game on every shift. Hughes line with Brindley and Duke seemed to spend the most time in the offensive zone, but the Nazar III line with Eernisse and Schifsky added offense and also made it an easier night on the defense giving them extra help in front of the net and being good 'outs' for clean exits out of the zone. The line of Draper with Moldenhauer and Lapointe made their presence felt with some good physical forechecking and solid defensive play.

 

Michigan Faceoff Statistics

 

Defense Notes:

Defensively, it was a great effort by the Wolverines in their own zone as the forwards and defense combined to block 19 Irish shots on the night. All night the defense did a good job of being in the right position, keeping their sticks in passing lanes, protecting the house and most importantly, not being caught running around. Fantilli and Holtz didn't log as much times as the other four, but were just as effective especially with their physicality. 

 

Special Teams:

 

Power Play:  The nation's number one power play failed to score tonight, but they did get a number of good looks and ended up with 6 shots on goal during their 3 attempts. Puck movement was good and they did a good job of not trying to force passes through the seam. Zone entry was really good but not having the big bodies of McGroarty and Estapa stand out when it comes to puck retrievals after shots and winning board battles. 

 

Penalty Kill:  The penalty kill was perfect again tonight Michigan did a good job of not getting pulled out their diamond formation and did a great job of getting in shooting lanes when the Irish tried to load up for one timers. Steven Holtz did a solid job playing down low and boxing out the Notre Dame forwards allowing Jake Barczewski to see the shots and control the rebounds.

 

     (Steven Holtz and Jacob Barczewski protecting the cage – Bill Rapai)

 

Goaltending Notes:  It was solid game between the pipes from Jake Barczewski who stopped 28 of the 29 Notre Dame shots sent his way. His rebound control and placement was really good and he came up with big saves when needed. One of them was with 8:27 left in the 2nd period when Grant Silianoff fired a slap-shot from the high slot and Barczewski made a great glove save with the score still 1-1.

 

 

Final Thoughts:

As demoralizing as Friday night's loss was, the victory tonight will be a huge psychological boost for a team that gets time to rest, heal and reset for the 2nd half of the season. It was good to see every player leave everything they had on the ice and sell out when needed to win this game. If the 2nd half of the season goes as the Wolverines hope (and expect), this game will have been a key game in the season.

 

Next Game:

Saturday January 6 at US NTDP U-18 at USA Arena in Plymouth - 7pm