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

 

FINAL CORSI NUMBERS (www.collegehockeynews.com)

	Total Attempts	Even Strength	Power Play	Close (within 1)	Even Strength %
Notre Dame	51	35	16	33	35%
Michigan	76	65	11	54	65%

Forward Notes.

-If there is one non-officiating takeaway from this weekend, it is that Notre Dame did not really make a mistake. Like…almost at all. They were just about perfect in their own end. The Irish had sticks, skates, bodies, and spirits in every imaginable lane. That is one of the more complete defensive performances that I’ve seen Michigan face in a weekend series. Usually there are a couple of breakdowns a team can capitalize upon, but I’m struggling to come up with many any. Notre Dame is known for doing that, but holy fish the execution efficiency was something.

-Michigan split up the Hero line back into pairings, again. It still didn’t really work. Johnny Beecher almost hit Mackie Samoskevich on an open back-post pass, but they never fully connected. There were some chances, but really nothing Grade A. I don’t think this was as much about the lines as it was Michigan’s inability to break Notre Dame down or move them out of position. In the end, it probably ends up back in the lap of the coaching staff who clearly has the most offensive talent in the nation, but they could not find open looks for any skater all weekend.

-The game-winner sure was something. Trevor Janicke literally freight-trained a well-positioned Dylan Duke in the slot. The real irony of this was that it looked like Dylan’s head was hit, as it did snap back a bit (you know, the prerequisite for all the majors that we’re correctly called on the Wolverines all season?).  Duke was launched into Mackie Samoskevich who was unsurprisingly impacted by the remnants of a skater hitting his limbs. This allowed Janicke to scoop up a rebound from a shot from the point and deposit it into the open net for a 2-1 Irish lead. Rubbin’s racin’? Sure. But is freight-training also just jostling for position? Methinks no. Perhaps I am a biased homer writing for a Michigan-inspired blog (I try very hard to tell the truth, regardless of blame and my own personal emotions)? I suppose it is certainly possible sometimes, but swallowing a whistle so that a whistle doesn’t decide a game…still decides a game. Notre Dame was the better, cleaner, crisper team all weekend. They may have less talent than Michigan, but they played a team game of hockey much sharper and executed more perfectly than the slew of first rounders from Ann Arbor. HOWEVER not only should that last goal NOT have counted, but Michigan should have had a power play to end the third period…maybe even for a full five minutes. In South Bend, though? Lolz.

Hell of a lead block here. https://twitter.com/Bry_Mac/status/1497741368806060038/video/1

— Bryan Mac ( @Bry_Mac ) February 27, 2022

Defense Notes.

-Michigan’s in-zone defense was better on Saturday night. For the most part, they kept the Irish under control and away from dangerous areas. There was one rebound they could not clear but, uh, I believe we already mentioned why that was the case. Owen Power didn’t have the strongest series in his first couple games back from the Olympics. Perhaps, he’s pressing a little bit.

-After scoring the game-winner against one rival last weekend, Nick Blankenburg had a rough go on Saturday night. Not only did he make the costliest gaffe that lead to ND’s opening goal, he also had a couple uncharacteristic DZTOs. Nick also took a penalty…that Michigan did kill. Blankenburg was also not much of a factor going forward, either. Nick has had many tremendous games this year for the Wolverines. Saturday night was just not one of them, unfortunately. 

 

Matty Beniers found a way! (Zoey Holmstrom)

SPECIAL TEAMS CHART

	PP Opportunities	PP Corsi For	PP Shots/Minute
Notre Dame	0/6	16	11/12
Michigan	1/3	11	4/6

Power Play. Michigan did not have a great night on the power play, again…for a number of the same reasons. Notre Dame’s penalty kill suffocated anything Michigan tried to do. The Wolverines also were not at their creative best in trying to get good chances, either. Shots and passes seemed rather predictable and the Irish were able to get in front of just about everything. Matty Beniers finally broke through with a hard shot that looked to be deflected on it’s way into the net. But…when you block every shot, sometimes you cannot always control the direction of the tip.

 

 

Penalty Kill. Lol. Well, Michigan was actually very strong, killing off six Irish power plays. Despite being down a man for a fifth of the game, Michigan was mostly not bothered by Notre Dame’s power play. Erik Portillo made a few big saves, but most of the chances were not dangerous at all. Again, this was an area of weakness that has not become a pretty big strength for the Maize and Blue.

 

Once again, Erik Portillo gave the Wolverines a chance (Zoey Holmstrom)

GOALTENDING CHART

	Michigan Shots Faced (House)	Notre Dame Shots Faced (House)
First Period	11	6
Second Period	6	11
Third Period	11	15
Overtime	n/a	n/a
TOTAL	28	32

Notes. After an uncharacteristic bobble that turned Friday night’s game, Erik Portillo bounced back and played really well on Saturday. He made a handful of great saves to keep Michigan even or within a goal all evening. At times, his body and rebound control were a bit iffy, but he scrambled well and made a ton of positional saves. Michigan was not perfect defensively, but Portillo good enough to win, on Saturday.

 

One was too many (Zoey Holmstrom)

ODD MAN RUSH CHART

Defense	Rushes	Advs	Escape%	Offense	Rushes	Advs	Scoring%
1st Period	n/a	n/a	n/a		n/a	n/a	n/a
2nd Period	1	1v0	0%		n/a	n/a	n/a
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	1	1v0	0%		n/a	n/a	n/a

Notes. Nick Blankenburg dropped to a knee and tried to cup the puck with his hands to break up a pass…and he missed it. That lead to the only 2v1 of the game, and Hunter Strand beat Portillo on a perfectly placed shot up high. Against Notre Dame you are afforded no mistakes. Michigan made one and it cost them.

Michigan did not register one OMR all weekend. Not one. Notre Dame was literally perfect in transition. Lol.

 

FINAL THOUGHTS

In the end, Notre Dame was the better team all weekend. They executed down to the finest details. They made Michigan pay for their single big mistake…just like Friday. Notre Dame is the antithesis of Michigan. Solid hockey players who are the best they can possible be at doing what they are asked to do. Michigan is a bunch of highly talented future NHLers who can be susceptible to over-playing and trying to do too much. Notre Dame flies ice cold and waits for Michigan to make a mistake. Oh…and they also got a huge break to win the game, too.