Notre Dame Hockey: Irish Fall 1-0; Swept by Wolverines

Following their win Friday night in South Bend, the Michigan Wolverines took their home ice at Yost Arena Sunday looking to sweep the #1 ranked Notre Dame Fighting Irish in their weekend home-and-home series.

Michigan jumped on the Irish early, dominating possession and peppering Irish goalie Cale Morris with the first eight shots of the game. Morris was up to the task and managed to keep the puck out of the net long enough for the Irish to even out the ice. If Morris was up to the task though, Michigan goalie Hayden Lavigne was even moreso and the 1st period ended with no score and Michigan out shooting Notre Dame 16-8. Michigan’s Michael Pastujov took a slashing penalty at 19:38 of the 1st, but the Irish were unable to do anything with the abbreviated man advantage, carrying it over into the 2nd period.

Notre Dame was unable to convert the remaining power play, but managed to get the offense more involved in the game as the put 15 shots on goal in the period. Lavigne continued to frustrate the Irish and managed to stop all 15 shots. Late in the period a Notre Dame turnover in their defensive zone led to a quality chance for Michigan. Cooper Marody picked up the puck after an errant pass and managed to find Tony Calderone open in the slot. Calderone had an open look at the Irish net and was able to rifle his shot past Morris and give Michigan a 1-0 lead after two.

Michigan continued to stymie the Notre Dame offense in the 3rd. The Irish put another 12 shots on goal but were unable to find the back of the net. After 35 saves and another 25 blocked shots Michigan was able to hold on for the 1-0 win a weekend sweep.

The loss was the third straight for the Irish who have begun to struggle a bit lately and are now 3-5-1 since their school record 16-game winning streak was snapped last month. The loss will most likely knock Notre Dame out of the #1 ranking but the Irish still hold the top seed in the B1G tournament by virtue of their regular-season championship.

Scoring

Mich - Tony Calderone (17) at 19:21 in the 2nd from Cooper Marody (26)

Goalies

ND - Cale Morris stopped 36 of 37 shots, falls to 21-6-1

Mich - Hayden Lavigne stopped all 35 shots forbthe shutout, improves to 12-9-3

Penalties

Mich - Michael Pastujov, 2 for slashing at 19:38 in the 1st

ND - Matt Steeves, 2 for boarding at 3:26 in the 2nd

Mich - Dakota Raabe, 2 for roughing at 6:57 in the 2nd

ND - Tory Dello, 2 for roughing at 6:57 in the 2nd

Mich - Cooper Marody, 2 for interference at 12:16 in the 2nd

ND - Matt Hellickson, 2 for holding at 5:19 in the 3rd

Mich - Dexter Dancs, 2 for cross-checking at 6:40 in the 3rd

ND - Jordan Gross, 2 for embellishment at 6:40 in the 3rd

Three Stars

1. Hayden Lavigne
2. Cale Morris
3. Tony Calderone

Up Next

Notre Dame closes out their inaugural season in the Big Ten with at home with a series against the Michigan State Spartans next Friday and Saturday nights.