College Hockey: Notre Dame takes down #1 Michigan

The no. 14 Notre Dame Fighting Irish welcomed the no. 1 Michigan Wolverines to Compton Family Ice Arena on Friday, in what would be the toughest test yet for head coach Jeff Jackson’s squad. In addition to being the top ranked team in the nation, Michigan features three of the top five picks in the 2021 NHL Draft. Defenseman Owen Power, center Matty Beniers, and center Kent Johnson were taken first, second, and fifth by the Buffalo Sabres, Seattle Kraken, and Columbus Blue Jackets, respectively. They came into the contest looking to win their fifth straight.

First Period

With Matthew Galajda getting the night off, the Irish turned to Ryan Bischel, making his fourth start of the season. The junior from Medina, MN was outstanding, stopping all 14 shots he saw in the opening period, against an offense that came into the contest second in the nation in scoring. Despite plenty of scoring chances for both teams, the game remained scoreless going into intermission.

Second Period

The scoring chances continued for the Irish in the second, but they couldn’t get anything past Erik Portillo, who also played great between the pipes. The scoreless tie was broken when Brendan Brisson buried a rebound from Beniers past Bischel. Despite out-shooting the Wolverines 12-10 in the period, the Irish went to the locker room still looking for their first of the night.

Third Period

The nation’s top ranked penalty kill made their first appearance of the evening when Notre Dame’s Adam Karashik was called for roughing just under three minutes into the third. For the second straight weekend, the Irish gave up a rare power-play goal. This time it was Matty Beniers who fired it from the right circle to make it 2-0.

Less than a minute later, the Irish answered with a goal of their own when Hunter Strand found the back of the net thanks to a pass from Grant Silianoff. Ryder Rolston then put a rebound past the five-hole of Portillo to tie the game up with just over six minutes to go in regulation.

Overtime

With both teams having received a point, the second was up for grabs in the 3-on-3 extra period. With just under two minutes to go, Michigan’s Garrett Van Wyhe was called for a game misconduct after checking Karashik from behind. Twenty-four seconds into the power-play, Rolston’s second of the night completed the comeback for the Fighting Irish over the top-ranked team in the nation.

Game Summary

Scoring

Michigan: Brendan Brisson at 16:00 in the 2nd, assisted by Matty Beniers and Dylan Duke

Michigan: Matty Beniers (PPG) at 04:44 in the 3rd, assisted by Brendan Brisson and Owen Power

Notre Dame: Hunter Strand at 05:22 in the 3rd, assisted by Grant Silianoff and Nick Leivermann

Notre Dame: Ryder Rolston at 13:44 in the 3rd, assisted by Grant Silianoff and Cam Burke

Notre Dame: Ryder Rolston (PPG) at 03:36 in OT, assisted by Nick Leivermann and Max Ellis

Penalties

Michigan: Matty Beniers for slashing at 05:53 in the 2nd

Michigan: Team Penalty for too many players on the ice at 17:34 in the 2nd

Notre Dame: Adam Karashik for roughing at 02:48 in the 3rd

Michigan: Garrett Van Wyth, game misconduct, at 03:12 in OT

Goalies

Notre Dame: Ryan Bischel, 28 saves

Michigan: Erik Portillo, 36 saves

Moving Forward

The Irish will conclude their series with Michigan on Saturday, November 20, at 8:00 PM ET. The game can be streamed on Big Ten Network Plus.