The Irish fell in overtime in game one
The Notre Dame Fighting Irish hockey team traveled to Ann Arbor for only their second road trip of the season so far and their first in conference play. Coming off several series splits at home Notre Dame played the first of two games against the #7 ranked Michigan Wolverines on Friday. The Irish defense played the Wolverines tough, but the offense was only able to find a single goal and Michigan hung around enough to take the win in overtime.
Game Summary
First Period
From the very beginning of the game the Michigan offense was the aggressor. In the first period they outshot the Irish 13-8 and it only got more lopsided after the opening frame. Owen Say was up to the task in net for Notre Dame though, making all 13 saves in the first period to keep the game scoreless. Unfortunately for the Irish the 8 shots they had in the first period were the most they had in a single period all night.
Second Period
The second period was the worst of the three for Notre Dame, even though they briefly took the lead. Just over six minutes into the period, with Michigan in the offensive zone, Michael Mastrodomenico dropped to a knee and made an excellent block on a pass across the slot. He tossed the puck forward to Brennan Ali who carried the puck out of the defensive zone and through the neutral zone all the way to the front of the Michigan net where his wrist shot found the top of the net for the opening goal.
Defense ➡️ Offense
Mastrodomenico breaks up a rush by the Wolverine offense and sets @BrennanAli74 up for this beauty top shelf #GoIrish pic.twitter.com/oKZpU8p6q2
— Notre Dame Hockey (@NDHockey) November 9, 2024
The celebration ended there though as Michigan tied the game almost ten minutes later. In the second period the Irish offense was almost non-existent besides the goal. They managed only six shots on goal compared to the Wolverines 19.
Third Period
The third period saw the least offense of all three, but it followed the same script with Michigan controlling the lion’s share of the chances. The 11-5 shot advantage for the Wolverines over the final frame meant that they were the only team to really threaten the deadlock.
Overtime
In overtime Notre Dame did not even get a shot on goal, and two minutes into the extra period, on their fourth shot, Michigan found the winner.
Scoring
ND: Brennan Ali (2) at 6:29 in the 2nd assisted by Michael Mastrodomenico
UM: Kienan Draper (2) at 15:48 in the 2nd assisted by Josh Eernisse and Dakoda Rheaume-Mullen
UM: Evan Werner (4) at 2:02 of overtime unassisted
Penalties
ND: Ryan Helliwell 2 for boarding at 15:40 in the 1st
UM: William Whitehall 2 for interference at 7:33 in the 2nd
UM: Ethan Edwards 2 for cross-checking at 10:24 in the 2nd
ND: Ian Murphy 2 for roughing at 13:19 in the 2nd
UM: Evan Werner 2 for roughing at 13:19 in the 2nd
ND: Danny Nelson 2 for hooking at 17:42 in the 2nd
ND: Michael Mastrodomenico 2 for hooking at 1:52 in the 3rd
ND: Justin Janicke 2 for cross-checking at 2:46 in the 3rd
UM: Josh Eernisse 2 for elbowing at 6:05 in the 3rd
Goalies
ND: Owen Say made 45 saves on 47 shots in the loss.
UM: Logan Stein saved 18 of 19 shots for the win.
Up Next
Game two between these two conference rivals. Notre Dame will be trying to salvage a split while Michigan looks for the sweep.