No. 9 Notre Dame hockey completes season sweep of No. 2 Michigan

With just 0.2 seconds left on the clock and Notre Dame ahead by a goal Saturday, graduate senior goaltender Matthew Galajda gladly gave up the crease to fellow Irish net-minder Conor Klaers.

Klaers hadn’t played a single second all season to that point. When the final buzzer rang, technically that was still true. But the moment mattered more than any stat sheet could ever show. Klaers, was on the ice when No. 9 Notre Dame finished off a four-game season series sweep of No. 2 Michigan with a 2-1 victory. Four games, four Notre Dame wins.

Considering Klaers is a senior, the sellout crowd at Compton Family Ice Arena recognized the significance of head coach Jeff Jackson‘s decision to put him between the pipes. Notre Dame (25-9-0, 17-7-0) fans clad in green, matching the special senior day uniforms the Irish traditionally wear in the final regular season home game of the year, erupted in applause.

Klaers can always say he played his part in a monumental win over Michigan (25-9-1, 16-8-0). That’ll mean a lot to a goalie who has spent most practices as a shooting dummy during power play work — without ever complaining.

“He’s a well-liked kid by his teammates, and you can see that,” Jackson said. “It was nice to have him be able to dress. To get him in I’m sure was a real special moment in his life. But that’s what our program is about, to recognize not just the guys who get their names in the headlines but also the guys who make us what we are.”

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Make no mistake, though. Galajda left his stamp on senior night perhaps more than anyone else. He stopped 31 of 32 Michigan shots in the second consecutive game holding one of the nation’s best offensive teams to just one goal. Like Klaers, the Cornell transfer was honored in a postgame ceremony along with nine other Notre Dame seniors.

As Jackson walked out of the postgame press conference room, he joked the celebration was only going to last one night. Notre Dame has more meaningful hockey to play, after all.

The Irish aren’t done playing in front of family and friends in South Bend, either. A strong finish to the season secured the chance host the quarterfinal round of the Big 10 Tournament from March 4-6. The Irish are taking on Wisconsin. Those two teams split their regular season series in Madison, but the Irish won both games played in South Bend to go 3-1 against the Badgers overall.

Notre Dame goes into the postseason receiving solid play from every line. The fourth line scored for the fifth game in a row Saturday. Graduate senior Jack Adams sent a cross-ice pass to freshman Justin Janicke, who feathered a feed to a streaking Hunter Strand on a 2-on-1. Strand buried it top-shelf to opening the scoring just over seven minutes into the second period.

Michigan knotted the score at 1-1 early in the third, but Notre Dame didn’t panic. The fourth line got things going in the offensive zone again. Junior Trevor Janicke hopped over the boards and immediately sent in a rebound to give the Irish the lead again. This time, the guys in green didn’t relinquish it.

Notre Dame rose to No. 6 in the PairWise Rankings with the win. Just in time for tournament time.

“We found our identity as the season progressed,” Trevor Janicke said. “We know what we have to do to win. As the playoffs come up and progress, we know what to fall back on. This is what we are. This is what we do. If we can do it vs. Michigan, we can do it vs. anyone.”