Observations: No. 9 Notre Dame hockey takes season series over No. 2 Michigan

Notre Dame didn’t need the luck of the Irish.

The No. 8 Fighting Irish weathered No. 2 Michigan’s initial flurry of scoring chances and an early Wolverines goal, gained a lead early in the second period and never looked back in a 4-1 victory at Compton Family Ice Arena.

The Notre Dame (24-9-0, 16-7-0 Big 10) win gave the Irish their third over Michigan (25-8-1, 16-7-0) of the season. It also snapped a streak of 10 wins in a row by the visitor in the series. The Irish secured the No. 3 seed in the Big 10 Tournament.

Here are three observations from the Irish triumph.

1. Notre Dame shows stout special teams

Notre Dame shut Michigan’s top-10 power play down. The Wolverines went 0-for-4 on the night and did not cash in on any of their shot attempts. Michigan had a six on four opportunity in the final minutes of the game but still could not get anything past graduate senior goalie Matthew Galajda, who finished the game with 28 saves.

Notre Dame took the lead it didn’t relinquish on a five-minute major, too. Michigan’s penalty kill was stingy in its own right, Wolverines net-minder Erik Portillo left the crease to play the puck behind the net and the Irish made him pay. Junior forward Jesse Lansdell scored his eighth goal of the season on a slum dunk all alone in front. The Irish peppered Portillo with shots during the entirety of the major, and it flipped momentum in favor of the home side.

“In today’s game, you have to win that slot and crease area with deflections, rebounds, tip-ins,” head coach Jeff Jackson said. “The game has changed so much now. It’s hard to score. So power plays are first. In the offensive zone, you have to work the puck low to high and get the team spread out.”

2. Notre Dame defense racks up blocked shots

Galajda was huge. He earned first star of the game honors in notching his 14th victory of the year. But the players in front of him were just as big. Notre Dame held a 24-5 advantage in blocked shots. Michigan came at Notre Dame in waves, but the Irish weren’t afraid to get low and take some for the team.

Literally.

“Our guys are willing to pay the price,” Jackson said. “We’ve been blocking shots all year long.”

“They blocked a lot of shots tonight,” Galajda said. “I really noticed that. On the PK, they blocked a lot of one-timers. The guys did a great job of getting in front of the puck tonight which made my job a lot easier.”

3. Notre Dame’s Marcus Freeman can’t get enough Fighting Irish hockey

The Notre Dame football head coach was in the house for another hockey night in South Bend. He stood on the second level of the arena talking to director of athletics Jack Swarbrick for most of the night, but he hardly ever directed his eyes anywhere other than the ice — even with his wife and some of his children in attendance.

Freeman has now been to at least three Irish hockey games; one against Ohio State on the same day he was announced as the Irish’s new coach, one against Minnesota and Friday’s against Michigan. Notre Dame football players JD Bertrand and Alexander Ehrensberger even road the Zambonis and tossed t-shirts to fans during the first intermission.

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Notre Dame football coach Marcus Freeman is all smiles after a Fighting Irish hockey win over Michigan. pic.twitter.com/tFsxIsDlb1

— Tyler Horka (@tbhorka) February 26, 2022

Scoring summary

First period

Michigan 1, Notre Dame 0: Nick Blankenburg (13); Assisted by Mackie Samoskevich (17) and Johnny Beecher (6)

Notre Dame 1, Michigan 1: Graham Slaggert (9); Assisted by Trevor Janicke (8) and Nick Leivermann (15)

Second period

Notre Dame 2, Michigan 1: Jesse Lansdell (8); Assisted by Trevor Janicke (9) and Cam Burke (11)

Notre Dame 3, Michigan 1: Jack Adams (4); Assisted by Nick Leivermann (16) and Chase Blackmunn (13)

Third period

Notre Dame 4, Michigan 1: Spencer Stasteney (7); Assisted by Solag Bakich (12)