Michigan Hockey is back from the holiday break and did not miss a beat vs Notre Dame in Game 1 of the weekend series:
The Wolverines are back.
No. 1 Michigan Hockey (17-4, 8-3 Big Ten) made its return to Yost Ice Arena against its rival Notre Dame Fighting Irish (4-14-1, 0-9 Big Ten) on Friday night. Any concerns about all that time off quickly dissipated.
Freshman Adam Valentini got the scoring started with just over eight minutes remaining in the first period. The Wolverines got there when captain T.J. Hughes took a spill in the corner thanks to a Fighting Irish cross-check. Michigan had looked dangerous offensively but with the man-advantage, it got its seam passes going, Notre Dame defensemen rotating and, eventually, Valentini buried the loose change on a shot after some gorgeous tic-tac-toe passing.
Michigan controlled much of the possession in that opening frame, a theme that continued throughout the evening. Head coach Brandon Naurato had his forecheck rolling and each forward group did a good job of pinning Notre Dame in deep, thereby extending zone time while limiting the Irish’s transition opportunities.
Freshman goaltender Jack Ivankovic was once again impeccable, stopping 29-of-31 shots. And while he did not necessarily face a ton of high-danger chances, he was sharp in tight and made the saves his team needed him to make. His poise rubs off on the rest of this roster, and he remains the key to a deep postseason run.
During a 4-on-4 — the result of each team exchanging pleasantries after the whistle — junior Nick Moldenhauer hit freshman Malcolm Spence from behind the net, and Spence buried the one-timer, extending the lead to 2-0 early in the second.
Notre Dame may not be having a dream season, but it is better than its record, and this game is always hotly contested. After seemingly every stoppage, blows were traded, scrums were formed and linesmen had to intervene. That frustration never quite boiled over for the Irish; however, it is something to watch for in Saturday’s rematch.
Senior Kienan Draper tucked a rebound home and freshman Asher Barnett ripped a high slot shot for his first career NCAA goal, giving the Wolverines a comfortable 4-0 margin over midway through the second.
Notre Dame would score twice in the third, one early and one later, and had chances down the stretch to crawl closer. But Michigan’s defense woke up, kept Ivankovic out of any tricky situations and Moldenhauer netted an empty netter.
The Wolverines came into this series likely to sweep, even with all the parity in this sport, and another 60 minutes of effort, patience and confidence will get the job done.
Category: General Sports
