Michigan
15-14-3, 10-10-2-1
Notre Dame
14-12-6, 9-8-5-3
Wolverines Fall to Notre Dame in Senior-Night Home Finale
2/22/2020 8:21:00 PM | Ice Hockey
» Goaltender Strauss Mann made 25 saves.
» Michigan's penalty-kill unit went 4-for-4 on the afternoon.
» Michigan's senior class sits at 63 victories, 36 of which came at Yost.
Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Yost Ice Arena)
Score: Notre Dame 3, ,Michigan 0
Records: U-M (15-14-3, 10-10-2-1 B1G), ND (14-12-6, 9-8-5-3 B1G)
Next U-M Event: Friday, Feb. 28 -- at Minnesota (Mariucci Arena), 7:30 p.m. CST
ANN ARBOR, Mich. --Â The University of Michigan ice hockey team had their Senior Night celebration spoiled by Notre Dame as they fell, 3-0, on Saturday (Feb. 22) inside Yost Ice Arena. The Fighting Irish scored three goals in the third period to secure the shutout.
The teams traded power-play chances in the opening period, but neither team's first opportunity panned out. Notre Dame did threaten on their second attempt after the Wolverines were called for tripping at 12:59. Crisp passes buzzed around the Michigan end as the visitors cycled the puck. A strong effort from the Michigan's penalty-kill unit along with the sturdy backstopping of Strauss Mann kept the game scoreless.
Michigan threatened several times, but both teams were 0-for-2 on the man advantage and in desperate search for the opening tally.
The Wolverines' best chance of the early going came in the first minute of the second period when Jacob Hayhurst was sprung on an abbreviated breakaway and tried a toe drag before stuffing the puck five-hole. Hayhurst's attempt got all the way to the goal line, but Cale Morris stood tall and was able to keep the puck from crossing the line.
Nearing the halfway point of the third period, Luke Morgan glided in to Morris' left and looked to drive behind the net before he flipped the puck out in front of the goalmouth but his teammates were not able to get the puck over the line during the scrum, keeping the game scoreless.
With 8:00 left, a stoppage in play gave the officials a chance to review for a possible Notre Dame goal from a previous rush. Upon video review, Spencer Stastney's shot entered and exited the net before the goal judge realized, so the Irish were awarded the game's first goal after 52 minutes of hockey.
In an eerie repeat of Friday night, the Irish responded to the game's long-awaited first goal with another quick marker to double their lead. This time it came on a rush less than two minutes after Stastney's goal. Mann did all he could but was beaten above the blocker to make it 2-0 with 6:46 to play.
In a game that had a playoff-like atmosphere, the Wolverines battled in search of a momentum-inducing first goal but could not crack Morris, the 2018 Mike Richter Award-winning netminder as the nation's top goalie. Hayhurst had a fantastic look when he deflected a point shot from the slot to create some misdirection, but the puck trickled a foot wide of the yawning cage before being scooped up by a Notre Dame defender. The Irish wasted no time before launching the puck 190 feet down the ice and into a freshly abandoned Michigan net to ice the game at 3-0.
With the road sweep, Notre Dame (35 pts) jumped Michigan (33 pts) in the Big Ten standings with two games left to play.
After the game, Michigan's seven seniors and two graduate students were honored in the program's annual Senior Night ceremony. Forwards Will Lockwood, Jake Slaker, Nick Pastujov and Hayhurst joined defensemen Martin, Griffin Luce and Shane Switzer along with goaltender Hayden Lavigne in the celebration.
Next week, the Wolverines will close out the regular season on the road as they travel to Minneapolis next Friday and Saturday (Feb. 28-29) to take on the Minnesota Golden Gophers in a critical conference series. Friday's game will begin at 7:30 p.m. CST, and Saturday's contest will start at 5 p.m. CST
