Michigan, No. 16 Notre Dame Set to Square Off in South Bend

Thursday, January 21

South Bend, Ind.

6:30 PM

Michigan

Notre Dame

Eric Ciccolini (Michigan Photography)

Michigan, No. 16 Notre Dame Set to Square Off in South Bend

1/19/2021 7:10:00 PM | Ice Hockey

By: Kristy McNeil

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After a posting a weekend sweep of Ohio State, the No. 8-ranked University of Michigan ice hockey team looks to keep things rolling when it takes on No. 16 Notre Dame on Thursday and Friday, Jan. 21-22, in South Bend, Ind. Both matchups are set for 6:30 p.m. Thursday's game to be streamed live on NBCSports.com and broadcast live on NBC Sports regional sports networks (SNY, NBC Sports Chicago, NBC Sports Boston, NBC Sports Philadelphia+), while Friday's contest will be broadcast live on NBC Sports Network.

The Fighting Irish are also coming off of a sweep, knocking ott then-No. 1 Minnesota last weekend.

Hail From Home

Game days may look different this season, but the tradition of cheering on Michigan ice hockey continues. Hail From Home is our way to virtually bring the excitement of game day to fans. Throughout the season, fans can look forward to a variety of digital engagements including fan cutouts at Yost, game day playlists, Yost scoreboard messages, virtual Zamboni rides, a season ticket giveaway, and more. » Hail From Home

The Series

• Thursday will mark the 150th game between Michigan and Notre Dame. The Wolverines lead, 81-63-5, in the all-time series with the Fighting Irish that dates back to 1923.
• Last year's sweep by the Wolverines in South Bend (Jan. 10-11) kickstarted Michigan's second-half run as U-M went 9-3-2 after that series. The teams are 27-27-2 in the all-time series when playing in South Bend.
• Notre Dame swept Michigan in the first series this season, both one-goal games in late November, to make it four straight in the series.

Blankenburg Earns Big Ten's Second Star

Nick Blankenburg was named the Big Ten Second Star of the Week after leading conference defensemen in scoring with three points. Blankenburg set up the game-winning goal on Friday night (Jan. 15) against Ohio State and had two helpers in Saturday's (Jan. 16) 5-0 shutout of the Buckeyes. In Michigan's sweep, Blankenburg recorded the best on-ice rating in the league at plus-4.

Wolverine Bites

• Michigan moved into fourth place (17 points) in the Big Ten standings after taking all six points in a sweep of Ohio State, and the Wolverines head into South Bend just two points out of second place.
• The Wolverines moved up one place to No. 8 in the latest USCHO poll (Jan. 18) and remains at No. 9 in the USA Hockey Magazine poll with an 8-6 overall record.
• Four freshman are at the top of the scoring column, led by Kent Johnson and his 16 points (four goals, 12 assists). Thomas Bordeleau has 15 points (4G, 11A), Matty Beniers has 11 (4G, 7A) and Brendan Brisson has 10 points (4G, 6A).
• Defensemen Nick Blankenburg and Cam York have chipped in nine points apiece to pace the blue line in scoring.
• Michael Pastujov is the team's leading goal scorer with six tallies.
• Strauss Mann captured his ninth career shutout on Saturday (Jan. 16) in a 5-0 win over Ohio State. He has a .922 save percentage and a 2.09 goals-against average. Freshman Erik Portillo made his first career start on Friday (Jan. 15), earning the win, and has a .927 save percentage and a 1.98 GAA in just over 121 minutes of action.
• Michigan averages 3.57 goals per game (11th nationally), while limiting opponents to 2.21 GPG (10th nationally)
• The Wolverines power play ranks third nationally, converting 12 of 42 opportunities for 27.9 percent. The penalty kill is 38 for 50 (76 percent, 40th nationally).

Scouting the Fighting Irish

• Notre Dame is coming off of a sweep of then-No. 1 Minnesota in Minneapolis last weekend to improve to 7-6-1 overall and is ranked No. 16 in the USCHO poll. The Fighting Irish are third in the Big Ten standings with 18 points with a 5-4-1-0-1 record.
• ND is 3-1 since returning from the holiday but do have a 3-6-1 record when playing at home this season.
• A pair of juniors, Alex Steeves and Graham Slaggert, lead the offense with 12 and 11 points, respectively. Steeves has a team-best six goals and six assists, while Slaggert has four goals and a team-high seven assists. Max Ellis, Michael Graham and defenseman Nick Leiverman add nine points apiece. Notre Dame is averaging 2.71 goals per game.
• Senior Dyan St. Cyr and sophomore Ryan Bischel have split time in goal, with seven starts for each, so expect to see both this series. St. Cyr has slightly better numbers with a 2.73 GAA and an .894 save percentage. Bischel has a 2.85 GAA and an .890 save percentage.
• The Fighting Irish power play is 43rd nationally, converting on four of 34 chances (11.8 percent), while the penalty kill is 33rd at 77.8 percent (35-for-45).

Up Next

• Wednesday, Feb. 3 -- vs. Penn State (Yost Ice Arena) 7 p.m.
• Thursday, Feb. 4 -- vs. Penn State (Yost Ice Arena) 7 p.m.