Michigan
Notre Dame
U-M Falters Late in Overtime Loss to No. 14 Notre Dame
11/19/2021 10:47:00 PM | Ice Hockey
» Erik Portillo made 36 saves, a new single-game best, on 39 shots faced.
» Matty Beniers tallied one goal and one assist to notch his fifth consecutive multi-point game.
» Brendan Brisson also scored and chipped in an assist for a two-point game.
Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Yost Ice Arena)
Score: #14 Notre Dame 3, #1 Michigan 2 (OT)
Records: U-M (10-3-0, 5-2-0 B1G), ND (9-3-0, 3-2-0 B1G)
Next U-M Event: Saturday, Nov. 20 -- vs. Notre Dame (Yost Ice Arena), 8 p.m.
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Erik Portillo was outstanding in net as he set a new career-high with 36 saves, but his efforts were not quite enough as the No. 1-ranked University of Michigan ice hockey team stumbled late before falling in OT to No. 14 Notre Dame by a score of 3-2 on Friday (Nov. 19) inside Yost Ice Arena.
The game's opening minutes featured frantic, end-to-end action as the rivals went through a ferocious feeling-out process. Each side tested the opposing netminder with frequent shots and highly-skilled passing plays, but no goals were posted on the scoreboard.
On two separate occasions, with the Irish set up in the U-M zone and a Fighting Irish defender winding up to unleash a slapshot from the point, Johnny Beecher forechecked without fear, crouched down to the ice and sprawled out to block a shot and end the opposing threat.
Between the pipes, Portillo was equally reliable for the Maize and Blue, as he turned aside back-to-back breakaways with the assistance of U-M defensemen to keep UND off the board.
After one period of fast-paced and penalty-free play, the Wolverines led 14-9 in shots on goal, but the game remained scoreless.
Michigan's penalty killers were successful in their first opportunity of the weekend, as they killed off a minor penalty for slashing at 5:53 of the middle frame.
Halfway through the period, Jimmy Lambert weaved into space and rang a missile of a wrist shot off the left post while the teams were still in search of the game's opening goal.
With four minutes left in the second stanza, Matty Beniers dangled past the last Notre Dame defender and opened up the goaltender before having the puck skip off of his blade and into the crease. In his shadow was linemate Brendan Brisson, who found the loose puck in the paint and pounded it home to break the ice and give Michigan a one-goal lead. Dylan Duke also picked up an assist on the play which changed the game's complexion and riled up the Children of Yost.
The Wolverines were whistled for too many men with 2:26 to go, but the team's PK unit was up to the task for the second time in as many tries as they dismissed the Notre Dame threat.
After two periods, Michigan was in front, 1-0, while leading the Irish in shots on goal 24-21. The high-powered U-M power play had yet to be activated, but the team's penalty killers, backstopped by Portillo, were largely responsible for keeping the visitors off the scoreboard.
Early in the third period, the U-M power play was given its first chance of the evening when Notre Dame's captain was called for roughing. After receiving a pass in the right circle, Beniers sized up his options, and wired the puck far-side off the upper framework in the back of the Notre Dame net, announcing the arrival of his power-play goal with a pronounced clink off the iron. Brisson and stalwart blueliner Owen Power notched assists on the goal that doubled Michigan's lead at 4:44 of the final frame.
Shortly thereafter, Notre Dame scored to trim the deficit back to one goal, 2-1, with 14:38 left to play.
Portillo came up huge for the Wolverines with a bit over seven minutes to play, doing his best to keep UND off the board by pushing aside a flurry of shots from his back that had threatened to erase the Michigan lead.
With 6:16 left, amidst a net-front scramble, the Fighting Irish scored to tie the game at 2.
The teams dashed back-and-forth down the ice in the closing minutes of regulation as each side searched for a third goal and a full three-point conference win, but the final buzzer rang to send the game to 3-on-3 overtime.
Michigan put out Beniers, Kent Johnson, and Power to start the five-minute OT period. The Wolverines searched for a good shot, keeping possession but bringing the puck out of the zone multiple times as the Maize and Blue trio threatened for the first 3:12 of the extra session. With 1:48 to play, Garrett Van Wyhe was assessed a major penalty and a game misconduct for hitting from behind to put UND on the 4-on-3 power play to close out the game.
Twenty-four seconds later, the Fighting Irish found the back of the net to claim the extra point in the Big Ten standings. After 63+ minutes of play, the Irish had outshot the Wolverines 39-30 and held a narrow 27-26 advantage in the faceoff dot.
With the win, UND has now emerged victorious in six straight games at Yost -- as the visiting team has won in each of the last nine games of the series. Also of note, Johnson's eight-game point streak was snapped Friday night. He ended the streak with three goals and 12 assists for 15 points in the eight-game stretch.
On Saturday night (Nov. 20), the longtime foes will reconvene to finish off the two-game series, with the Wolverines in search of a three-point regulation win. Puck drop for Saturday's contest is scheduled for 8 p.m., and the game will be streamed live on B1G+.
