Michigan
13-7-1, 7-4-0
Notre Dame
6-14-1, 1-11-1
Five-Goal Run Pushes Michigan to Road Win at Notre Dame
1/10/2025 10:38:00 PM | Ice Hockey
» Kienan Draper scored twice, including the game-winner. Both were assisted by Jacob Truscott.
» Mark Estapa opened the scoring for Michigan with a power-play goal and later added an assist.
» Defenseman Ethan Edwards notched one goal, one assist, and four shots on goal.
SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- Facing a two-goal deficit in the first period, the ninth-ranked University of Michigan ice hockey team rallied to score five straight goals on Friday night (Jan. 10) en route to a 5-3 road win over Notre Dame at Compton Ice Arena.
The win marked Michigan's eighth straight in the series against the Fighting Irish, the longest stretch in the series since the Wolverines won nine straight nearly 30 years ago between 1996-98.
In the first half of the opening period, it was Notre Dame (6-14-1, 1-11-1 Big Ten) that took a 1-0 lead, scoring a rebound goal at 7:19 on a third effort that snuck past a diving Logan Stein following a pair of strong saves.
U-M (13-7-1, 7-4-0 Big Ten) gave the Irish a golden opportunity when Jackson Hallum was penalized in the offensive zone for interference at 8:14. Thirty-eight seconds later, a Notre Dame forward found the puck near the right dot and lifted a shot above the glove and into the top corner of the net to make it 2-0.
The Wolverines began their first turn on the power play at 10:34 in search of offense, as Notre Dame had quickly jumped out to a sizable lead in shots on goal. Late in the advantage, senior forward Mark Estapa capped off a voluminous power play with a slick move near the right post after U-M had spent nearly the entire chance in the Irish zone. Hallum and Garrett Schifsky earned the assists on Estapa's first goal of the season; the veteran churned up the tally with a clever spin move to go backhand-to-forehand at 12:22.
Michigan continued its push by adding another goal to tie the game at 16:08 after finishing off a play in transition. Junior center Kienan Draper lit the lamp as the third man into the zone after Josh Eernisse screened the goalie from the top of the crease and Will Horcoff skated into the zone on the right flank and stopped at the net with his stick on the ice. Eernisse earned the primary assist for getting the puck to Draper while Jacob Truscott collected the secondary helper from the back end.
Despite facing an early two-goal deficit for the second game in a row, the Wolverines collected a pair of goals to end the first in a 2-2 tie after one period.
Back in action for the second period, forward Philippe Lapointe secured a go-ahead goal at 3:12 to make it 3-2 in Michigan's favor. Ethan Edwards and Estapa each notched an assist on Lapointe's goal after Edwards drove the puck up the left side of the ice and into the offensive zone before sending a feed to the far side of the crease for a crashing Lapointe to smash home.
Michigan's offensive explosion continued as it buried a fourth goal a little more than five minutes later when Draper stormed toward the net and finished off another goal from tight quarters at 8:39. Once again, Truscott assisted on Draper's second of the night, his first multiple-goal game of his career.
The Fighting Irish took a penalty at 11:24 while the teams were playing 4-on-4 to give U-M a 4-on-3 power play. Michigan continued to embrace the momentum as it worked the puck around a compressed square on the 4-on-3 while searching for the perfect shot. Two seconds after each team regained a skater to make it a traditional power play, Edwards scored his second goal of the season at 12:26 to make it a 5-2 game. T.J. Hughes and Michael Hage earned assists on Edwards' rocket.
Notre Dame added a goal with 2:50 left in the middle frame to cut Michigan's lead back to two, as the Wolverines led 5-3 after two periods.
The teams settled in for the third period and the frame was far less eventful than the first two as neither side took a single penalty. With Michigan's two-goal lead still intact, the Irish pulled their goaltender in favor of an extra attacker with nearly four minutes remaining off a timeout.
U-M sent several heaves toward the empty cage, but none found the back of the net. Meanwhile, UND searched for a goal to halve the deficit to no avail as graduate netminder Stein finished the night with 28 saves for his eighth win of the season.
On Saturday night (Jan. 11), Michigan and Notre Dame will finish off their regular-season series with their fourth and final matchup. Puck drop for the finale is scheduled for 6 p.m., and the contest will be streamed live on Peacock.
