Michigan
4-1, 2-1-0-1-0B1G
Notre Dame
1-2, 1-2-0-0-0B1G
Michigan's Comeback Falls Short in Series Opener Against Notre Dame
11/27/2020 10:10:00 PM | Ice Hockey
» Michael Pastujov scored his team-leading third goal of the season.
» Luke Morgan finished a beautiful feed from Jacob Truscott to ignite the U-M rally.
» Strauss Mann stopped 15 of 18 shots faced while picking up his first loss of the season.
Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Red Berenson Rink at Yost Ice Arena)
Score: Notre Dame 3, #4 Michigan 2
Records: U-M (4-1-0, 2-1-0 B1G), ND (1-2-0, 1-2-0 B1G)
Next U-M Event: Saturday, Nov. 28 -- vs. Notre Dame (Yost Ice Arena), 7 p.m.
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Despite going an entire game without receiving a penalty for the first time in more than two years, the No. 4-ranked University of Michigan ice hockey team fell to Notre Dame on Friday night (Nov. 27) by a score of 3-2.
The Fighting Irish scored the game's first three goals before fending off a Wolverine rally to secure UND's first Big Ten Conference win of the season and dole out Michigan's first loss. Goaltender Strauss Mann stopped 15 of 18 shots faced while giving the team a chance to win in the third period.
The first action of the evening came when Notre Dame took a slashing penalty to put Michigan on the power play 5:48 into the first period. The Wolverines, entering with a 37.5 percent success rate on the man advantage, threatened in the offensive end but could not convert on what would be the only power-play opportunity of the night for either side.
U-M controlled play for the first half of the period before Notre Dame's Nick Leivermann was able to get a shot through traffic and into the back of Michigan's net at 10:31 to seize momentum and take the lead. After one period, the Irish led 1-0 while trailing U-M in shots, 8-7.
The first half of the second stanza featured more play driven by the visitors, with Notre Dame scoring a pair of quick goals to widen its lead: a long wrist shot aided by traffic in front of the U-M crease at 6:13 and a breakaway goal following a turnover on a Michigan zone entry at 7:41.
After almost 38 minutes of hockey, senior Luke Morgan got the Wolverines on the board with 2:12 remaining on a clutch backdoor goal off a beautiful feed from freshman blueliner Jacob Truscott. At the end of two periods, Michigan trailed 3-1 but had expanded its lead in shots to a 22-15 margin.
Less than three minutes into the final frame, senior Michael Pastujov forced a shot past the goaltender to cut the deficit to one. Jack Summers picked up the lone assist on Pastujov's third goal of the season after the junior defenseman utilized a stretch pass to take advantage of a Notre Dame change and allow Pastujov to enter the zone on an odd-man rush with his linemates.
A flurry of great chances for U-M on a bouncing puck in front of the blue paint came and went with 2:48 remaining. After that, Mann retreated to the bench and six Michigan skaters poured all that they had at the net in the waning seconds of the contest, but ultimately it was not enough.
The Wolverines finished the game with a 34-18 advantage in shots on goal but won just 18 faceoffs to Notre Dame's 32. The two teams will face off once again tomorrow night (Saturday, Nov. 28) at 7 p.m. for the back end of the weekend's twinbill. The game will be broadcast on Big Ten Network+.
