No. 1 Michigan to Begin Six-Game Home Stretch With No. 14 Notre Dame

Friday, November 19

Ann Arbor, Mich.

7:30 PM

Michigan

Notre Dame

Kent Johnson (Michigan Photography)

No. 1 Michigan to Begin Six-Game Home Stretch With No. 14 Notre Dame

11/17/2021 11:39:00 AM | Ice Hockey

By: Kristy McNeil

• Top-ranked Michigan and No. 14 Notre Dame come into the weekend riding win streaks -- the Wolverines have won four straight, while the Irish have won five in a row.
• U-M has the nation's top scoring offense, averaging 4.33 goals per game.
• Michigan leads 83-63-5 in the all-time series with Notre Dame, and has won the last two meetings.

• Complete Game Notes (PDF)

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The No. 1-ranked University of Michigan ice hockey team (10-2-0, 5-1-0 Big Ten) returns to Yost Ice Arena this week for a two-game series with No. 14 Notre Dame (8-3-0, 2-2-0 Big Ten). On Friday (Nov. 19) the teams will square off at 7:30 p.m., and puck drop for Saturday's (Nov. 12) contest is scheduled for 8 p.m. Both nights' games will be streamed live on B1G+.

Wolverine Bites

• Michigan is 10-2 on the season after a back-to-back wins at Penn State last week and returns to No. 1 in the USCHO and USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine polls.

• The start marks the best for the program since 2007-08, a Kevin Porter- and Chad Kolarik-led team that started 13-1 and 22-2, while Porter went on to win the Hobey Baker Award.

• The top offense in the nation, U-M has 52 goals in the team's first 12 games for an average of 4.33 goals per game.

• The team's leading point-getter, Kent Johnson, leads the nation in assists with 16, and is tied for the nationwide lead in scoring with 20 points. Owen Power stands at second in the country with 15 assists after a pair of three-point games at Penn State. He also is second on the team with 18 points. Matty Beniers leads in goal-scoring with nine and has 15 points, while Brendan Brisson's eight goals and five assists for 13 points ties him for fourth with Luke Hughes. Last year's leading point-getter, Thomas Bordeleau (three goals, nine assists, 12 points) sits at fifth.

• The freshman blueliner Hughes leads the team and nation in plus/minus at +16, while his defensive partner, Jacob Truscott, is second at +14. Power leads the team in blocked shots with 16, followed by a trio of Wolverines with 11: Beniers, Truscott, and Ethan Edwards.

• Erik Portillo has played every minute in goal for the Wolverines thus far, assembling a 10-2 record with one shutout, a .927 save percentage, and a 2.08 goals-against average.

Scouting the Fighting Irish

• Notre Dame was picked to finish fourth in the Big Ten behind Minnesota, Michigan and Wisconsin. The Irish sit at 8-3 overall but enter the weekend with a five-game win streak at Yost Ice Arena.

• Notre Dame leads the nation in killing penalties, operating at a 95.3 percent clip (41-for -43).

• Preseason second team All-B1G forward Graham Slaggert and his brother, Landon, provide scoring punch along with leading scorers Max Ellis, Solag Bakich, and Trevor Janicke.

• On the blue line, Spencer Stastney and transfer Adam Karashik highlight a talented group of two-way defensemen. Stastney's seven assists are tied for the team lead with Bakich.

• In net, Cornell transfer Matthew Galajda has taken the reigns. Galajda has a sterling 6-1 record with a .936 save percentage and a 1.58 goals-against average after seven starts.

Series History

• Michigan owns an 83-63-5 lead in the all-time series against the Fighting Irish.

• Last season, Notre Dame swept Michigan in November at Yost (3-2, 2-1) before U-M traveled to South Bend in January and secured a sweep of their own (5-1, 3-1).

• Michael Pastujov leads all active Wolverines with six points (4-2--6) in his 16 games vs. UND, while Nick Blankenburg and Kent Johnson have each chipped in two goals.

• Erik Portillo faced the Irish once last season, stopping 29 shots while allowing one goal in a Michigan win.

Up Next

Friday, Nov. 26 -- vs. Niagara (Yost Ice Arena), 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, Nov. 27 -- vs. Niagara (Yost Ice Arena), 8 p.m.