Michigan
7-2-1, 2-0-0
Notre Dame
5-5-0, 1-3-0
Michigan Sweeps Notre Dame with Seventh Straight Series Win
11/9/2024 10:34:00 PM | Ice Hockey
» Freshman goaltender Cameron Korpi earned his third win as a Wolverine with 27 saves.
» Michael Hage opened the scoring with an early strike less than a minute into the game.
» Captain Jacob Truscott notched a pair of assists.
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Looking to extend a recent run of success over their rivals to the southwest, the seventh-ranked University of Michigan ice hockey team scored in the first minute and never looked back as they defeated 20th-ranked Notre Dame 4-2 on Saturday evening (Nov. 9) at Yost Ice Arena.
Michael Hage opened the scoring just 41 seconds into the game with a laser of a shot from the top of the left circle that found twine to give Michigan an early lead. Both of his linemates, Evan Werner and Nick Moldenhauer, assisted on the freshman's fifth goal of the year that set the tone for the Saturday sweep opportunity.
Werner doubled the lead at 2:08 when his shot from near the goal line deflected off of a UND defender on the far side of the crease and trickled across the goal line. Moldenhauer notched his second assist of the period after receiving a breakout pass from freshman blueliner Will Felicio, whose secondary assist went down as his first collegiate point.
Michigan carried the play for much of the period, leading 16-5 in shots on goal until UND halved the deficit with a goal at 16:44 that made it a 2-1 game.
Michigan's checking line reclaimed the team's two-goal lead and made it 3-1 at the six-minute mark of the second period off a marker from Thomas Daskas. The veteran forward participated in cycling the puck around the Irish zone before finding an opportunity to shoot the puck and ultimately notch his first goal as a Wolverine when the puck deflected off the webbing of the goaltender's glove.
With 44 seconds left in the middle frame, Notre Dame struck back with a goal in transition to make it 3-2.
The first half of the final period was clunky at times as each side searched for the all-important next goal with each earning a man-advantage opportunity.
With an empty cage with 1:36 left in regulation, Notre Dame searched for a game-tying goal. After taking their timeout with 39 seconds left, UND failed to regain possession in the Michigan zone. Ultimately, Philippe Lapointe was able to chip the puck down the ice toward the empty net following a battle in the neutral zone. With the shot losing momentum as it slid through the UND end, Hallum beat the Irish in a race to the puck before depositing it into the net to put the finishing touches on a 4-2 win for Michigan.
U-M locked up a two-game sweep over Notre Dame to kick off Big Ten play. Michigan's win was backed by a 34-29 advantage in shots on goal, with Korpi turning aside 27 shots in his third win.
Michigan's victory bumped their lead in the series to 92-70-6. In addition, Michigan's active win streak over the Irish has now ballooned to seven games -- the longest in the series since U-M won eight straight over the Fighting Irish from 2004 to 2005 during the CCHA days.
The Wolverines will have a bye next weekend before hitting the road for a series at Penn State. The teams will face off in State College, Pa., on Friday and Saturday, Nov. 22-23. The opener is set for a 7 p.m. start with Saturday's start time to be determined.
