Michigan
8-1-0, 1-0-0
Notre Dame
3-3-1, 0-1-0
Michigan Begins Big Ten Play With Road Win Over Notre Dame
10/31/2025 10:37:00 PM | Ice Hockey
» T.J. Hughes had three points to move into 50th place in all-time scoring among Wolverines.
» Will Horcoff scored two power-play goals for his third multi-goal game of the young season.
» Defenseman Henry Mews recorded a pair of assists to lead U-M from the back end.
SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- Four power-play goals propelled the No. 2-ranked University of Michigan ice hockey team to a 5-3 victory over Notre Dame to kick off conference play in roaring fashion on Friday night (Oct. 31) at Compton Family Ice Arena.
Freshman netminder Jack Ivankovic turned in yet another strong performance between the pipes. The Ontario native made 30 saves on the 33 shots that he faced from the Fighting Irish to earn his eighth victory and wrap up his first month of competition in style with an 8-1 record.
Michigan (8-1-0, 1-0-0 Big Ten) earned the first power play of the evening at 5:07 when Garrett Schifsky drew a call below the goal line for hitting from behind. A five-minute major penalty and a game misconduct were issued to Notre Dame (3-3-1, 0-1-0 Big Ten) following an official review.
Roughly halfway through the lengthy advantage, the Wolverines converted thanks to an overwhelming amount of possession time and the slick passing of T.J. Hughes, Michael Hage and Will Horcoff. All three began the scoring sequence in the left circle before each worked to find space in softer ice. With the captain maintaining possession while slowly backing up toward the half wall, Hage set up below the goal line to prepare for a pass from the captain while Horcoff perched himself at the top of the crease. Once all three were in position, Hughes zipped a quick pass down to Hage, and the sophomore immediately fed a pass to the front of the net for Horcoff to bury for an early Michigan lead at 7:44.
U-M carried a 1-0 lead and a 13-5 advantage in shots on goal to the dressing room after the first period. Notre Dame maintained a 9-7 edge in the faceoff dot through 20 minutes.
The Wolverines embarked on a power play just 42 seconds into the second period due to an early hooking call. Thirty seconds later, Horcoff buried his second power-play goal in as many periods following a great effort by Hughes to drive deep into the UND zone on the left flank to open up ice for a drop pass back into the slot to be blasted home for a 2-0 lead. Defenseman Henry Mews also picked up his eighth assist of the season on the marker.
Freshman Malcolm Spence wore a cross-check to the mask at 4:51 to earn another five-minute power play for the Wolverines. U-M racked up possession time as the group weighed its options, but Notre Dame pushed back with a dangerous shorthanded chance that Ivankovic was forced to disrupt with a perfectly-timed poke check.
Just over halfway through the extended chance, blueliner Dakoda Rhéaume-Mullen made it a 3-0 game for the Wolverines when he unleashed a point shot that found twine at 7:40. Junior Ben Robertson picked up his team-leading 11th assist of the season to set up his fellow defenseman while Jayden Perron notched the secondary helper.
The Wolverines earned their first even-strength goal to make it 4-0 at 11:45 when freshman Aidan Park skated to the hard area in front of the net and won an individual battle to get his stick in the lane and redirect a useful point shot from Tyler Duke at the blue line. Senior forward Josh Eernisse earned the secondary assist on Park's third goal of the year.
Notre Dame capitalized on an odd-man rush at 13:51 to put a goal on the board and make it 4-1.
Eernisse was whistled for hooking to put the Irish on the power play less than one minute later. On the ensuing advantage, a familiar face scored for Notre Dame when Evan Werner made it 4-2.
Despite faltering late in the second period to let the Irish back into the contest, Michigan owned a two-goal lead through 40 minutes in addition to a 22-19 edge in shots on goal.
Hage used his speed to draw a tripping penalty at 6:33 of the final frame, and the Wolverines wasted little time in continuing their red-hot power-play performance by converting 11 seconds later to make it 5-2. This time, it was Hughes who found space in the slot to redirect a point shot. Mews and Adam Valentini collected assists on the captain's tally.
With the goal, Hughes moved into a tie for 50th place in all-time scoring for the program with barrier-breaking '50s legend George Chin at 134 points apiece.
A chaotic sequence resulted in Ivankovic being knocked from his position by oncoming traffic. The initially innocuous dust-up resulted in a minor penalty being assessed to the Irish for goaltender interference, but the advantage came and went without a power-play goal.
A minor penalty for slashing was called on a Wolverine to give UND a late chance to pull the netminder for a 6-on-4 advantage with 2:25 remaining and three goals to make up.
The Irish cashed in with a power-play marker to trim the deficit with 1:03 left in regulation.
Notre Dame finished the contest with a 33-27 advantage in shots on goal as well as a 28-21 edge in faceoffs, but the Wolverines earned three points.
With the win, the Wolverines have now won nine of the last 10 meetings against the Irish.
The teams reconvene Saturday (Nov. 1) with a 6 p.m. puck drop at Compton Family Arena, and the finale will be streamed live on Peacock.
