SOUTH BEND — There were a total of 82 penalty minutes taken in the Big Ten opener for the No. 2 Michigan hockey team and Notre Dame. For most of the game, the Fighting Irish played with a shortened bench as two of their players received game disqualifications.
Michigan’s power play did not fail to capitalize on opportunities and was its greatest asset as the Wolverines (8-1-0 overall, 1-0-0 Big Ten) defeated Notre Dame (7-2-0, 0-1-0) 5-3.
The penalties began early. Just five minutes into the game, Michigan freshman forward Cole McKinney was hit from behind and then knelt on by Notre Dame defenseman Caeden Carlisle. Carlisle received a five-minute major and a game misconduct, giving the Wolverines a full five minutes of power-play time.
They needed just two and a half of those to score with sophomore forward Michael Hage finding sophomore forward Will Horcoff wide open in front of the net for the goal. Later in the period, Horcoff tallied his second: a wrister from the left circle.
“I thought the power play was really good,” Michigan coach Brandon Naurato said. “When you get that time, you’ve got to take advantage of it. And we did.”
The Wolverines appeared to be running away with the game with nine minutes to go in the second period. Sophomore defenseman Dakoda Rhéaume-Mullen added a third power-play goal with a wrister from the point and freshman forward Aidan Park tipped in a floater from senior defenseman Tyler Duke. The Wolverines were putting their offensive talent to good use.
However, the Irish had room to step up their game. As the second period wore on, they increased their pressure on the Wolverines significantly. With six minutes to go in the frame, senior defenseman Luca Fantilli opted to take away the pass in a partial two-on-one, leaving freshman goaltender Jack Ivankovic to fend off the shot of Notre Dame forward Brennan Ali. The shot hit the edge of Ivankovic’s pad and went in.
Less than two minutes later, Notre Dame added on another one after senior forward Josh Eernisse took a hooking penalty. Irish forward and former Michigan player Evan Werner sniped Ivankovic to cut the lead to two. The Wolverines were outshot 14-to-9 in the second, and Ivankovic made several big stops to keep the Irish to just two goals in the period.
“They just stepped up and they made a push,” Naurato said. “And that’s gonna happen every weekend, especially in the Big Ten. Good teams are gonna make a push, and we just have to bend but not break.”
Michigan looked like it might break in the third as Notre Dame came out firing. Then, the Irish took another penalty. Eleven seconds later, senior forward T.J. Hughes tipped in a shot from freshman defenseman Henry Mews to give Michigan another three-goal lead.
It was exactly what the Wolverines needed. Despite conceding a goal on the powerplay with Notre Dame’s goalie pulled for the two-man advantage with just a minute to go in the game, Michigan hung on for the win.
“In the third period, we played the right way,” Mews said. “We played winning hockey, and that’s the way we want to play every period.”
In a sloppy and choppy game, the Wolverines relied on its power play to buoy it above its defensive miscues. While that won’t work in every game, it worked in this one for Michigan.
