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| Photo Credit: Michael Caterina- Tribune Photo |
By: Jon Opiela
Twitter: @jonopiela24
NOTRE DAME, IN— The No. 6 University of Notre Dame Fighting Irish
decided “Let’s Take This Outside” and welcomed their rivals, the University of
Michigan Wolverines.
As the name of the contest suggests, this game was not played in
the Compton Family Ice Arena, but rather under the lights of historic Notre
Dame Stadium. A Notre Dame record 23,422 fans attended Hockey Night In South
Bend, which saw the Wolverines (7-7-6, 3-4-4-2 Big Ten) upset the No. 6
Fighting Irish (12-6-1, 5-4-0-0 Big Ten), 4-2.
“Overall, pleased with our team and some huge, huge points in the
standings for us,” said Michigan coach Mel Pearson. “It’s been a while since we
won so while they played well, we played hard.” Pearson was correct in how big
the win was for the Wolverines, as they now move into a first place tie in the
Big Ten with Notre Dame.
The Irish and Wolverines split a two-game series in Ann Arbor
earlier this season. Michigan took the first contest by a score of 2-1 while
Notre Dame avenged the loss the next day and came away with a 6-2 victory.
A mild, winter day in Indiana was a factor in the puck drop
delayed by an hour. The universities decided to push the game back in the
interest of player safety. The official temperature at puck drop was 49
degrees.
Once the opening face-off occurred, Michigan was able to get out
to a fast start against No. 6 Notre Dame. At the 4:42 mark in the first period,
Michigan’s Joseph Cecconi scored his second goal of the season from beyond
Michigan’s own blue line. 16 seconds later, Michigan lit the lamp again with a
Will Lockwood’s sixth goal of the season. Nick Pastujov picked up his fifth and
sixth assists of the season, contributing on both goals.
Later in the period, Michigan was able to extend their lead to
three when Nolan Moyle beat Cale Morris and found the net. Dakota Raabe and
Luke Martin picked up assists on Moyle’s second goal this season.
The Irish cut the Wolverines lead to two when Cam Morrison netted
a power play goal at the 5:30 mark in the second period. Morrison netted his
seventh goal of the season with the help of captain Andrew Peeke and Bobby
Nardella.
Morris and Hayden Lavigne were able to keep the teams from finding
the net to keep the score locked at 3-1 for the remainder of the second period
and well into the third period.
Notre Dame went with an empty net to gain an extra attacker with
just over four minutes to play in the third period. The gamble paid off as Alex
Steeves beat Lavigne off of the assist from Jake Pivonka to cut the deficit to
just one goal.
With 11.3 seconds remaining in regulation, Michigan recorded an
empty net goal from Raabe to secure the victory. Lavigne finished the contest
with 30 saves on the evening.
Three Stars:
1) Hayden Lavigne (Michigan) – 30 Saves, Win
2) Dakota Raabe (Michigan) – Goal (3), Assist (3)
3) Cam Morrison (Notre Dame) – Goal (7)
Looking Ahead:
Notre Dame will remain in South Bend and will face the University
of Minnesota in the Compton Family Ice Arena on Jan. 11 and 12. Michigan will
return to the Yost Ice Arena to take on Merrimack on Jan. 8 before heading to
Columbus to take on Ohio State on Jan. 11 and 12.
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