Costly penalties ruin Irish hopes for upset as No. 14 Michigan rallies for 5-4 win
Just when it looked like the underdog Notre Dame hockey team had silenced Michigan’s Yost Ice Arena crowd Friday night in the first game of their Big Ten Postseason Tournament quarterfinal series, the Irish couldn’t get out of their own way.
Having battled back from a 2-1 first-period deficit to take a 4-2 lead late in the second period, Notre Dame surrendered a late goal and then committed a pair of undisciplined penalties, one a five-minute major, which provided the Wolverines’ nation-leading power play to score twice early in the third period for a 5-4 victory.
The setback was the fourth straight for coach Jeff Jackson’s Irish (15-18-2), who must win Saturday night against Brandon Naurato’s 14th-ranked Wolverines (19-13-3) or see their season come to an end. In the process, Notre Dame ruined a heroic performance in net by graduate goaltender Ryan Bischel, who made 34 saves, 18 of them in the first period.
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Michigan got two goals by sophomore Rutger McGroarty, the last the eventual game-winner at 3:04 of the third period with Notre Dame senior defenseman Drew Bavaro sitting in the penalty box for five minutes after hitting sophomore defenseman Seamus Casey from behind in the corner at 19:14 of the second period. Casey would end his evening with four assists.
The penalty to Bavaro, who had two goals of the three second-period goals as Notre Dame took a 4-2 lead, came 56 seconds after fellow Irish senior defenseman Jake Boltmann was whistled off the ice for an unsportsmanlike penalty for spraying Michigan goaltender Jake Barczewski with ice shavings.
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The two penalties gave Michigan a 5-on-3 power play for the rest of the second period. Michigan’s T.J. Hughes won the third-period opening faceoff and then beat Bischel at the 11-second mark just as Boltmann returned to the ice to make it 4-4. Michigan’s power play, which entered the game converting at 35.2 percent (44 of 125), officially went 3-for-3 for the night.
Despite being outshot 20-4 in the first period, Notre Dame, which led early 1-0 on captain Landon Slaggert’s 19th goal of the season, trailed just 2-1 heading into the second period. After making adjustments, the Irish got goals by Bavaro (on a power play at 12:42), Patrick Moynihan (15:02) and Bavaro again at 16:00 to forge a 4-2 lead. But Garrett Schifsky pulled Michigan within one, 4-3, at 17:04 to kill the Irish momentum.
The Wolverines got the first eight shots on goal in the third period and finished with a 39-24 edge in shots on goal. Goaltender Jake Barczewski finished with 20 saves.