Notre Dame's Bischel and Moynihan join Slaggert and Bavaro in professional hockey ranks

SOUTH BEND – Two Notre Dame graduate hockey players have signed one-year agreements to play professionally.

Goaltender Ryan Bischel, who won West All-American honors after the 2022-23 campaign and seeking a second straight Big Ten Goaltender of the Year Award, and right wing Patrick Moynihan, a graduate transfer from Providence College, have become the third and fourth Notre Dame players to sign professional contracts since the 15-19-2 Irish were swept by Michigan in the opening round of the Big Ten Postseason Tournament March 8-9.

"Thank you, Notre Dame, for the past five years," said the 24-year-old Bischel after the Boston Bruins announced Monday they had signed him to a one-year contract to play with the Providence Bruins of the American Hockey League. "Thank you for showing me a version of myself I didn’t know existed. Thank you for pushing me every single day to become that person."

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The 6-foot-1, 190-pound Bischel played in all but 62 ½ minutes of Notre Dame’s season, finishing with a 2.59 goals-against average, a .924 saves percentage thanks to a nation’s best 1,112 saves, and three shutouts. The Medina, Minnesota, native joined the Irish in 2019 and played in 105 games, finishing with a 47-44-7 record, 10 career shutouts (fifth-best on the Irish all-time list), a 2.46 goals-against average (sixth-best) and a .924 saves percentage (second-best). In addition to his All-America and Big Ten Goaltending honors, Bischel was twice named a Mike Richter Award semifinalist. 

Bischel’s signing comes a few days after the Bruins announced that Irish senior defenseman Drew Bavaro had signed a 2024-25 contract and would be playing for the team’s AHL franchise in Providence, R.I., on an amateur try-out contract (ATO) the rest of this season. Bavaro already has played in two games for Providence during which he has one minor penalty and two shots.

  Irish captain and senior left wing Landon Slaggert, a South Bend native who scored 20 goals and had 11 assists for 31 points this season, last week signed a two-year, entry-level contract with the NHL’s Chicago Blackhawks. He made his debut Friday night at the United Center in a 5-0 home loss to the Los Angeles Kings. Slaggert also skated in Sunday’s 5-2 home victory to the San Jose Sharks. In the two games, he has not recorded a point.

The 5-foot-11, 195-pound Moynihan, a grad transfer from Providence College who finished second to Irish captain Landon Slaggert in scoring with 24 points (10 goals, 14 assists), signed an ATO contract with the Chicago Wolves of the AHL. The Millis, Mass., native made his debut Sunday with the Wolves in a 3-2 home loss to the Iowa Wild at the Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Ill.

One of Moynihan’s teammates with the Wolves is former Irish defenseman Tory Dello (2016-20). The Wolves are coached by former Wolves standout Bob Nardella, the father of former Irish defenseman Bobby Nardella (2015-19).

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