Notre Dame came as advertised. With a defensive mindset, gritty physicality and a knack for finding a little bit of puck luck, the 20th-ranked Fighting Irish brought their patented play for much of the night.
But not all — to its credit, the No. 4 Michigan hockey team responded, bringing its patented speed and talent to the table in a game that resembled matchups of old and needed a shootout to settle the final score.
While Michigan (20-10-3 overall, 12-9-2 Big Ten) eventually fell to Notre Dame (14-14-5, 9-10-4), 4-3 in a shootout, both the Irish and the Wolverines each had moments where their potent styles shined through. Nevertheless, each team’s performance was just enough to hang tough with one another.
“I think they just made a push and we would have liked to push back harder, sooner,” Michigan coach Brandon Naurato said. “It was good that we got that (third) goal. We did a good job defensively. I think we can be better offensively.”
Michigan initially made the first push. Up 1-0 early in the first period, the Wolverines surged offensively for the first 10 minutes of the game. Then the Irish settled in and began battling in the style they relish: a hard-nosed defensive battle.
A little puck luck didn’t hurt either as they found two quick goals that each bounced off of Michigan defenders. Although both teams went into the first intermission knotted 2-2, the Irish had hit their stride.
And for the vast majority of the game, they didn’t look back. Holding the Wolverines to eight shots in the second period, Notre Dame effectively began playing with house money. Employing their 1-3-1 trap, the Irish sat back. Michigan was unable to mount a response, taking its offensive issues deep into the third period.
To compound the Wolverines woes, an early third period goal by Notre Dame forward Jack Adams put the Irish up 3-2 and sunk Michigan even deeper. More than ever before on the night, the Irish were more than pleased to adhere to their defensive scheme.
“At times they sit back and they’ll play super defensively and sit in their structure and try to block shots and not let guys get to the net so it makes it tough,” senior defenseman Keaton Pehrson said. “That’s why we got to create a little chaos there to get them out of their structure and try to get a goal.”
Notre Dame was indeed content to sit back. Yet, as the third period began to wane, the Wolverines began to find the “whole other gear” that Naurato emphasized postgame. Suddenly, Michigan was not simply content to watch the Irish camp in the neutral zone. Suddenly, the Wolverines brought the desperation.
“Just finishing hits, being hard and getting pucks and people to the net,” Pehrson said. “… We were trying to be too cute at times so (we need) just a little more desperation, playoff-style hockey.”
It was like a switch flipped. The once dormant Michigan offense began to pour it on. Incited by an interference penalty on Notre Dame defenseman Nick Leivermann, the Wolverines came alive, logging chance after chance.
“The last five minutes were desperate,” freshman forward TJ Hughes said. “We knew we needed a goal. We’re getting pucks behind them, getting pucks on net and just shooting everything. We need to start off like that tomorrow and just play that desperate hockey.”
Finally a breakthrough came courtesy of freshman forward Adam Fantilli. Scoring with just under two minutes to play, the Michigan offense gasped a breath of fresh air as Fantilli breathed new life into the Wolverines. Taking the game into overtime, Michigan began playing its own game, riding a torrent of momentum.
And as chance after chance and opportunity after opportunity rang off crossbars and skidded past eager sticks, the Wolverines’ night reached a fever pitch. The problem was, none of those turned into the game-winner.
One moment encapsulated it all: Collecting a neutral zone turnover with one minute remaining, sophomore forward Mackie Samoskevich incited a 2-on-1, with Fantilli racing toward his right shoulder. Two passes and a Notre Dame defensive recovery later and a once game-winning opportunity materialized into nothing.
While Michigan eventually fell in the shootout 1-0, the Wolverines’ night rested on see-saw moments like that one.
Even when it was able to surmount the Irish defense, with the game on its stick, Michigan was unable to come through.