By JOHN FINERAN
WHEN: Friday, Jan. 10 at 7 p.m. and Saturday, Jan. 11 at 6 p.m.
WHERE: Charles W. “Lefty” Smith Rink in the Compton Family Ice Arena (4,852), South Bend, Ind.
RADIO: WZOC-FM (94.3) and UND.com (Tyler Reidy).
TV/STREAMING: Peacock (Connor Clingen and Steve Konroyd).
BIG TEN STANDINGS AND SCHEDULE: (Numbers in parenthesis before school are its rankings in this week’s USCHO.com media poll, this week’s USA Hockey-The Rink Live coaches poll and current PairWise rating)
T1. (1/1/2) Michigan State 8-1-1, 24 points (17-2-1 overall)
T1. (3/3/4) Minnesota 8-1-1, 24 points (17-3-2 overall)
T3. (11/11/10) Ohio State 7-3-0, 20 points (14-5-1 overall)
T3. (rv/nr/24) Wisconsin 5-9-0, 20 points (9-12-1 overall)
- (9/9/12) Michigan 6-4-0, 15 points (12-7-1 overall)
- (nr/nr/41) NOTRE DAME 1-10-1, 6 points (6-13-1 overall)
- (nr/nr/31) PENN STATE 1-8-1, 5 points (8-9-1 overall)
Friday, Jan. 10: Michigan at Notre Dame, 7 p.m.; Michigan State at Penn State, 7 p.m.; Minnesota at Ohio State, 5 p.m.; Wisconsin is idle.
Saturday, Jan. 11: Michigan at Notre Dame, 6 p.m.; Michigan State at Penn State, 6 p.m.; Minnesota at Ohio State, 6:30 p.m.; Wisconsin is idle.
Friday, Jan. 17: Notre Dame at Minnesota, 8 p.m.; Michigan State at Michigan, 7 p.m.; Canisius at Penn State, 7 p.m. (non-conference); Long Island at Wisconsin, 8 p.m. (non-conference); Ohio State is idle.
Saturday, Jan. 18: Notre Dame at Minnesota, 6 p.m.; Michigan at Michigan State, 7:30 p.m.; Canisius at Penn State, 5 p.m. (non-conference); Long Island at Wisconsin, 7 p.m. (non-conference); Ohio State is idle.
LAST TIMES OUT: Both Michigan and Notre Dame skated outdoors in the “Frozen Confines: Big Ten Hockey” at Wrigley Field last Friday night before a total attendance of 25,709. … Michigan fell 4-3 to Ohio State in the opening game despite leading 2-0 (on goals by Michael Hage and T.J. Hughes) and 3-2 (on a goal by newcomer Will Horcoff) midway through the third. … The Wolverines couldn’t hold the lead, surrendering two goals to Riley Thompson, the last at 19:21.6 of regulation. … Notre Dame and Penn State then played to a 3-3 overtime tie (goals by Grant Silianoff, Justin Janicke and Carter Slaggert) before the Irish won an eight-round shootout, 2-1, on senior defenseman Ryan Helliwell’s successful shot. … The Irish and Nittany Lions then concluded their two-game series on Sunday with the Wolverines rallying from a 2-0 deficit to beat Ohio State 3-2 in overtime on Jackson Hallum’s goal in Ann Arbor and the Irish losing 3-0 to Penn State in South Bend.
RIVALRY: The teams have met 169 times with Michigan holding an 91-72-6 edge in the series which began Jan. 17, 1922 at Weinberg Coliseum in Ann Arbor with 3-2 overtime victory by Irish. … In games played at Notre Dame, the Irish lead 33-32-2, with their last victory, a 6-1 triumph, coming on Dec. 1, 2023. … Since then, the Wolverines have won seven straight games, including this season’s 2-1 (OT) victory on Nov. 8 and 4-2 victory on Nov. 9 before announced sellout crowds of 5,800 at Yost Ice Arena.
The recaps:
Michigan 2, Notre Dame 1 (OT) on Nov. 8, 2024: Brennan Ali gave Notre Dame a brief 1-0 lead at 6:29 of the second period before Kienan Draper tied it at 15:48 of the period. … Evan Werner then scored the game-winner for Michigan at 2:02 of overtime. … Logan Stein turned aside 18 Irish shots while Owen Say kept the Irish in it with 45 saves.
Michigan 4, Notre Dame 2 on Nov. 9, 2024: The Wolverines jumped out to a 2-0 lead on first-period goals by Michael Hage and Evan Werner and never trailed. … Brennan Ali and Blake Biondi scored for the Irish who got 30 saves from Owen Say. … Cameron Korpi had 27 saves in the Michigan net.
SCOUTING FIGHTING IRISH: Notre Dame is hoping the return of sophomore center Danny Nelson (8-5-13) and sophomore defenseman Paul Fischer (0-9-9) after winning gold medals for Team United States in the recent World Junior Championship at Ottawa, Ont., will help generate some much-needed offense. … The Irish are in a 1-11-1 slump since they started the Big Ten portion of the schedule with a 3-2 overtime victory over visiting Wisconsin on Nov. 1. … A 5-2 victory over Harvard in the opening game of the Friendship Four tourney in Belfast, Northern Ireland, on Nov. 29 and last Friday’s 3-3 OT tie/2-1 shootout win over Penn State have been the only positives of the 13-game stretch which saw Notre Dame battle through injuries and playing without Nelson and Fischer. … Sophomore center Cole Knuble, who missed four games with injuries prior to last weekend, continues to lead Irish in scoring with 7 goals and 11 assists for 18 points in 16 games. … Senior left wing Justin Janicke (6-9-15), graduate right wing Blake Biondi (6-8-14), Nelson, junior defenseman Axel Kumlin (3-9-12), sophomore left wing Brennan Ali (4-7-11), junior defenseman Michael Mastrodomenico (3-7-10), Fischer and senior center Hunter Strand (4-3-7) follow on the scoring list. … Graduate defenseman Zach Plucinski leads team in blocked shots with 32, two more than Fischer. … Irish faceoff-win leaders are Nelson (247-185, .572) and Strand (167-146, .534). … Freshman Nicholas Kempf (2.86 goals-against average, .920 saves percentage, 1-5-1 record) and junior Owen Say (2.83 goals-against average, .922 saves percentage, 5-8-0 record) shared goaltending duties last week against Penn State. … Kempf made 40 saves in 65 minutes of action Friday night at Wrigley and then denied Penn State on its last seven attempts during the shootout which went eight rounds. … Say stopped 33 Penn State shots in Sunday’s game.
NCAA statistics (through Jan. 5 games): Scoring offense, 2.55 goals per game (42nd); scoring defense, 3.05 goals per game (43rd); scoring margin, -0.50 goals per game (46th); power-play percentage, 0.250 (15 of 60) (9th); penalty-kill percentage, 0.794 (50 of 63) (38th); faceoff-win percentage, 0.523 (676-617) (17th); penalty minutes per game, 10.05 (22nd).
SCOUTING WOLVERINES: Michigan is capable of scoring goals in bunches as evident by the 16 goals it scored in a 6-5, 10-6 weekend sweep at Penn State Nov. 22-23. … The Wolverines also have been shut out four times, including three in succession (6-0, 2-0 at Minnesota Dec. 6-7 and 4-0 at home by Wisconsin Dec. 13). … The Wolverines are led in scoring by two centers – freshman Michael Hage and junior TJ Hughes. … Though he has missed three games, Hage has 11 goals and 10 assists for 21 points, three more points than Hughes (6-12-18) who has played in 20 games. … Last Sunday against Ohio State, Hage centered a line with junior Jackson Hallum (6-3-9) on his left and senior Nick Moldenhauer (1-5-6) on his right. … Hughes centered for sophomore left wing Garrett Schifsky (7-6-13) and sophomore right wing Evan Werner (7-8-15). … Hughes has scored four power-play goals this season while Schifsky has three shorthanded. … Hughes leads team in faceoff-wins (204-172, .543). … The Michigan defense is led by graduate captain Jacob Truscott (3-7-10, team-high 30 blocked shots). … The goaltending chores have been shared by 6-foot-4 freshman Cameron Korpi (2.58 goals-against average, .910 saves percentage, 5-3-1 record) and 6-foot-3 grad-transfer (from Ferris State) Logan Stein (2.97 goals-against average, .898 saves percentage, 7-4-0 record). … Korpi suffered the loss at Wrigley while Logan picked up the victory over the Buckeyes.
NCAA statistics (through Jan. 5 games): Scoring offense, 3.00 goals per game (27th); scoring defense, 2.90 goals per game (39th); scoring margin, 0.10 goals per game (31st); power-play percentage, 0.235 (16 of 68) (13th); penalty-kill percentage, 0.810 (64 of 79) (27th); faceoff win percentage, 0.502 (624-618) (32nd); penalty minutes per game, 11.45 (11th).
COACHES: Notre Dame, Jeff Jackson (413-279-74 in 20th season at school with NCAA Frozen Four appearances in 2008, 2011, 2017 and 2018; 595-331-99 overall record includes 182-52-25 record in six seasons at Lake Superior State where his teams won national championships in 1992 and 1994 and finished runner-up in 1993). … Michigan, Brandon Naurato (61-34-7 in third season at his alma mater, with Frozen Four appearances in 2023 and 2024).
JEFF JACKSON ON:
(Notre Dame since first series against Michigan ): “I think we’re a better team than we were back then. We still haven’t shown the results, which is really frustrating for me. We’ve taken a couple of steps forward, then, like Sunday, we took a step backward. We need to find a way to play consistently to be successful. I think we found that when we were in Ireland and even so when we got back in the first game against Ohio State. But then again, the second night, we took a step back. We need to find consistency in the game and consistency within the game. Sometimes we fall asleep and are not at the same level, playing the same way. We need to find a way to play 60 minutes and to play the right way. If we do that, we’ll start winning games. We have to believe in ourselves and believe in what we’re trying to do. These guys can’t be fragile. They have to find a way to overcome, which they did Friday night – we scored that tying goal in the third period which allowed us to win the shootout to get a second point. For me it’s a mental thing as well as physical.”
(Goaltending battle between Owen Say and Nicholas Kempf): “It’s hard to say at this point, but I’m going to allow their practice performance dictate. I was starting Owen on Friday nights, and Nick has played the last couple of Friday nights. I’m trying to get one of them to the point where I can with somebody. They’ve both played well at times, but they’ve also been up and down at times. For me, I’m waiting for a hot hand.”
(Getting Danny Nelson and Fischer back, how much do they help the power play, which was 0-for-5 Sunday): “They’re two-fifths of our top unit. Obviously they are a big piece of it. We scored a big goal on the power play Friday night. Our power play has probably been more consistent than it has been in recent years. But as we’ve dealt with guys in and out of the lineup, especially Cole (Knuble), we have to change it all the time. I’m hoping we can get continuity here for the rest of January with lines and power plays. That power play is certainly impacted by those two guys (Fischer and Nelson).”
(What to expect from Michigan): “Their transition game and speed is a big factor for them. They transition as well as any team in the country. They do a great job out of their own end through the neutral zone generating chances of the rush, and they are good in the O-zone as well. We just have to make sure we’re smart with the puck and possess it as much as we can.”
(The improvement of defenseman Michael Mastrodomenico): “I truly believe he has a chance to be an elite-level defender. He still, every once and awhile, wants to do a little too much with the puck and gets himself into trouble. Consistency has to be more of a key for him. When he’s dialed in, he’s strong physically, he’s really good in his one-on-one defensively and he has some offensive ability. He’s a key guy for us going down the stretch. We need him to be a great defender. He has to be a really good shut-down guy and has to pick his spots offensively.”
NEXT UP: Notre Dame travels to Minnesota for a two-game Big Ten series with the No. 3 Golden Gophers Jan. 17-18 before returning home to play a non-conference series against Lindenwood Jan. 24-25.
SCHEDULE FOR USCHO.com MEDIA POLL TEAMS AND OTHERS
- Michigan State (Big Ten) (17-2-1) at Penn State Friday and Saturday.
- Boston College (Hockey East) (12-3-1) vs. Merrimack Friday, at Merrimack Saturday.
- Minnesota (Big Ten) (17-3-2) at No. 11 Ohio State Friday and Saturday.
- Western Michigan (NCHC) (13-4-1) idle. Next: Jan. 17-18 at No. 14 North Dakota.
- Providence (Hockey East) (15-3-2) beat Brown 2-0 Tuesday; Jan. 17-18 No. 2 Boston College.
- Denver (NCHC) (15-5-0) vs. Miami Friday and Saturday.
- Maine (Hockey East) (13-4-2) at No. 8 UMass Lowell Friday and Saturday
- UMass Lowell (Hockey East) (12-4-2) vs. No. 7 Maine Friday and Saturday.
- Michigan (Big Ten) (12-7-1) at Notre Dame Friday and Saturday.
- St. Cloud State (NCHC) (11-7-0) at Minnesota Duluth Friday and Saturday.
- Ohio State (Big Ten) (14-5-1) vs. No. 3 Minnesota Friday and Saturday.
- Minnesota State (CCHA) (14-4-2) at Northern Michigan Friday and Saturday.
- Colorado College (NCHC) (10-7-1) at Omaha Friday and Saturday.
- North Dakota (NCHC) (11-7-1) at No. 16 Arizona State Friday and Saturday.
- Boston University (Hockey East) (9-7-1) vs. Vermont Friday and Saturday.
- Arizona State (NCHC) (10-7-1) vs. No. 14 North Dakota Friday and Saturday.
- New Hampshire (Hockey East) (10-4-3) vs. Connecticut Friday, at Connecticut Saturday.
- Cornell (ECAC) (6-4-3) at Sacred Heart Friday and Saturday.
- Clarkson (ECAC) (11-5-2) vs. Union Friday, vs. Rensselaer Saturday.
- Quinnipiac (ECAC) (11-7-1) beat Stonehill 6-1 Monday. Next: Friday at Princeton, Saturday vs. Princeton.
Receiving votes
Augustana (CCHA) (12-7-1) is idle. Next: Jan. 17-18 vs. Lindenwood.
Dartmouth (ECAC) (7-5-2) vs. Yale Friday, vs. Brown Saturday.
Connecticut (Hockey East) (9-8-1) at No. 17 New Hampshire Friday, vs. No. 17 New Hampshire Saturday.
Massachusetts (Hockey East) (9-8-2) at Northeastern Friday, vs. Northeastern Saturday.
Wisconsin (Big Ten) (9-12-1) is idle. Next: Jan. 17-18 vs. Long Island.
Bentley (Atlantic Hockey) (11-7-2) at Air Force Friday and Saturday.
Michigan Tech (CCHA) (11-7-2) vs. Lake Superior State Friday and Saturday.
Harvard (ECAC) (3-7-2) vs. Brown Friday, vs. Yale Saturday.
Niagara (Atlantic Hockey) (10-8-3) vs. Alaska-Anchorage Friday and Saturday.
Sacred Heart (Atlantic Hockey) (11-8-3) vs. No. 18 Cornell Friday and Saturday.
Bowling Green (CCHA) (10-7-2) vs. Bemidji State Friday and Saturday.
Bemidji State (CCHA) (8-9-3) at Bowling Green Friday and Saturday.
Long Island (Independent) (11-7-1) at Colgate Friday and Saturday.
Northeastern (Hockey East) (6-9-3) vs. Massachusetts Friday, at Massachusetts Saturday.
Princeton (ECAC) (6-6-1) vs. No. 20 Quinnipiac Friday, at No. 20 Quinnipiac Saturday.
Others
Notre Dame (Big Ten) (6-13-1) vs. No. 9 Michigan Friday and Saturday
Penn State (Big Ten) (8-9-1) No. 1 Michigan State Friday and Saturday.
Holy Cross (Atlantic Hockey) (8-11-1) vs. Robert Morris Friday and Saturday.
Robert Morris (Atlantic Hockey) (8-9-2) at Holy Cross Friday and Saturday.
Lake Superior State (CCHA) (8-11-1) at Michigan Tech Friday and Saturday.
Colgate (ECAC) (8-8-2) vs. Long Island Friday and Saturday.
Union (ECAC) (11-7-1) at No. 19 Clarkson Friday, at St. Lawrence Saturday.
Rensselaer (ECAC) (8-9-2) at St. Lawrence Friday, at No. 19 Clarkson Saturday.
Vermont (Hockey East) (7-8-3) at No. 15 Boston University Friday and Saturday.
Omaha (NCHC) (8-10-0) vs. No. 13 Colorado College Friday and Saturday.
Minnesota Duluth (NCHC) (6-11-1) vs. No. 10 St. Cloud State Friday and Saturday.