University of Michigan Athletics

Michigan's loss ended the rivalry's eight-game winning streak with Notre Dame.
Willem Witlaw scored a power play goal and led the game with 10 shots on goal.
Michael Hage And Ethan Edwards each recorded a pair of assists in multi-point games.

SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Four goals weren't enough for the ninth-ranked University of Michigan ice hockey team on Saturday night (Jan. 11) as the Wolverines suffered a 7-4 loss to Notre Dame at Compton Family Ice Arena Arena. a weekend split.

With the loss, UM's eight-game winning streak over Notre Dame – the longest in the rivalry since Michigan won nine straight games between 1996 and 1998 – was snapped by the Irish.

Both teams started with a new goaltender after Michigan's 5-3 win on Friday evening (Jan. 10). For the Wolverines (13-8-1, 7-5-0 Big Ten), freshman netminder Cameron Bodies who earned the nod as the team resumed its established rotation. He looked strong early before throwing up a flurry in the second period, three in 32 seconds. Korpi was waived after 10 saves on 14 shots, replaced by graduate Logan Stein. He allowed two more on 14 shots before UND added an empty-net goal.

Michigan opened the scoring at 11:48 afterward Garrett Schifsky continued his pursuit into the offensive zone after a turnover. The second-year forward recovered the puck for UM by knocking it to him Michael Hagewho guarded the blue line at the point. The freshman immediately sent a pass downfield for Edwards to receive and redistribute in the slot Evan Werner to hit home.

The Wolverines got the first power play of the night shortly after when UND was penalized for high-sticking, but it was the Irish who quickly capitalized 13 seconds later, potting their first shorthanded goal of the season and tying the game. After a disrupted pass, Notre Dame took a 2-1 lead with 2:35 left in the first after an odd rush caught a lone UM defender in a compromising position against a trio of Irish.

After one period, Michigan trailed 2-1 despite a 15-10 edge in shots on goal and a dominant 14-6 advantage in the faceoff. For the third straight game, the Wolverines looked for a way to come back and win after falling behind.

Michigan was called for its first penalty of the night at 1:01 of the second frame Jacob Truscott was banned for stumbling. UND ripped two shots off the post while they had the advantage, but none found the back of the net before Truscott left the box.

Notre Dame (7-14-1, 2-11-1 Big Ten) woke up in a big way, scoring three straight goals in a span of 32 seconds to extend the lead to 5-1. Korpi was lifted on the fourth goal allowed, but Stein quickly surrendered a fifth to the Fighting Irish on the first shot he faced at 6:09.

After a scrum after the whistle at 7:55, UM was awarded a power play after UND sent two skaters to the box while Michigan had one. As Edwards quarterbacked the unit from the top of the zone, he caught a pass from Jackson Hallum and proceeded to work the puck to the left circle, where Willem Witlaw unleashed a one-time bomb that went off the post before ending up in the net to make it 5-2.

Thirty-two seconds later, Lapointe crashed the net and finished a tough play to score for the Wolverines and make it a 5-3 game. His fifth goal of the season came in transition, with assists going to strikers Jos Eernisse And Kienan Draper.

An action-packed five-goal period came to an end with Michigan still trailing 5-3. The Wolverines maintained a 27-23 edge in shots on goal and a 21-17 edge in faceoffs.

Notre Dame restored a three-goal lead at 7:57 of the third period by scoring the sixth goal of the game.

The chaotic evening continued when Michigan scored a power play goal at 12:45 to cut the score to 6-4. This time it was like that TJ Hughes who took advantage of a wild carom from behind the net to deposit the puck past a diving goaltender and into a gaping cage. Will Horcoff earned the primary assist for sending the puck from the end wall to the other side for Hughes to finish. Hage recorded the secondary assist on the game for his team-leading 24th point. He currently leads all freshmen in points per game (1.26).

That was as close as the Wolverines could get, however, as they were unable to score another goal when the goaltender was brought in for an extra attacker. Finally, with less than a second left in regulation time, an Irish striker scored a goal with an empty net, making the match 7–4 and achieving a hat-trick.

Despite losing three goals, Michigan finished the night with a huge 41-29 edge in shots on goal and an even 27-27 performance in the faceoff point. A total of 10 Wolverines recorded points.

Next weekend, Michigan and top-ranked Michigan State will face off for their first series of the 2024-2025 regular season. The series will be played as a home-and-home on Friday (January 17) at Yost Ice Arena and Saturday (January 18) in East Lansing. The game in Yost will be streamed live on B1G+, while the finals will be broadcast live on Big Ten Network.