Notre Dame Hockey Puts the Shutdown on Big Blue, 3-1: A Fan’s Take

Say what you will about the roller coaster ride of Notre Dame this season. For a few weeks they are unbeatable and amass a ten game unbeaten streak. At the next turn, teams they should be beating sweep them. There is no rhyme or reason to it, but there is one thing that almost guarantees them a win. If they end up on national television against a ranked opponent, head to Vegas and bet the house.

January 20 saw the University of Michigan head to the Notre Dame campus, as seen on the NBC Sports Network. From the outset, you could tell that the fans were ready to rock the Compton Family Ice Arena. The place was all decked out in white, courtesy of a ‘white-out’ that was taking place. In other words, everyone in attendance was wearing a white t-shirt to help Notre Dame’s home jerseys blend in.

The first period was what I would consider an example of fire wagon hockey. The teams basically took turns rushing up and down the ice with not a lot of whistles to break up the action. One thing that was unexpected though was how adeptly the Irish defense was handling the offensive attack of Michigan. The Wolverines are a high scoring bunch, but Notre Dame held them to seven shots in the opening frame. Heck the defense also scored the lone goal of the period, with Sam Calabrese scoring.

The catalyst for that goal was Notre Dame’s leading point producer, T.J. Tynan. He now leads the CCHA in points after his second assist on defenseman Sean Lorenz goal gave the Irish a 2-0 lead after two periods. What was becoming clear to me was that Michigan would need assistance to score on Steven Summerhays this evening. It was not until the middle of the third that they got some. They went on the power play and got a sneaky deflection to score to make it 2-1.

That energized the Wolverines, who put on tons of pressure down the stretch. However, they never could break through, succumbing to a Billy Maday empty netter to reach the 3-1 final. It was a banner night for the Irish, who slid back into a third place tie in the CCHA. These same two teams will go at it January 21, again at Notre Dame.

John Atchison has been a loyal Irish supporter since childhood. There are often times when he can be heard singing, Cheer, cheer for old Notre Dame! Follow him on Twitter @John_Atchison .

Sources: NBC Sports Network
und.com/m-hockey


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