ANN ARBOR, Mich. — A pair of third period goals by Cam Morrison and Matt Hellickson and 34 saves by Cale Morris lifted Notre Dame to a 2-1 win over Michigan on Friday night at Yost Ice Arena (5,800).
Michael Graham assisted on both goals as the Irish improved to 13-12-6 (8-8-5-3 B1G) on the season.
Fourteen of Morris’ 34 saves came in the final period as he anchored the Irish defensive effort. Strauss Mann finished with 26 saves in the Michigan net.
Both sides went 0-for-2 on the power play.
Need another look at Hellickson's game winner?
We got you. #GoIrish☘️ pic.twitter.com/t2d4SF5y5L
— Notre Dame Hockey (@NDHockey) February 22, 2020
How It Happened
The teams played a scoreless first period, with Morris totaling eight saves and Strauss Mann stopping 10 shots, including a Mike O’Leary snapshot from the slot that was kicked aside on Notre Dame’s best chance of the first 20 minutes.
Morris made three quick saves two minutes into the second period to keep it scoreless, including a pad stop on Michael Pastujov’s partial breakaway attempt.
With 6:30 left in the middle stanza, the Irish put together back-to-back penalty kills. Then with 2:08 left in the period, Notre Dame got a power play opportunity. Michael Graham, Alex Steeves, Spencer Stastney and Trevor Janicke all had great chances on the man advantage but Mann made four saves and Steeves hit the post.
Cam Morrison broke the deadlock at 4:05 of the third when he forced home a loose puck behind Mann following a Michael Graham backhander from the slot. Alex Steeves had the second assist, finding Graham as he skated into the offensive zone. It marked Morrison’s ninth goal of the season.
Hellickson extended the lead to 2-0 at 7:31 of the third when he beat Mann high to the blocker side off a nice feed from below the goal line from Graham, who notched his second assist of the night on the play. Tory Dello kept the puck in at the defensive blue line to earn the second assist on the play.
With Mann pulled in favor of the extra attacker, Michigan scored at 19:17 of the third for the final 2-1 scoreline.
Up Next
- The teams have a quick turnaround as Notre Dame and Michigan close out their regular-season series at 4 p.m. ET on Saturday, Feb. 22 at Yost Ice Arena.
- Game two of the weekend series will also be televised by the Big Ten Network.
Notes
- Cale Morris made his 100th-career appearance in the Notre Dame goal.
- With a victory tonight, Cale Morris moved into third place in program history with 56 career wins.
- With a goal, Cam Morrison notched his fifth point in the last six games and his third goal in the last four games.
- With a pair of assists, Michael Graham notched his ninth-career multi-point game and his fourth of the season.
- The Irish are now 2-0-1 in their last three road games.
- With a goal, Matt Hellickson notched his ninth-career point against Michigan (4-5-9 in 12 games played).
- Notre Dame’s penalty kill improved to 15-for-16 over the past five games.
—ND—