SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Nick Leivermann scored a goal and added an assist and Matthew Galajda turned aside all 22 shots he faced as No. 15 Notre Dame posted a 3-0 win over Wisconsin to complete a weekend sweep on Saturday night in the Compton Family Ice Arena (3,977).
Galajda recorded his second shutout of the season and the 21st of his career, which is tied for third all-time in NCAA Men’s Div. I history.
In addition to Leivermann, Grant Silianoff and Hunter Strand also scored for Notre Dame, which evened its Big Ten record at 2-2-0-0-0-0 on the season.
The Fighting Irish (8-3-0 overall) went 1-for-2 on the power play, while Wisconsin (4-8-0, 2-4-0-1-0-0 B1G) was 0-for-6 on the power play as Notre Dame had another impressive outing on the penalty kill.
Cameron Rowe made 22 saves for the Badgers.
How It Happened
Notre Dame took a 1-0 lead at 7:26 of the first period when Grant Silianoff finished off a nice passing sequence in front, setup by passes from Nick Leivermann and Ryder Rolston. It was Silianoff’s second goal of the year and the first power-play tally of his Notre Dame career.
The Irish then killed off a pair of Wisconsin power plays to keep it a 1-0 lead, including two big right pad stops from Matthew Galajda with just over eight minutes left in the opening period.
Then, while skating four-on-four, Leivermann walked in from the point after an offensive zone faceoff win and beat Rowe gloveside high for his third goal of the season to make it a 2-0 game at 19:13 of the first, a lead Notre Dame would take to the locker room.
Hunter Strand extended the lead to 3-0 with exactly one minute left in the second period when he followed up his own shot in front that hit the post and forced the rebound over the goal line. Following an Adam Karshik blast from the point that hit Jack Adams on the way in, Landon Slaggert kept the puck alive in front before Strand notched his third of the year, scoring on his birthday.
Midway through the third and still leading 3-0, Leivermann nearly scored his second of the night but his bid hit off both posts after beating Rowe.
Galajda went on to stop all five shots he faced in the third as the Irish posted the 3-0 victory.
Notes
- Notre Dame is now 6-1-0 at home this season.
- Matthew Galajda posted his second shutout of the season/with the Irish and the 21st of his career to tie for third all-time in NCAA Division I men’s ice hockey history with Michael Bitzer (Bemidji State 2014-18).
- Galajda now has 67 career wins, which is tied for 23rd all-time in NCAA Division I men’s ice hockey history.
- Grant Silianoff scored his first career power-play goal.
- With a goal and an assist, Nick Leivermann posted his seventh career multi-point game.
Mental Miles
- On Nov. 4 and 5, Notre Dame wore commemorative jerseys during warmups as they partnered with 2014 hockey alum Stephen Johns, who recently retired from the NHL.
- The jerseys are being auctioned off over the next two weeks (https://auctions.und.com/) to benefit Johns’ #MentalMiles initiative to support mental health.
- Each jersey will have “JOHNS” and “28” on the back and is also autographed by Johns.
Next Up
- Notre Dame heads back out on the road next weekend to play a two-game series at second-ranked Michigan on Friday, Nov. 19 (7:30 p.m.) and Saturday, Nov. 20 (8 p.m.).
- Both games will be streamed on BTN+ (no television broadcasts).
- The Irish then return home to play a 5 p.m. matinee against longtime rival Boston College on Black Friday (Nov. 26) at the Compton Family Ice Arena (tickets).
- The contest versus the Eagles will be televised on NBC Sports Chicago+ and NBC Sports Philadelphia+ and available on the NBC Sports App/NBCSports.com.
— ND —