Series Preview: #11 Irish To Host #10 Gophers

WHO: #11/12 Notre Dame (17-7-0, 9-5-0-4-1-0 B1G) vs. #10/10 Minnesota (14-10-0, 9-5-0-1-1-0 B1G)

WHEN: Friday, Jan. 28 at 7:30 p.m. ET // Saturday, Jan. 29 at 6 p.m. ET

WHERE: Compton Family Ice Arena

WATCH: Peacock // Fighting Irish TV (International)

LISTEN: 94.3 FM | UND.com

NOTES (PDF)

SETTING THE STAGE

• After an 8-2 midweek win over rival Boston College to close out non-conference play (Jan. 19) followed by a bye weekend, the No. 11/12 Fighting Irish open the stretch run of the Big Ten season by playing host to No. 10/10 Minnesota (Jan. 28-29).
• Third place Minnesota (9-5-0-1-1-0 B1G/27 pts.) and fourth place Notre Dame (9-5-0-4-1-0 B1G/24 pts) enter the weekend separated by three points in the conference standings.
• The teams kicked off Big Ten play against each other in Minneapolis on Oct. 29-20, with the Gophers earning a 4-1 game one win followed by a narrow 3-2 win in game two as the Irish were swept for the only time this season.
• Since Notre Dame joined the Big Ten, 16 of 24 meetings between the two teams have been one goal games or ended in a tie (14 one-goal games and two ties).
• In Notre Dame’s most recent game, the 8-2 win over Boston College, Ryder Rolston notched his first career hat trick, while Grant Silianoff had a career-high four points (1-3-4,) Spencer Stastney and Graham Slaggert each posted a goal and two assists and Matthew Galajda made a career-high 40 saves to earn the win in his 99th career game.
• Rolston was named the Big Ten’s Third Star of the Week for his performance, which included his team-leading fourth game-winning goal of the season. 
• The four game winners rank tied for fourth in the country and tied for second in the Big Ten. 
• The Irish had three power-play goals against the Eagles, marking Notre Dame’s first game with three power-play goals since an 8-1 win at Ohio State on February 6, 2021.
• Max Ellis leads the Irish with a career-best 24 points on a team-high 14 goals and 10 assists.
• Ellis’ 14 goals rank tied for 11th in the country (tied for third in the Big Ten).
• Rolston now ranks second on the Irish with nine goals (he had one goal in 28 games last season as a freshman).
• Balanced attack: 15 Notre Dame players have scored this season, while 12 players have at least 10 points on the season. 
• The Fighting Irish are 10-4-0 at Compton Family Ice Arena this season.
• The Irish are 11-1-0 when scoring first this season and 15-0-0 when scoring at least three goals.
• Notre Dame’s penalty kill is 86-for-93 on the season (.9247), which ranks first in the NCAA.
• The Irish also have five shorthanded goals this season (Ellis 2, Cam Burke 2, Spencer Stastney), which ranks tied for fourth in the country (first in the Big Ten).
• Notre Dame is 5-2-0 in overtime this season, with the OT game-winning goals coming from Cam Burke (at Michigan Tech), Ryder Rolston (at Michigan), Max Ellis (at Michigan and at Penn State), and Spencer Stastney (at Ohio State).
• Notre Dame has made each of the last five NCAA Tournaments, the longest streak in program history, and eight of the last 11 NCAA Tournaments overall.
• The five consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances is the second-longest active streak in the NCAA, trailing only Minnesota Duluth (6), with Minnesota State (3) and St Cloud State (3) tied for third.

THE NOTRE DAME – MINNESOTA SERIES

• Minnesota leads the all-time series 37-24-5 dating back to 1924-25 when the Irish lost 2-1 in overtime in the first meeting.
• Notre Dame recognizes its first win over Minnesota in 1926-27 when the Irish shutout their opponent, 2-0, in Minneapolis.
• Thirty contests between the two teams have been decided by a single goal, with the Irish narrowly leading that category 16-14.
• Since Notre Dame joined the Big Ten, 16 of 24 meetings have been one goal games or ended in a tie (14 one goal games and two ties).
• The teams are playing for a 10th consecutive season.
• Before the Irish joined the Big Ten, those meetings largely overlapped with Mario Lucia’s time at Notre Dame from 2012-16 (Mario is the son of former Minnesota head coach Don Lucia – a 1981 Notre Dame graduate/former defenseman).
• Earlier this season, Minnesota swept a home series by scores of 4-1 and 3-2. 
• Solag Bakich’s goal early in the third period had tied that second game at 2-2 but Bryce Brodzinki netted the game winner with just over two minutes remaining in regulation. 
• Matthew Galajda played game one of that series and posted 25 saves, with Ryan Bischel getting the nod in game two (21 saves).
• Last season, the Irish swept then top-ranked Minnesota at 3M Arena by scores of 3-2 and 2-1 on Jan. 15-16 and then the Gophers swept a series at Notre Dame on Feb. 12-13 in a pair of 3-0 wins.
• During the 2019-20 regular season, the Irish went 1-1-2 against Minnesota, including a 1-0-1 mark in Minneapolis (Nov. 1-2).
• That road series at Minnesota included a 2-2 game one tie (Minnesota won the 3-on-3 ot) and a 5-3 game two victory.
• Then in the 2020 playoffs, the Gophers eliminated the Irish, two games to one on March 6-8.
• The teams eliminated each other from the postseason in 2019 and 2020 with the Irish posting a 2-1 Big Ten Tournament semifinal win in overtime on March 16, 2019 en route to ultimately claiming a second consecutive Big Ten Tournament Championship.
• Notre Dame’s active career leaders against the Gophers include Nick Leivermann (17 GP; 5-1-6), Graham Slaggert (18 GP; 2-4-6), Spencer Stastney (18 GP; 1-4-5) and Trevor Janicke (13 GP; 3-2-5).
• Five of Leivermann’s 17 career goals have come against the Gophers.

STEPPING UP

• Several Fighting Irish skaters have increased their point totals this season over the past few years.
• After a freshman season with one goal in eight games and a sophomore season with 16 points in 24 games (5-11-16), Max Ellis has 14 goals and 10 assists for a career-best 24 points in 23 games.
• Ellis posted the first hat trick of his career, capped by scoring the overtime game-winning goal, at Michigan on Nov. 20 marking the first visiting player to record a hat trick at Yost Ice Arena in 15 years (2006).
• In 24 games this season, Cam Burke has eight goals and eight assists for 16 points, all of which represent career-high totals for the senior.
• Solag Bakich has a career-high 14 points (4-10-14) in 20 games this season after scoring once in 10 games as a freshman and then notching seven points (4-3-7) in 28 games as a sophomore. 
• Ryder Rolston had six points on a goal and five assists last season as a freshman and now has nine goals and 12 assists for 21 points in 23 games as a sophomore.
• Defenseman Jake Boltmann joined the Irish for the second semester last season, skating in 19 games (0 points).
• This season, Boltmann has a goal and eight assists for nine points in 24 games..

GOALTENDING TANDEM

• Fighting Irish goaltenders Ryan Bischel and Matthew Galajda are one of the top tandems in college hockey, with two of the nation’s top-15 save percentages.
• Galajda, who is 10-3-0, ranks ninth in the NCAA with a .929 mark, while Bischel, who is 7-4-0, ranks 15th with a .923 save percentage.
• In goals against average, the duo also ranks ninth and 12th in the NCAA, with Galajda at 1.92 and Bischel at 2.05. 
• Galajda (2) and Bischel (1) have also combined for three shutouts.

— ND —