The Wolverines are moving on.
No. 1 Michigan Hockey (27-7-1) crushed Notre Dame (9-23-5), 6-1, in the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals on Wednesday night at Yost Ice Arena, putting a stamp on its heated rivals’ campaign.
Despite holding the top spot in the nation, the 2-seeded Wolverines had to play an opening-round contest against the 7-seeded Fighting Irish. But they took care of business and can now look forward to hosting a semifinal showdown vs No. 3 Penn State (Saturday, 5 p.m., BTN).
Michigan
opened the scoring nearly 12 minutes into the first period when junior forward Jayden Perron entered the offensive zone on his own, flew down the left wing and rifled a shot past goaltender Nicholas Kempf for the 1-0 lead.
Credit to Notre Dame, as it came into this tournament needing a miraculous three wins to clinch an NCAA Tournament auto bid and keep its season alive. That desperation was on full display, and early on it felt like this one might be closer than anticipated.
The Wolverines played a fine opening 20, particularly by limiting high-danger chances, though it was not until later that the dam broke.
Five minutes into the second, senior forward Josh Eernisse collected a high rebound off the backboard and used a nifty low-angle backhand shot to beat Kempf, making it 2-0.
About 100 seconds later, frustration finally boiled over for the Fighting Irish. Forward Carter Slaggert ran into Michigan freshman goaltender Jack Ivankovic after he covered the puck; a mini donnybrook ensued and Slaggert was dismissed from the contest.
The Wolverines could not capitalize on the major power play (which was abbreviated, as there were offsetting penalties after the Ivankovic incident), but Perron got on the board again late in the second on a separate power play.
Sophomore forward Michael Hage patiently scanned from his left circle, hit a cutting Perron on a shot/pass inside, and while Perron did not have a clean initial touch, he corralled his rebound to give Michigan a 3-0 lead going into the second intermission.
Ivankovic and his defense stayed stifling, and halfway through the third, that rough-nosed Notre Dame style struck again. Hage skated down the neutral zone wall when he received a shoulder to the head courtesy of forward Cole Brown. Brown joined Slaggert in the dressing room.
This time, the Wolverines scored on the lengthy man-advantage, as sophomore forward Will Horcoff slid a shot through Kempf’s five-hole. Michigan’s vaunted unit went 2-for-5 and remains one of the most lethal groups in the country.
The Fighting Irish finally got on the board with about four minutes left and the goalie pulled, as former Wolverine Evan Werner fired a wrist shot past Ivankovic. There was traffic, but it was a savable try by Ivankovic’s standard — his lone blemish on an otherwise pristine outing.
Senior defenseman Tyler Duke added an empty netter and freshman forward Aidan Park buried a garbage goal with less than a minute remaining. Michigan, as content as it should be for eliminating Notre Dame, should be even happier it escaped this chippy contest unscathed, as neither Ivankovic nor Hage missed any time.
Meanwhile, No. 5 Ohio State will visit No. 1 Michigan State on the other side of the bracket. The Spartans are the two-time defending champions after the Wolverines went back-to-back in 2022 and 2023. That potential championship game would also likely decide the top overall seed in the NCAA Tournament — beyond giving fans one more taste of this not-so-civil war.
