Sports
ndsmcobserver.com | MONDAY, JANUARY 30, 2023 | The Observer
Hockey Continued from page 12
Even more encouraging for the Irish was the depth of scoring they received tonight. Thirteen skaters contributed a point, and five different players netted goals. In his 27th start of the season, Ryan Bischel saved 27 of 30 shots in goal for Notre Dame. Jared Moe took the loss in net for Wisconsin, stopping 30 of 35. Graduate student forward Chayse Primeau scores the first Irish goal of the weekend.
Irish complete needed sweep
much-
The Irish began Saturday’s matchup like they did Fridays: with a power-play goal. Wisconsin went to the box for a slashing penalty early in the first, and although Notre Dame generated a few shots, the Badgers killed off their first of nine penalties. Wisconsin’s second penalty came only a few minutes later, giving the Irish a second chance. The Irish made the most of it. With 24 seconds remaining in the powerplay, Rolston made a pass from down in the corner up to captain graduate student Nick Leivermann. The defender carried the puck along the blue line and ripped a shot from the Big Ten logo. Junior forward Landon Slaggert deflected the shot and beat Moe to give the Irish an early lead.
Though that was the only goal of the first period, it was by no means the last Wisconsin penalty. With just two and a half minutes remaining in the first period, Wisconsin’s Luke LaMaster leveled a colossal hit on Rolston. The hit was immediately ruled a minor before being upgraded to a five-minute major for contact to the head. The Irish man-up advantage would last until Slaggert was called for goaltender interference, nullifying the Irish powerplay until the second period. Midway through the second period, Wisconsin was called for its fourth penalty, setting up Notre Dame with another power play. With just half a minute left on the man advantage, the Irish scored what might be the most chaotic goal of their season. Pierson made a quick pass to sophomore Hunter Strand, who then snapped it to senior Jesse Lansdell. Lansdell turned and took a point-blank shot which Moe blocked. Alhough the Badgers initially blocked the shot, the rebound trickled out in front of the net, resulting in both teams crashing the net. Strand found the puck and lifted it over Moe, who had fallen to the ground in all the commotion. Wisconsin challenged the goal, looking for a missed goaltender interference call, but the goal stood. Notre Dame’s third and final goal once again came on the power
MEGHAN LANGE | The Observer
Notre Dame hockey celebrates a goal over Wisconsin in their two-series victory at home against the Badgers on Saturday, Jan. 28, 2023.
play, though the power play lasted a total of five seconds. Notre Dame won the faceoff in the Wisconsin defensive end, and grad student Chayse Primeau kicked it up to a waiting Leivermann. Leivermann sent the puck along the blue line to fellow defender Chase Blackmun. Blackmun immediately took open ice and let the puck fly above the far faceoff dot. The shot went past a diving Wisconsin defender and Moe. Late in the third, as Wisconsin fans began to head for the exits, senior Solag Bakich was called for a slashing penalty. Desperate, Wisconsin pulled Moe to gain a 6-on-4 advantage. The Badgers used the advantage effectively and were finally able to beat Bischel to make it a 3-1 game. The Badger’s chances of pulling a comeback were hurt dramatically when LaMaster was called for his second contact to the head penalty and was assessed a five-minute major and a game misconduct. The Irish held on to win the game 3-1 and swept the Badgers at home. Notre Dame’s sweep of Wisconsin is their first of a Big 10 Conference opponent this season and their first since Northern Michigan 104 days ago in mid-October. Notre Dame now turns its attention to next weekend’s matchup, when they play No. 15 Michigan State in Lansing. It’s a pivotal match-up, as the Irish are just two points ahead of the Spartans in the standings. Thanks to the sweep of Wisconsin, Notre Dame currently stands to host a quarterfinal series in the Big 10 playoffs. They sit fourth in the conference. Beating the Spartans in Lansing would go a long way to help solidify their spot in the conference. When the Irish hosted the Spartans at Compton earlier this year, they won game one 5-0 and lost in a shootout in game two. Puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m. EST on Friday and 4 p.m. Saturday. Contact Ryan Murphy at rmurph22@nd.edu and Tom Zwiller at tzwiller@hcc-nd.edu
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ND SWIM AND DIVE
Irish host Tim Welsh Classic By PETER BREEN Sports Writer
Notre Dame swim and dive welcomed Ohio State, Akron and Indiana State to Rolfs Aquatic Center this weekend for the program’s final home meet of the 2022-23 season, the Tim Welsh Classic. Both the Irish men and women placed second in the two-day contest behind fifthranked Buckeye men’s and women’s teams. Outside the water, former diving coach Caiming Xie was recognized Friday night for his 25 years at the helm of Notre Dame diving. Saturday morning 19 Irish seniors were honored alongside their parents. The meet comes just weeks before the ACC championships in mid-February, followed by the NCAA championships in March. Head coach Chris Lindauer said the weekend was all about swimmers cleaning up the tools they’ve been developing all season. “The grind, the hard work, that’s already been put in...,” Lindauer said. “We really like to focus on component swimming. For me that involves a couple of things, but the biggest thing is athleticism.” In addition to sharpening up the water sport’s athletically driven components such as starts, turns, breakouts and underwaters, Lindauer added that keeping his student-athletes well-rested is crucial. “Giving these guys some time to recover, rest, prepare mentally, physically, get ahead on school as they go into championship season, that really
helps reduce stress,” Lindauer said. “You want to be able to go to the meet and swim freely… coming out and just go have some fun and race.” The Notre Dame men performed strongly as a team in freestyle, taking home the gold in the men’s 200-yard and 800-yard freestyle relays. Senior Jack Hoagland, a member of the men’s 800-yard freestyle relay squad, struck gold individually as well, triumphing in the men’s 400-yard individual medley (IM) and men’s 500-yard freestyle. Backstroke was another high point for the Irish men. Senior Jack Fitzpatrick placed first in the men’s 100-yard backstroke and freshman Tommy Janton punched in a first-place finish of his own in the 200-yard race. A pair of Irish seniors from the women’s program, Ellie Jew and Coleen Gillilan, took the top spot on the podium as well. Jew secured the quickest time in the women’s 200-yard, and Gillilan did likewise in the women’s 200-yard butterfly. On the diving end of the pool, head coach Mark Bradshaw said sophomore Callie Brady and freshman Daniel Knapp dove their best of the season. Brady’s performance was good enough for first place in the women’s 1-meter diving event, and graduate student Allie Klein followed with a silver. In both the men’s 1-meter and 3-meter diving events, Knapp recorded second-place finishes. Bradshaw said the see TIM WELSH PAGE 8
Albert Continued from page 12
with long-shot efforts. Albert went on to give the Irish a brief lead with a third shot from distance. A late Florida State equalizer brought the game to overtime, and Notre Dame lost an ill-fated penalty kick shootout. Albert’s brilliance also shined in a key clash against Duke. The Blue Devils went on to finish No. 6 in national rankings. The sophomore was the only Irish player to find the back of the net against the Blue Devils, converting both a penalty and a vicious curled strike in a 2-2 draw. If the current buzz is true, Albert will be joining a PSG squad in the thick of a title race. The Parisians sit second in the table in France’s DI Arkema behind Olympique Lyonnais. They’re just a single point behind current leaders Lyon, with nine matches to play in the season. Contact J.J. Post at jpost2@nd.edu