For the first time all season, Notre Dame hockey has found a little bit of momentum.
With a 2-2 tie and shootout loss Friday against Minnesota followed by a 3-2 win Saturday, the Irish are now 2-2-3 in their last 7 games after a 1-16-1 stretch.
Now, after their first undefeated weekend in Big Ten regular season play since Jan. 19-20, 2024, Notre Dame travels to East Lansing this weekend to play the most consistent team in college hockey: No. 1 Michigan State.
The Spartans, with an impressive 13-5 record in Big Ten play, have buzzsawed their way through college hockey this season, jumping to a 9-1 start before losing three of five games in late November and early December. Since then, the Spartans are 12-2, and after a 4-3 overtime loss to massive rival Michigan Feb. 6, the Spartans responded with a definitive 5-2 win that earned them the No. 1 rank in the nation.
It’s not just consistent results, either, but consistent methodology. The way the Spartans achieve those results is consistent too. Their team statistics are nearly identical to those from last year’s Big Ten championship-winning run: scoring almost 3.5 goals per game, allowing close to two goals per game, putting over 35 shots on net and allowing around 29 against their own netminder, junior Trey Augustine.
The Irish have struggled to gain consistency this season, but head coach Brock Sheahan believes that his team’s consistency of play has improved.
“I think we’ve been more consistent, I still think we can play our game more,” Sheahan told the media on Wednesday. “I feel like the reason we’ve been in games the last four weeks in a row and having a little bit more success is when we are not playing the way we are supposed to, those stretches are shorter. We’ve just been more consistent shift to shift.”
Notre Dame has had their growth in consistency rewarded with a taste of good results. Junior forward Danny Nelson’s goal with less than a minute to play to win Saturday’s contest against Minnesota must have come as a relief to the Irish, because so often their work to build consistency has not yielded results. Now, the Irish have received a taste of what it feels like to have their work pay off, and win games in the manner Sheahan wants to see them do it.
“Regardless of what our record is, we are getting better, and I think it’s because guys know that everything is still in front of us,” Sheahan said. “We want to be really hard to play against, a puck-possession team that has the ability to make intentional plays and have the puck a lot.”
To play that way, Notre Dame needs to be able to engage all four lines. And last weekend against the Gophers, they did just that. In Friday’s game, fourth line forwards senior Niko Jovanovic and sophomore Michael Schermerhorn combined for the game-tying goal and third-line center freshman Pano Fimis went 6-2 in the faceoff circle.
“The biggest thing for us is having four lines that can play,” Sheahan said. “Pano Fimis’ line, it was the best game they’ve played in a long time on Friday against Minnesota. And then putting together three big boys in Schermerhorn at center with Jovanovic and [freshman] Will Belle, they’re almost 700 pounds of hockey player. They were very productive as a fourth line.”
Sheahan mentioned how important it was to get nine to ten minutes a night out of his fourth line like he did last weekend against the Gophers. He also played the third line around 15 minutes each night, balancing the load for Notre Dame’s top six and building momentum ahead of their shifts.
Notre Dame will need a repeat performance by their bottom six forwards again this weekend if they want to keep their taste of momentum alive with a result at Munn Ice Arena against the Spartans. A win there would provide evidence that Notre Dame’s growth over the last month has substance.
As they enter the final six games remaining in their regular season, the Irish know that growth could mean something, too. Despite one of the worst regular seasons in their recent history, Notre Dame automatically qualifies for the Big Ten tournament. Just three consecutive wins there could get the Irish into the big dance: the NCAA tournament. The Irish might know this better than anybody, since they nearly pulled it off last year. After a 12-25-1 regular season, Notre Dame pulled a shocking upset of Minnesota on the road before falling to the same Spartans in the same venue by a single goal.
“We were a different team, you know. The guys that played in it mention, even going into this stretch where we are building towards playoffs, what can be done, even with a disappointing year so far. There’s still six more games for us to get better, and I think [the] guys know that,” he said.
A result on Thursday or Friday at Munn Ice Arena would go far for Notre Dame, proving they have made progress towards the standards of consistency set by the host Spartans. Admittedly, they face an uphill climb again, just like in November when Michigan State swept Notre Dame at home despite the Irish playing one of the best games of their season on Saturday.
They’ll be tested again Thursday and Friday in East Lansing. The test against the Spartans will be one of consistency, and it is one Notre Dame must eventually pass.
“As frustrating as a year it’s been, we’re in [the] playoffs, so keep pushing to get better for [the] playoffs. And this weekend is, if we’re going to be able to do anything this year, you’ve got to be able to play in this environment against this type of opponent,” Sheahan advised.
To be the most consistent, you’ll eventually have to beat the most consistent. The puck drops at Munn Ice Arena Thursday at 7:30 p.m. and Friday at 6:00 p.m. Both games will be shown by the Big Ten Network.
