2021–22 Notre Dame Fighting Irish men's ice hockey season

The 2021–22 Notre Dame Fighting Irish men's ice hockey season was the 62nd season of play for the program. They represented the University of Notre Dame in the 2021–22 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey season. This season marked the fifth season in the Big Ten Conference. They were coached by Jeff Jackson, in his 17th season, and played their home games at Compton Family Ice Arena.

2021–22 Notre Dame Fighting Irish
men's ice hockey season
NCAA tournament, East Regional final
Conference3rd Big Ten
Home iceCompton Family Ice Arena
Rankings
USCHO#8
USA Today#8
Record
Overall28–12–0
Conference15–7–0
Home17–6–0
Road10–5–0
Neutral1–1–0
Coaches and captains
Head coachJeff Jackson
Assistant coachesPaul Pooley
Andy Slaggert
Jordy Murray
Captain(s)Adam Karashik
Jake Pivonka
Graham Slaggert
Alternate captain(s)Nick Leivermann
Spencer Stastney
Notre Dame Fighting Irish men's ice hockey seasons
« 2020–21 2022–23 »

Season

edit

After a horribly disappointing situation that saw them have to withdraw from the 2021 NCAA tournament, Notre Dame entered the season with high expectations. They began the year alternating between junior Ryan Bischel and graduate transfer Matthew Galajda in goal with both performing wonderfully in goal. During the season both goaltenders were among the top 10 in the nation for goals against average and kept the Fighting Irish in contention for just about every game.

During the first half of the year ND stayed in the second 10 of the polls until a showdown with Michigan just before Thanksgiving. The Irish managed to beat the top-ranked Wolverines twice on the road, firmly establishing themselves as a tournament hopeful. While they earned splits over each of the succeeding weekends to weaker teams, the losses didn't hurt their postseason chances too much.

On the offensive side, Notre Dame didn't have much in the way of a star scorer but the team worked well overall. The Fighting Irish averages over three goals a game and typically scored when they needed to, generating offense from all four lines. The balanced play enabled Notre Dame to put together an even better second half and, as the season progressed, the Irish slowly moved up into the top 10. In the final week of the regular season, they played Michigan once more, this time at home, and Notre Dame again swept the vaunted Wolverines, all but guaranteeing them a spot in the NCAA tournament.

In the Big Ten tournament, the Irish got a slight scare from Wisconsin when they lost the first game. Despite firing 50 shots on goal, the offense continued to attack in the next two games and the Badgers' defense couldn't repeat the same performance. When Notre Dame won the series they moved up to 6 in the PairWise rankings and were mathematically guaranteed a spot in the tournament. Despite that, the team was champing at the bit to defeat Michigan for a 5th time that season as the two met in the conference semifinals. Unfortunately for the Irish, their offense would not get on track and they could only manage 20 shots in the game, losing 1–2.

NCAA tournament

edit

Despite the setback, Notre Dame looked ready to go once the NCAA tournament began. They took on North Dakota in what was expected to be a very even match (the two were ranked 9th and 7th respectively). Both teams played a very defensive style which kept both the shot total and scoring chances low. The Fighting Hawks got on the board at the end of the first but the Irish responded with their own just over a minute after the second began. Both defenses held strong for the balance of the game but a breakdown on a North Dakota power play as time was expiring gave Notre Dame a chance. The puck was fired into the top of the net right before the final buzzer and the Irish began to celebrate but, upon review, there was a problem with the clock. One of the game clocks still had time remaining but the official clock had already expired. After a lengthy review, the goal was ruled to have entered after time expired and the two teams required overtime. With North Dakota still on the power play, the Hawks made a mistake at the Irish blueline and took a penalty in order to stop a Notre Dame breakaway. Once the ND penalty expired, the Fighting Irish got to work and engineered an overtime winner from Graham Slaggert to send them to the quarterfinals.[1]

In the Regional finals, Notre Dame faced off against #1 ranked Minnesota State but the Irish were undaunted. Notre Dame played the same hard defensive game that had worked for them all season but their offense, which was lacking high-end firepower, could not solve the equally strong resistance from the Mavericks. While Notre Dame was outshot, they had several opportunities to score but they could get nothing past Dryden McKay and the single goal that Galajda allowed was enough to end their season.[2]

Departures

edit
Player Position Nationality Cause
Ryan Carmichael Forward/Defenseman   United States Transferred to Yale
Nate Clurman Defenseman   United States Signed professional contract (Colorado Avalanche)
Pierce Crawford Forward   United States Graduate transfer to Mercyhurst
Christian DiCesare Defenseman   United States Transferred to Trinity
Michael Graham Forward   United States Left program (retired)
Matt Hellickson Defenseman   United States Graduation (signed with Binghamton Devils)
Nick Sanford Goaltender   United States Graduation (retired)
Dylan St. Cyr Goaltender   United States Graduate transfer to Quinnipiac
Alex Steeves Forward   United States Signed professional contract (Toronto Maple Leafs)
Matt Steeves Forward   United States Graduation (retired)
Colin Theisen Forward   United States Graduate transfer to Arizona State

Recruiting

edit
Player Position Nationality Age Notes
John Adams Forward   United States 24 Boxford, MA; graduate transfer from Providence; selected 162nd overall in 2016
Chase Blackmun Defenseman   United States 22 Hudson, WI; transfer from Massachusetts Lowell
Tyler Carpenter Forward   United States 21 Palatine, IL
Matthew Galajda Goaltender   Canada 23 Aurora, ON; graduate transfer from Cornell
Josh Graziano Goaltender   United States 21 Buffalo, NY; transfer from Union
Ryan Helliwell Defenseman   Canada 19 Burnaby, BC
Justin Janicke Goaltender   United States 18 Maple Grove, MN; selected 195th overall in 2021
Adam Karashik Defenseman   United States 23 Ridgefield, CT; graduate transfer from Connecticut
Hunter Strand Forward   United States 18 Anchorage, AK
Hunter Weiss Defenseman   United States 20 Lake Forest, IL

Roster

edit

As of September 17, 2021.[3]

No. S/P/C Player Class Pos Height Weight DoB Hometown Previous team NHL rights
3   Adam Karashik (C) Graduate D 6' 0" (1.83 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 1998-01-15 Ridgefield, Connecticut UConn (HEA)
4   Nick Leivermann (A) Senior D 5' 11" (1.8 m) 184 lb (83 kg) 1998-09-14 Eden Prairie, Minnesota Penticton (BCHL) COL, 187th overall 2017
5   Chase Blackmun Graduate D 6' 0" (1.83 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1999-04-02 Hudson, Wisconsin UMass Lowell (HEA)
6   Jake Boltmann Sophomore D 6' 1" (1.85 m) 192 lb (87 kg) 2001-10-19 Edina, Minnesota Lincoln (USHL) CGY, 80th overall 2020
8   Justin Janicke Freshman F 6' 0" (1.83 m) 184 lb (83 kg) 2003-06-30 Maple Grove, Minnesota USNTDP (USHL) SEA, 195th overall 2021
9   Grant Silianoff Sophomore F 5' 11" (1.8 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 2001-01-04 Edina, Minnesota Cedar Rapids (USHL)
10   Cam Burke Senior F 5' 9" (1.75 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 1999-01-08 Boxborough, Massachusetts Sioux Falls (USHL)
11   Hunter Strand Freshman F 5' 11" (1.8 m) 187 lb (85 kg) 2002-11-13 Anchorage, Alaska Tri-City (USHL)
12   Ryder Rolston Sophomore F 6' 2" (1.88 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 2001-10-31 Birmingham, Michigan Waterloo (USHL) CHI, 139th overall 2020
14   Jesse Lansdell Junior F 5' 11" (1.8 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1998-08-05 Surrey, British Columbia Vernon (BCHL)
17   Ryan Helliwell Freshman D 6' 0" (1.83 m) 192 lb (87 kg) 2002-08-05 Burnaby, British Columbia Trail (BCHL)
18   Graham Slaggert (C) Senior F 6' 0" (1.83 m) 191 lb (87 kg) 1999-04-06 South Bend, Indiana Cedar Rapids (USHL)
19   Landon Slaggert Sophomore F 6' 0" (1.83 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 2002-06-25 South Bend, Indiana USNTDP (USHL) CHI, 79th overall 2020
20   Jake Pivonka (C) Senior F 6' 0" (1.83 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 2000-02-28 Naperville, Illinois USNTDP (USHL) NYI, 103rd overall 2018
21   Max Ellis Junior F 5' 9" (1.75 m) 165 lb (75 kg) 2000-01-18 Plymouth, Michigan Muskegon (USHL)
22   Jack Adams Graduate F 6' 6" (1.98 m) 218 lb (99 kg) 1997-02-05 Boxborough, Massachusetts Providence (HEA) DET, 162nd overall 2017
23   Brady Bjork Sophomore F 6' 1" (1.85 m) 177 lb (80 kg) 1999-05-17 Mequon, Wisconsin St. Cloud (NAHL)
24   Spencer Stastney (A) Senior D 5' 11" (1.8 m) 192 lb (87 kg) 2000-01-04 Mequon, Wisconsin USNTDP (USHL) NSH, 131st overall 2018
25   Solag Bakich Junior F 6' 0" (1.83 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1998-01-08 Dallas, Texas Waterloo (USHL)
26   Zach Plucinski Sophomore D 6' 1" (1.85 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 2000-07-26 Eagle River, Alaska Omaha (USHL)
27   Trevor Janicke Junior F 5' 10" (1.78 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 2000-12-25 Maple Grove, Minnesota Central Illinois (USHL) ANA, 132nd overall 2019
28   Tyler Carpenter Freshman F 5' 11" (1.8 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 2000-08-27 Palatine, Illinois Omaha (USHL)
29   Charlie Raith Senior D 5' 9" (1.75 m) 167 lb (76 kg) 1997-04-30 Winnetka, Illinois Central Illinois (USHL)
30   Ryan Bischel Junior G 6' 1" (1.85 m) 187 lb (85 kg) 1999-07-05 Medina, Minnesota Fargo (USHL)
32   Hunter Weiss Freshman D 6' 3" (1.91 m) 213 lb (97 kg) 2001-03-29 Lake Forest, Illinois Minnesota Magicians (NAHL)
33   Josh Graziano Sophomore G 6' 3" (1.91 m) 202 lb (92 kg) 2000-03-22 Buffalo, New York Johnstown (NAHL)
35   Matthew Galajda Graduate G 6' 0" (1.83 m) 198 lb (90 kg) 1997-10-07 Aurora, Ontario Cornell (ECAC)

Standings

edit
Conference record Overall record
GP W L T OTW OTL 3/SW PTS GF GA GP W L T GF GA
#5 Minnesota 24 18 6 0 1 2 0 55 90 50 39 26 13 0 138 91
#2 Michigan * 24 16 8 0 0 3 0 51 91 59 42 31 10 1 167 94
#9 Notre Dame 24 17 7 0 5 1 0 47 74 55 40 28 12 0 122 75
#16 Ohio State 24 13 9 2 1 1 1 42 76 59 37 22 13 2 125 87
Penn State 24 6 17 1 1 1 1 20 63 92 38 17 20 1 117 122
Wisconsin 24 6 17 1 1 2 0 20 53 96 37 10 24 3 76 132
Michigan State 24 6 18 0 1 0 0 17 51 87 36 12 23 1 76 119
Championship: March 19, 2022
† indicates conference regular season champion * indicates conference tournament champion
Rankings: USCHO.com Top 20 Poll; updated April 7, 2022

Schedule and results

edit
Date Time Opponent# Rank# Site TV Decision Result Attendance Record
Exhibition
October 3 5:00 PM USNTDP* Compton Family Ice ArenaNotre Dame, IN (Exhibition)     L 3–4   
Regular season
October 9 6:00 PM LIU* #19 Compton Family Ice ArenaNotre Dame, IN NBCRN Galajda W 5–2  3,156 1–0–0
October 15 7:07 PM at #16 Michigan Tech* #17 MacInnes Student Ice ArenaHoughton, MI   Bischel W 2–1 OT 3,899 2–0–0
October 16 6:37 PM at Northern Michigan* #17 Berry Events CenterMarquette, MI   Galajda W 5–2  3,754 3–0–0
October 21 7:05 PM RIT* #13 Compton Family Ice Arena • Notre Dame, IN NBCRN, SNY Bischel L 2–3 OT 2,283 3–1–0
October 22 7:05 PM RIT* #13 Compton Family Ice Arena • Notre Dame, IN NBCRN, SNY Galajda W 6–0  3,779 4–1–0
October 29 9:00 PM at #7 Minnesota #14 3M Arena at MariucciMinneapolis, MN BTN Galajda L 1–4  6,744 4–2–0 (0–1–0)
October 30 6:00 PM at #7 Minnesota #14 3M Arena at Mariucci • Minneapolis, MN BSN Bischel L 2–3  6,875 4–3–0 (0–2–0)
November 4 7:30 PM Holy Cross* #17 Compton Family Ice Arena • Notre Dame, IN NBCSN Galajda W 5–2  2,480 5–3–0
November 5 7:30 PM Holy Cross* #17 Compton Family Ice Arena • Notre Dame, IN NBCRN Galajda W 4–1  4,521 6–3–0
November 12 7:30 PM Wisconsin #15 Compton Family Ice Arena • Notre Dame, IN NBCSN Galajda W 5–1  4,335 7–3–0 (1–2–0)
November 13 6:00 PM Wisconsin #15 Compton Family Ice Arena • Notre Dame, IN NBCRN Galajda W 3–0  3,977 8–3–0 (2–2–0)
November 19 7:30 PM at #1 Michigan #14 Yost Ice ArenaAnn Arbor, MI (Rivalry)   Bischel W 3–2 OT 5,800 9–3–0 (3–2–0)
November 20 8:00 PM at #1 Michigan #14 Yost Ice Arena • Ann Arbor, MI (Rivalry)   Bischel W 5–4 OT 5,800 10–3–0 (4–2–0)
December 3 7:30 PM #18 Ohio State #8 Compton Family Ice Arena • Notre Dame, IN NBCSN Galajda L 2–4  4,343 10–4–0 (4–3–0)
December 4 6:00 PM #18 Ohio State #8 Compton Family Ice Arena • Notre Dame, IN NBCRN Bischel W 5–1  5,117 11–4–0 (5–3–0)
December 10 7:30 PM Michigan State #8 Compton Family Ice Arena • Notre Dame, IN NBCSN Galajda W 3–2  4,046 12–4–0 (6–3–0)
December 11 7:00 PM Michigan State #8 Compton Family Ice Arena • Notre Dame, IN NBCSN Bischel L 0–1 OT 4,445 12–5–0 (6–4–0)
December 31 6:00 PM Niagara* #10 Compton Family Ice Arena • Notre Dame, IN Peacock Galajda L 1–3  3,374 12–6–0
January 1 5:00 PM Niagara* #10 Compton Family Ice Arena • Notre Dame, IN Peacock Bischel W 5–0  2,791 13–6–0
January 7 7:00 PM at Penn State #13 Pegula Ice ArenaUniversity Park, PA   Bischel W 4–2  5,639 14–6–0 (7–4–0)
January 8 5:00 PM at Penn State #13 Pegula Ice Arena • University Park, PA   Galajda W 5–4 OT 5,871 15–6–0 (8–4–0)
January 14 7:00 PM at #16 Ohio State #13 Value City ArenaColumbus, OH   Bischel W 3–2 OT 8,350 16–6–0 (9–4–0)
January 15 8:00 PM at #16 Ohio State #13 Value City Arena • Columbus, OH BTN Bischel L 1–4  6,114 16–7–0 (9–5–0)
January 19 7:00 PM Boston College* #13 Compton Family Ice Arena • Notre Dame, IN (Holy War on Ice) NBCRN Galajda W 8–2  4,124 17–7–0
January 28 7:30 PM #10 Minnesota #11 Compton Family Ice Arena • Notre Dame, IN Peacock Galajda L 1–5  4,711 17–8–0 (9–6–0)
January 29 6:00 PM #10 Minnesota #11 Compton Family Ice Arena • Notre Dame, IN Peacock Bischel W 3–2 OT 4,632 18–8–0 (10–6–0)
February 4 7:30 PM Penn State #13 Compton Family Ice Arena • Notre Dame, IN Peacock Bischel W 7–2  4,358 19–8–0 (11–6–0)
February 5 6:00 PM Penn State #13 Compton Family Ice Arena • Notre Dame, IN Peacock Bischel W 3–0  4,678 20–8–0 (12–6–0)
February 12 8:30 PM at Wisconsin #11 Kohl CenterMadison, WI BTN Galajda L 3–5  9,228 20–9–0 (12–7–0)
February 13 8:00 PM at Wisconsin #11 Kohl Center • Madison, WI BSW Galajda W 3–2  10,934 21–9–0 (13–7–0)
February 18 7:00 PM at Michigan State #12 Munn Ice ArenaEast Lansing, MI   Galajda W 2–1  5,635 22–9–0 (14–7–0)
February 19 7:00 PM at Michigan State #12 Munn Ice Arena • East Lansing, MI   Galajda W 4–2  6,068 23–9–0 (15–7–0)
February 25 7:30 PM #2 Michigan #9 Compton Family Ice Arena • Notre Dame, IN (Rivalry) Peacock Galajda W 4–1  4,850 24–9–0 (16–7–0)
February 26 6:00 PM #2 Michigan #9 Compton Family Ice Arena • Notre Dame, IN (Rivalry) Peacock Galajda W 2–1  4,903 25–9–0 (17–7–0)
Big Ten tournament
March 4 7:00 PM Wisconsin* #7 Compton Family Ice ArenaNotre Dame, Indiana (Quarterfinal game 1)   Galajda L 1–3  3,634 25–10–0
March 5 6:00 PM Wisconsin* #7 Compton Family Ice ArenaNotre Dame, Indiana (Quarterfinal game 2)   Galajda W 3–2  3,738 26–10–0
March 6 6:00 PM Wisconsin* #7 Compton Family Ice ArenaNotre Dame, Indiana (Quarterfinal game 3)   Galajda W 4–2  2,612 27–10–0
March 12 6:30 PM at #4 Michigan* #8 Yost Ice ArenaAnn Arbor, Michigan (Semifinal) BTN Galajda L 1–2  5,800 27–11–0
NCAA tournament
March 24 6:00 PM vs. #7 North Dakota* #9 MVP ArenaAlbany, New York (East Regional semifinal) ESPNU Galajda W 2–1 OT 2,345 28–11–0
March 26 6:30 PM vs. #1 Minnesota State* #9 MVP ArenaAlbany, New York (East Regional final) ESPNU Galajda L 0–1  3,449 28–12–0
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from USCHO.com Poll. All times are in Eastern Time.
Source:[4]

Scoring statistics

edit
Name Position Games Goals Assists Points PIM
Max Ellis RW 39 16 12 28 14
Ryder Rolston C/W 38 10 17 27 24
Spencer Stastney D 39 7 20 27 8
Nick Leivermann D 34 6 21 27 8
Landon Slaggert C/LW 40 12 14 26 39
Graham Slaggert C 39 12 13 25 27
Trevor Janicke C/RW 40 15 9 24 14
Jesse Lansdell F 36 8 11 19 33
Cam Burke C 38 8 11 19 4
Grant Silianoff RW 32 5 13 18 8
Solag Bakich F 38 5 12 17 32
John Adams C/RW 38 6 10 16 8
Chase Blackmun D 40 2 14 16 22
Adam Karashik D 40 1 15 16 26
Hunter Strand C 40 8 7 15 8
Jake Boltmann D 40 1 12 13 28
Justin Janicke F 33 2 8 10 31
Jacob Pivonka C 25 1 7 8 4
Zachary Plucinski D 32 2 2 4 18
Tyler Carpenter F 6 1 0 1 0
Charlie Raith G 14 0 1 1 0
Ryan Bischel G 16 0 1 1 2
Ryan Helliwell D 36 0 1 1 24
Conor Klaers G 1 0 0 0 0
Brady Bjork C 6 0 0 0 0
Matthew Galajda G 26 0 0 0 0
Bench - - - - - 18
Total 128 231 359 400

[5]

Goaltending statistics

edit
Name Games Minutes Wins Losses Ties Goals Against Saves Shut Outs SV % GAA
Matthew Galajda 26 1481 18 8 0 47 656 2 .933 1.90
Ryan Bischel 16 922 10 4 0 32 387 2 .924 2.08
Empty Net - 17 - - - 3 - - - -
Total 40 2420 28 12 0 82 1043 4 .927 2.03

Rankings

edit
Poll Week
Pre 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 (Final)
USCHO.com 18 19 17 13 14 17 15 14 8 8 8 10 13 13 13 11 13 11 12 9 7 8 9 9 - 8
USA Today NR NR NR 12 NR NR 15 15 8 8 8 10 13 13 14 13 13 11 11 8 7 8 9 10 8 8

Note: USCHO did not release a poll in week 24.[6]

Awards and honors

edit
Player Award Ref
Max Ellis Big Ten Second Team [7]

Players drafted into the NHL

edit
Round Pick Player NHL team
7 212 Brennan Ali Detroit Red Wings

† incoming freshman [8]

References

edit
  1. ^ "Notre Dame 2, North Dakota 1 F OT1". USCHO. Retrieved March 24, 2022.
  2. ^ "Notre Dame 0, Minnesota State 1 F". USCHO. Retrieved March 26, 2022.
  3. ^ "2020-21 Hockey Roster". Notre Dame Fighting Irish. Retrieved January 3, 2021.
  4. ^ "Notre Dame 2021-22 Team Schedule". College Hockey Inc. Retrieved February 2, 2022.
  5. ^ "Univ. of Notre Dame 2021-2022 Skater Stats". Elite Prospects. Retrieved March 7, 2020.
  6. ^ "USCHO Division I Men's Poll". USCHO.com. Retrieved November 26, 2019.
  7. ^ "Hockey Postseason Honors Announced". BigTen.org. Big Ten Conference. March 15, 2022. Archived from the original on March 15, 2022. Retrieved March 15, 2022.
  8. ^ "NCAA player rankings, selections in 2022 NHL Draft". USCHO.com. Retrieved July 9, 2022.
edit