College Hockey Series of the Week: No. 14 Notre Dame vs. 7 Minnesota

Story posted October 29, 2021 in CommRadio, Sports by Jacob Cheris

Big Ten hockey conference play is starting soon. These are the match-ups that matter the most for each team, and to kick things off, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish will take on the Minnesota Golden Gophers.

Minnesota, who comes in at 3-3-0, was swept by No. 2 Minnesota-Duluth in its last time out. The Golden Gophers struggled defensively in that series.

This was very uncharacteristic of them considering the cast of characters it has on the blue line. Jackson Lacombe currently has a -3 +/- and only has one point, while Brock Faber has also struggled.

To make matters worse, fifth-year goaltender Jack LaFontaine has not looked like himself. The Mississauga, Ontario, native was given the Mike Richter Award as the best netminder in college hockey last season. This season, though, LaFontaine currently has a 3.22 goals against average and a .867 save percentage through six games.

However, even though Minnesota is struggling right now, Bob Motzko still has a very talented group. It is still very early in the season and the Big Ten is always unpredictable.

Forwards Sammy Walker, Blake McLaughlin, Ben Meyers and Bryce Brodzinski have all played well, along with the rest of Minnesota’s offense. The problem right now is the defense. It is only a matter of time before the team finds its game again.

The Fighting Irish come in at 4-1-0 and are coming off of a surprise split against RIT, but their only loss was in overtime. Statistically, Jeff Jackson’s squad is the best defensive team in the Big Ten, allowing just 1.57 goals against per game. Alex Karashik and Spencer Stastney have been very good on both ends of the ice, as Karashik is a +2 and Stastny is a +6.

Trevor Janicke has been terrific with four goals, along with Max Ellis who leads in points with seven.  Both Slaggert brothers, Graham and Landon, have been terrific as well, showing Notre Dame has a lot of depth with its forwards.

Transfer goaltender Matthew Galajda did not start in Notre Dame’s only loss, but then turned aside all 22 shots in the second contest, leading his team to a 6-0 win, continuing his solid start to the season.

Galajda was named the Third Star of the Week for the Big Ten, rocking a 3-0 record with a 1.33 goals against average and a .943 save percentage.  Before landing at Notre Dame, he was the 2018 ECAC Goaltender of the Year with the Big Red.

If LaFontaine can’t find his game and the defense in front of him continues to struggle, it's going to be a long series for the Golden Gophers. Notre Dame has been moving the puck very quickly and playing with lots of speed.

The Golden Gophers need to do a better job of forcing the opposition to the perimeter and giving them the bad ice. If they do that, then they will be a very dangerous team down the stretch.

Overall, this series is going to rely heavily on goaltending. Galajda and LaFontaine are two of the best goaltenders in the Big Ten right now; this is going to be a low scoring series if Minnesota can get its defense fixed. The series kicks off on Friday at Mariucci at 9 p.m.

Prediction: Split

 

Jacob Cheris is a third-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email jacobcheris19@gmail.com.