Motte’s goal gives Michigan an overtime win over Notre Dame in NCAA tourney

 

By @MichaelCaples –

CINCINNATI, Ohio – It took the ‘CCM Line’ 68:19 worth of hockey to find the scoresheet.

They scored when it mattered most.

Tyler Motte finished off a rush towards the Notre Dame goal by scoring the overtime winner to give Michigan a 3-2 victory over the Fighting Irish in the first round of the NCAA Men’s Ice Hockey Tournament in Cincinnati, Ohio.

JT Compher and Kyle Connor – the other components of the CCM Line – recorded the assists on the play as the dynamic trio finally broke free from the Notre Dame defense in overtime.

“My linemates made a great play, Kyle Connor took the wing there with some speed, tried to drive wide,” Motte said of the game-winning play. “JT’s in the middle of the ice, and kind of threw it into the back door. Not sure how it snuck through, but it ended up on my tape, and I just kind of had to hit the six-by-four there to end it. Great play by those guys, entering the zone with speed – just an exciting win for us right now.”

The win breaks a streak of three consecutive 3-2 overtime losses in the national playoffs for the Wolverines, who now advance to tomorrow’s regional finals and a showdown with North Dakota.

Justin Selman and Zach Werenski scored the goals in regulation for the Wolverines, while Steve Racine made 28 saves in his 60 minutes-plus of hockey. Werenski’s goal at the 9:52 mark of the third tied the game for Michigan, which led to a dramatic overtime ending.

“Well I think everyone here saw a good game, obviously,” coach Red Berenson said after the game. “Notre Dame is a proven team and a tough team to play against. They made it tough on us. Having the lead I think really favored them, it was really important when Zach scored that goal to tie it up. I thought from that point on, we started to play with a little bit more momentum. Good college hockey game, well officiated, and obviously a good win for Michigan to score in overtime.”

Anders Bjork and Thomas DiPauli scored for the Fighting Irish, the team that announced earlier this week that they will be renewing their hockey rivalry on a more permanent basis when they join the Big Ten in 2017-18.

Photos by Andrew Knapik/MiHockey

 

AVOIDING HISTORY: The Wolverines’ three previous NCAA losses:

• March 28, 2010 – 3-2 loss in double overtime to Miami (Ohio) in regional final
• April 9, 2011 – 3-2 loss in overtime to Minnesota-Duluth in the NCAA title game
• March 23, 2012 – 3-2 loss in overtime to Cornell in regional semifinal

The Wolverines were the first team to find the scoresheet Friday evening, as Selman gave them the early lead. The Wolverines’ senior forward rifled a shot past Petersen on a feed from Alex Kile at the 10:31 mark of the first period.

Five minutes later, Bjork scored to even the game for the Fighting Irish, beating Racine when he opted to shoot on a two-on-one rush towards the Wolverines’ goal.

Notre Dame led the opening period in shots, putting 13 on Racine. Michigan had 11 of their own.

The Irish dominated the second period, and they started quickly. DiPauli gave ND a 2-1 lead just 24 seconds into the middle frame, firing a quick shot past Racine.

Notre Dame continued to test Racine for the rest of the second period, sending nine shots his way in the second 20 minutes of play.

The Wolverines mustered six shots of their own during the second, but the 9-6 shot differential doesn’t tell the story of a middle period dominated by Notre Dame.

The Wolverines took control of the third period early, and they generated plenty of scoring chances against Petersen. The most notable was a breakaway opportunity for Compher, who caught a pass just outside the Notre Dame blue line and raced in on a breakaway, only to be stopped by Petersen on his deke to the backhand.

Werenski evened the score at the 9:52 mark of the third period, finishing off a give-and-go with Nieves with a shot from just above the slot that got past Petersen.

“Yeah, definitely, any time you can tie a game up in the third like that, it’s huge, but a game like this, where Michigan has been to the NCAA Tournament in a couple years, just to give ourselves a chance to win at that point was awesome,” Werenski said. “I think the best part is going through the line and seeing how happy everyone is, and from that point forward, we had some momentum.”

With roughly four minutes left in the third, Connor fired a shot towards Petersen that got through the ND goalie. The fans in U.S. Bank Arena watched as the puck rolled slowly behind Petersen towards the goal, only to stop inches in front of the goal line and get swatted away by a Fighting Irish defender.

Two minutes later, a series of impressive moves by Selman set up Alex Kile for a one-timer at an empty net, but a Notre Dame defender tipped the pass just enough to throw off Kile’s timing.

Regulation concluded with a few chances for Notre Dame, but Racine stopped all shots sent his way.

The Wolverines out-shot the Fighting Irish 11-5 in the final 20 minutes of regulation, giving them a 28-27 shot advantage heading into overtime.

Chances at both ends of the ice finally led to Motte’s overtime goal at the 8:19 mark of the overtime period.