2023–24 Notre Dame Fighting Irish men's ice hockey season

The 2023–24 Notre Dame Fighting Irish men's ice hockey season was the 64th season of play for the program and 7th in the Big Ten Conference. The Fighting Irish represented the University of Notre Dame in the 2023–24 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey season, played their home games at Compton Family Ice Arena and were coached by Jeff Jackson in his 19th season.

2023–24 Notre Dame Fighting Irish
men's ice hockey season
Conference5th Big Ten
Home iceCompton Family Ice Arena
Rankings
USCHONR
USA HockeyNR
Record
Overall15–19–2
Conference9–13–2
Home13–8–0
Road2–10–2
Neutral0–1–0
Coaches and captains
Head coachJeff Jackson
Assistant coachesPaul Pooley
Andy Slaggert
Brock Sheahan
Captain(s)Landon Slaggert
Alternate captain(s)Ryan Bischel
Jake Boltmann
Trevor Janicke
Notre Dame Fighting Irish men's ice hockey seasons
« 2022–23 2024–25 »

Season

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Facing a good deal of roster turnover entering the season, Notre Dame knew it would likely have to likely have to rely on its starting goaltender, Ryan Bischel. The 5th-year player didn't quite play as well as he had when he was named an All-American in 2023 but he still ranked among the best goaltenders in the nation. What he did not receive was much help from the defense. Notre Dame was one of the most porous teams in the nation, allowing more than 34 shots against per game.[1] Despite the heavy workload, Bischel kept the Irish in most games, though the offense was a bit slow to get on track. Team captain Landon Slaggert had a tremendous season, leading the team with 20 goals on the year, but there was a sharp drop off after him. While Notre Dame received contributions from several new players, including having two freshman (Patrick Moynihan and Danny Nelson) finish in the top three, Notre Dame's offense wasn't able to find much consistency during the season.

The Fighting Irish had a few good stretches during the season, such as going undefeated in seven games from late-October to late-November. Unfortunately, the team had four separate instances where they lost at least three consecutive games. The fast-or-famine scoring was quite often the culprit; Notre Dame scored nearly 3 goals per game but the team was limited to less than 2 goals in ten matches. In spite of their struggles throughout the year, Notre Dame won several games against ranked opponents and had a winning record for much of the year. This put the team on the bubble for an at-large bid by the close of January. However, Notre Dame went 1–6 in their final seven matches to close out the regular season. While their opponents were a murderer's row of tournament-bound teams, Notre Dame's failure to win more than a single game knocked them out of contention and left a conference championship as their only avenue forward.

Opening on the road, Notre Dame faced long-time rival Michigan in the conference quarterfinals. The opening game saw the Irish take a commanding lead thanks to a scoring outburst in the second period. Drew Bavaro's 3-point game gave Notre Dame a 4–2 lead, which appeared to give the team all it needed to win. The Irish had only lost one game all season where they scored more than 2 goals and all they needed to do was let Bischel shut the door for the final 24 minutes to secure victory. However, after Michigan had cut the lead to 1, Bavaro did his best to act out a biblical idiom and tooketh away with a 5-minute major penalty for checking from behind at the end of the second. Michigan scored twice on the power play to take the lead and the Irish were unable to recover the momentum. Notre Dame managed just 4 shots in the third and let a win slip through their fingers. The rematch followed a similar pattern with Notre Dame managing to get a pair of 1-goal leads in the first two periods but their defense could not stop the offensive juggernaut that the Wolverines possessed. The Irish again went scoreless in the third and the second straight 1-goal loss ended their season.[2]

Departures

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Player Position Nationality Cause
Jack Adams Forward   United States Graduation (signed with South Carolina Stingrays)
Solag Bakich Forward   United States Graduation (signed with Reading Royals)
Chase Blackmun Defenseman   United States Graduation (retired)
Ben Brinkman Defenseman   United States Graduation (signed with Iowa Heartlanders)
Jesse Lansdell Forward   Canada Graduate transfer to Omaha
Nick Leivermann Defenseman   United States Graduation (signed with Hershey Bears)
Jackson Pierson Forward   United States Graduation (signed with Fort Wayne Komets)
Chayse Primeau Forward   United States Graduation (signed with Florida Everblades)
Ryder Rolston Forward   United States Signed professional contract (Chicago Blackhawks)
Fin Williams Forward   United States Returned to juniors mid-season (Chicago Steel)

Recruiting

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Player Position Nationality Age Notes
Brennan Ali Forward   United States 19 Glencoe, IL; selected 212th overall in 2022
Jayden Davis Forward   Canada 20 Calgary, AB
Paul Fischer Defenseman   United States 18 River Forest, IL; selected 138th overall in 2023
Maddox Fleming Forward   United States 19 Rochester, MN
Cole Knuble Forward   United States 19 Grand Rapids, MI; selected 103rd overall in 2023
Patrick Moynihan Forward   United States 22 Millis, MA; graduate transfer from Providence; selected 158th overall in 2019
Brayden Napoli Goaltender   United States 21 Lake Villa, IL; joined from club team
Danny Nelson Forward   United States 18 Maple Grove, MN; selected 49th overall in 2023
Henry Nelson Defenseman   United States 20 Maple Grove, MN
Ryan Siedem Defenseman   United States 22 Madison, NJ; graduate transfer from Harvard
Carter Slaggert Forward   United States 18 South Bend, IN

Roster

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As of March 3, 2024.[3]

No. S/P/C Player Class Pos Height Weight DoB Hometown Previous team NHL rights
2   Ryan Siedem Graduate D 6' 2" (1.88 m) 192 lb (87 kg) 2001-02-25 Madison, New Jersey Harvard (ECAC)
3   Hunter Weiss Junior D 6' 3" (1.91 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 2001-03-29 Lake Forest, Illinois Minnesota Magicians (NAHL)
4   Michael Mastrodomenico Sophomore D 6' 1" (1.85 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 2004-04-19 Kirkland, Quebec Lincoln (USHL)
6   Jake Boltmann (A) Senior D 6' 1" (1.85 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 2001-10-19 Edina, Minnesota Lincoln (USHL) CGY, 80th overall 2020
8   Justin Janicke Junior F 6' 0" (1.83 m) 188 lb (85 kg) 2003-06-30 Maple Grove, Minnesota NTDP (USHL) SEA, 195th overall 2021
9   Grant Silianoff Senior F 5' 11" (1.8 m) 178 lb (81 kg) 2001-01-04 Edina, Minnesota Cedar Rapids (USHL)
10   Hunter Strand Junior F 5' 11" (1.8 m) 188 lb (85 kg) 2002-11-13 Anchorage, Alaska Tri-City (USHL)
11   Danny Nelson Freshman F 6' 3" (1.91 m) 203 lb (92 kg) 2005-08-03 Maple Grove, Minnesota NTDP (USHL) NYI, 49th overall 2023
12   Henry Nelson Freshman D 6' 1" (1.85 m) 174 lb (79 kg) 2003-03-25 Maple Grove, Minnesota Lincoln (USHL)
13   Brennan Ali Freshman F 6' 0" (1.83 m) 194 lb (88 kg) 2004-02-09 Glencoe, Illinois Lincoln (USHL) DET, 212th overall 2022
14   Maddox Fleming Freshman F 6' 1" (1.85 m) 194 lb (88 kg) 2004-02-13 Rochester, Minnesota Sioux Falls (USHL)
15   Jayden Davis Freshman F 5' 11" (1.8 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 2003-03-02 Calgary, Alberta Green Bay (USHL)
16   Paul Fischer Freshman D 6' 0" (1.83 m) 183 lb (83 kg) 2005-01-30 River Forest, Illinois NTDP (USHL) STL, 138th overall 2023
17   Ryan Helliwell Junior D 6' 0" (1.83 m) 191 lb (87 kg) 2002-08-05 Burnaby, British Columbia Trail (BCHL)
18   Patrick Moynihan Graduate F 5' 11" (1.8 m) 183 lb (83 kg) 2001-01-23 Millis, Massachusetts Providence (HEA) NJD, 158th overall 2019
19   Landon Slaggert (C) Senior F 6' 0" (1.83 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 2002-06-25 South Bend, Indiana NTDP (USHL) CHI, 79th overall 2020
20   Niko Jovanovic Sophomore F 6' 4" (1.93 m) 216 lb (98 kg) 2002-06-13 West Vancouver, British Columbia Spruce Grove (AJHL)
21   Fin Williams Sophomore F 6' 1" (1.85 m) 186 lb (84 kg) 2003-04-21 North Vancouver, British Columbia Penticton (BCHL)
22   Cole Knuble Freshman F 5' 11" (1.8 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 2004-07-01 Grand Rapids, Michigan Fargo Force (USHL) PHI, 103rd overall 2023
23   Brady Bjork Senior F 6' 1" (1.85 m) 177 lb (80 kg) 1999-05-17 Mequon, Wisconsin St. Cloud (NAHL)
24   Drew Bavaro Senior D 6' 2" (1.88 m) 198 lb (90 kg) 2000-06-10 Lakewood Ranch, Florida Bentley (AHA)
25   Carter Slaggert Freshman F 5' 9" (1.75 m) 172 lb (78 kg) 2005-03-04 South Bend, Indiana NTDP (USHL)
26   Zach Plucinski Senior D 6' 1" (1.85 m) 204 lb (93 kg) 2000-07-26 Eagle River, Alaska Omaha (USHL)
27   Trevor Janicke (A) Graduate F 5' 10" (1.78 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 2000-12-25 Maple Grove, Minnesota Central Illinois (USHL) ANA, 132nd overall 2019
28   Tyler Carpenter Junior F 5' 11" (1.8 m) 186 lb (84 kg) 2000-08-27 Palatine, Illinois Omaha (USHL)
29   Jack Williams Sophomore G 6' 3" (1.91 m) 187 lb (85 kg) 2001-06-21 St. Louis, Missouri Waterloo (USHL)
30   Ryan Bischel (A) Graduate G 6' 1" (1.85 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1999-07-05 Medina, Minnesota Fargo (USHL)
33   Josh Graziano Senior G 6' 3" (1.91 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 2000-03-22 Buffalo, New York Johnstown (NAHL)
34   Brayden Napoli Senior G 6' 0" (1.83 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 2002-06-19 Lake Villa, Illinois Highland Park (Midget AAA)

Standings

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Conference record Overall record
GP W L T OTW OTL 3/SW PTS GF GA GP W L T GF GA
#5 Michigan State †* 24 16 6 2 0 1 1 52 92 69 38 25 10 3 147 117
#11 Wisconsin 24 16 7 1 2 2 1 50 81 57 40 26 12 2 128 81
#7 Minnesota 24 13 7 4 3 1 0 41 80 65 39 23 11 5 135 100
#4 Michigan 24 11 11 2 1 1 1 36 85 77 41 23 15 3 169 125
Notre Dame 24 9 13 2 0 1 1 31 66 62 36 15 19 2 101 98
Penn State 24 7 14 3 0 1 2 27 62 92 36 15 18 3 113 130
Ohio State 24 4 18 2 1 0 2 15 50 94 38 14 20 4 100 124
Championship: March 23, 2024
† indicates conference regular season champion * indicates conference tournament champion
Rankings: USCHO.com Top 20 Poll; updated April 11, 2024

Schedule and results

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Date Time Opponent# Rank# Site TV Decision Result Attendance Record
Regular Season
October 7 6:00 pm Clarkson* #20 Compton Family Ice ArenaNotre Dame, Indiana Peacock Bischel L 1–3  4,395 0–1–0
October 8 5:00 pm Clarkson* #20 Compton Family Ice Arena • Notre Dame, Indiana Peacock Bischel W 3–0  3,726 1–1–0
October 14 7:00 pm vs. RIT* Blue Cross ArenaRochester, New York FloHockey Bischel L 0–3  10,556 1–2–0
October 20 7:00 pm #6 Boston University* Compton Family Ice Arena • Notre Dame, Indiana Peacock Bischel W 4–1  4,387 2–2–0
October 21 6:00 pm #6 Boston University* Compton Family Ice Arena • Notre Dame, Indiana Peacock Bischel L 2–8  4,508 2–3–0
October 26 7:30 pm Mercyhurst* Compton Family Ice Arena • Notre Dame, Indiana Peacock Bischel W 4–3 OT 3,919 3–3–0
October 27 7:30 pm Mercyhurst* Compton Family Ice Arena • Notre Dame, Indiana Peacock Bischel W 5–0  5,022 4–3–0
November 4 7:30 pm at #17 Penn State Pegula Ice ArenaUniversity Park, Pennsylvania   Bischel T 3–3 SOW 6,499 4–3–1 (0–0–1)
November 5 4:30 pm at #17 Penn State Pegula Ice Arena • University Park, Pennsylvania BTN Bischel T 2–2 SOL 6,262 4–3–2 (0–0–2)
November 10 7:30 pm #19 Ohio State Compton Family Ice Arena • Notre Dame, Indiana Peacock Bischel W 4–1  5,120 5–3–2 (1–0–2)
November 11 6:00 pm #19 Ohio State Compton Family Ice Arena • Notre Dame, Indiana Peacock Bischel W 3–0  5,183 6–3–2 (2–0–2)
November 17 8:00 pm at #6 Minnesota #17 3M Arena at MariucciMinneapolis, Minnesota Fox 9, BTN+ Bischel W 4–2  9,741 7–3–2 (3–0–2)
November 18 8:00 pm at #6 Minnesota #17 3M Arena at Mariucci • Minneapolis, Minnesota Fox 9+, BTN+ Bischel L 1–4  9,538 7–4–2 (3–1–2)
November 24 4:00 pm #2 Boston College* #18 Compton Family Ice Arena • Notre Dame, Indiana (Holy War on Ice) Peacock Bischel L 1–6  5,126 7–5–2
December 1 7:30 pm #13 Michigan Compton Family Ice Arena • Notre Dame, Indiana (Rivalry) Peacock Bischel W 6–1  5,037 8–5–2 (4–1–2)
December 2 6:00 pm #13 Michigan Compton Family Ice Arena • Notre Dame, Indiana (Rivalry) Peacock Bischel L 1–2  5,014 8–6–2 (4–2–2)
December 8 7:00 pm at #7 Michigan State #20 Munn Ice ArenaEast Lansing, Michigan   Bischel L 2–5  6,555 8–7–2 (4–3–2)
December 9 6:00 pm at #7 Michigan State #20 Munn Ice Arena • East Lansing, Michigan   Bischel L 1–2  6,555 8–8–2 (4–4–2)
December 30 5:00 pm Augustana* Compton Family Ice Arena • Notre Dame, Indiana Peacock Bischel W 5–1  5,136 9–8–2
December 31 5:00 pm Augustana* Compton Family Ice Arena • Notre Dame, Indiana Peacock Bischel W 3–2 OT 5,022 10–8–2
January 5 7:00 pm #5 Wisconsin Compton Family Ice Arena • Notre Dame, Indiana Peacock Bischel L 1–2  5,069 10–9–2 (4–5–2)
January 6 5:00 pm #5 Wisconsin Compton Family Ice Arena • Notre Dame, Indiana Peacock Bischel L 4–7  5,077 10–10–2 (4–6–2)
January 12 7:00 pm at Ohio State Value City ArenaColumbus, Ohio BTN Bischel L 2–3  5,762 10–11–2 (4–7–2)
January 13 7:00 pm at Ohio State Value City Arena • Columbus, Ohio BTN Bischel W 5–2  6,566 11–11–2 (5–7–2)
January 19 7:30 pm Penn State Compton Family Ice Arena • Notre Dame, Indiana Peacock Bischel W 4–1  5,151 12–11–2 (6–7–2)
January 20 6:00 pm Penn State Compton Family Ice Arena • Notre Dame, Indiana Peacock Bischel W 6–3  5,354 13–11–2 (7–7–2)
February 2 7:30 pm #8 Michigan State Compton Family Ice Arena • Notre Dame, Indiana Peacock Bischel W 4–1  5,292 14–11–2 (8–7–2)
February 3 6:00 pm #8 Michigan State Compton Family Ice Arena • Notre Dame, Indiana Peacock, TSN3, TSN4 Bischel L 0–4  5,217 14–12–2 (8–8–2)
February 9 8:00 pm at #4 Wisconsin Kohl CenterMadison, Wisconsin BTN+ Bischel L 2–4  9,789 14–13–2 (8–9–2)
February 10 7:00 pm at #4 Wisconsin Kohl Center • Madison, Wisconsin BTN+ Bischel L 2–3  12,672 14–14–2 (8–10–2)
February 16 7:30 pm #8 Minnesota Compton Family Ice Arena • Notre Dame, Indiana Peacock Bischel W 6–1  5,264 15–14–2 (9–10–2)
February 17 6:00 pm #8 Minnesota Compton Family Ice Arena • Notre Dame, Indiana Peacock Bischel L 2–3 OT 5,326 15–15–2 (9–11–2)
February 23 8:00 pm at #17 Michigan Yost Ice ArenaAnn Arbor, Michigan (Rivalry) BTN Bischel L 0–4  5,800 15–16–2 (9–12–2)
February 24 6:30 pm at #17 Michigan Yost Ice Arena • Ann Arbor, Michigan (Rivalry) BTN Bischel L 1–2  5,800 15–17–2 (9–13–2)
Big Ten Tournament
March 8 7:00 pm at #14 Michigan* Yost Ice ArenaAnn Arbor, Michigan (Quarterfinal Game 1, Rivalry) BTN+ Bischel L 4–5  5,678 15–18–2
March 9 7:00 pm at #14 Michigan* Yost Ice ArenaAnn Arbor, Michigan (Quarterfinal Game 2, Rivalry) BTN+ Bischel L 3–4  5,800 15–19–2
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from USCHO.com Poll. All times are in Eastern Time.
Source:[4]

Scoring statistics

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Name Position Games Goals Assists Points PIM
Landon Slaggert C/LW 36 20 11 31 10
Patrick Moynihan RW 36 10 14 24 12
Danny Nelson C 30 9 14 23 32
Drew Bavaro D 35 10 10 20 38
Cole Knuble C 36 9 11 20 12
Ryan Siedem D 36 3 17 20 12
Hunter Strand C 36 4 15 19 2
Trevor Janicke C/RW 32 9 7 16 16
Justin Janicke C/LW 36 4 12 16 30
Paul Fischer D 34 2 14 16 30
Brennan Ali C 36 3 10 13 4
Maddox Fleming RW 35 3 9 12 8
Grant Silianoff RW 28 4 7 11 12
Tyler Carpenter F 33 5 4 9 16
Carter Slaggert F 32 3 4 7 24
Mike Mastrodomenico D 33 1 6 7 25
Zachary Plucinski D 36 0 4 4 41
Jayden Davis F 21 2 1 3 19
Jake Boltmann D 30 0 2 2 22
Brady Bjork LW/RW 5 0 1 1 2
Henry Nelson D 31 0 1 1 42
Jack Williams G 1 0 0 0 0
Hunter Weiss D 1 0 0 0 0
Ryan Helliwell D 9 0 0 0 17
Ryan Bischel G 36 0 0 0 2
Bench - - - - - 18
Total 101 174 275 503

[5]

Goaltending statistics

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Name Games Minutes Wins Losses Ties Goals Against Saves Shut Outs SV % GAA
Ryan Bischel 36 2112:09 15 19 2 91 1112 3 .924 2.59
Jack Williams 1 40:00 0 0 0 3 25 0 .893 4.50
Empty Net - 22:34 - - - 4 - - - -
Total 36 2174:43 15 19 2 98 1137 3 .921 2.70

Rankings

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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 26 (Final)
USCHO.com 20 NR NR NR NR NR 17 18 NR 20 NR NR NR NR 20 NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR
USA Hockey 19 NR NR NR NR NR 18 18 20 20 NR NR NR NR 19 20 20т NR 20 NR NR NR NR NR NR NR

Note: USCHO did not release a poll in weeks 11 or 25.[6]
Note: USA Hockey did not release a poll in week 12.

Awards and honors

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Player Award Ref
Landon Slaggert Big Ten Second Team [7]
Round Pick Player NHL team
4 114 Nicholas Kempf Washington Capitals

† incoming freshman [8]

References

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  1. ^ "2023-24 National Team Statistics". College Hockey Inc. Retrieved May 3, 2024.
  2. ^ "Michigan vs Notre Dame - NCAA College Hockey - Highlights - March 09, 2024". YouTube. Retrieved May 3, 2024.
  3. ^ "2023-24 Hockey Roster". Notre Dame Fighting Irish. Retrieved January 3, 2021.
  4. ^ "2023–24 Hockey schedule". College Notre Dame Fighting Irish. Retrieved September 14, 2022.
  5. ^ "Univ. of Notre Dame 2023-2024 Skater Stats". Elite Prospects. Retrieved March 7, 2020.
  6. ^ "USCHO Division I Men's Poll". USCHO.com. Retrieved November 26, 2019.
  7. ^ "Big Ten Conference Announces Hockey Postseason Awards". BigTen.org. Big Ten Conference. March 19, 2024. Archived from the original on March 19, 2024. Retrieved March 19, 2024.
  8. ^ "NCAA player rankings, selections in 2024 NHL Draft". USCHO.com. Retrieved June 29, 2024.
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