(Ann Arbor, Mich.)Michigan forward Chris Brown scored the game-winning goal at 3:11 of the second overtime to give the Wolverines a 2-1 win over Notre Dame on Friday night at Yost Arena.
Brown snapped a shot past Irish goaltender Steven Summerhays who did everything in his power throughout thegame to give Notre Dame the win. His 40-save night was a career best for the sophomore goaltender who saw a three-game winning streak snapped with the loss. Luke Glendening and Anders Lee traded goals in regulation for the 1-1 tie that led to overtime.
Michigan’s Shawn Hunwick also put on a show in goal for the Wolverines as he made 37 saves to pick up the win.
The loss drops Notre Dame to 19-17-3 for the season while Michigan improves to 22-11-4 for the year. A win on Saturday will send Michigan to JoeLouis Arena for the 24th consecutive year. A Notre Dame win on Saturday sets up a game three on Sunday night at7:35 p.m. at Yost Arena.
The Wolverines took advantage of a Notre Dame turnover to take a 1-0 lead just 1:08 into the game as Glendening scored his ninth of the season when he tucked the rebound of a shot by Phil Di Giuseppe past Summerhays who made the original stop. A.J. Treais forced the turnover in the Notre Dame zone.
The score would stay 1-0 until the 11:23 mark of the third period when Lee hammered a shot from the slot past Hunwick for his 17th of the season to tie the game at 1-1. Mike Voran forced a turnover deep in the Michigan zone and Billy Maday fed it in front to Lee who wasted no time in getting the shot off.
From there the goaltenders took over as each made unbelievable saves in the third period and the first overtime to keep the game tied at 1-1. Michigan out shot the Irish, 14-9, in the overtime and had a 39-37 advantage going into the second overtime.
The overtime loss was the first for Notre Dame in overtime since March 21, 2008 and snapped an unbeaten streak in overtime that had reached 26 games (7-0-19). The Irish were 2-0-3 in overtime this season prior to the loss.
The game was the second longest in Notre Dame history as it went 83:11. The longest game came on March 23, 2007 when the Irish played 84:22 before beating Alabama-Huntsville in the 2007 NCAA Tournament.
Saturday’s game will be televised live on Comcast and can be on South Bend Comcast Cable Channel 3 at 7:35 p.m.
