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.
Season
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] 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
Recruiting
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
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 2020
8
Justin Janicke Junior
F 6' 0" (1.83 m)
188 lb (85 kg)
2003-06-30
Maple Grove, Minnesota NTDP (USHL SEA 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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
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 championUSCHO.com Top 20 Poll ; updated April 11, 2024
Schedule and results
Date
Time
Opponent#
Rank#
Site
TV
Decision
Result
Attendance
Record
Regular Season
October 7
6:00 pm
Clarkson *
#20
Compton Family Ice Arena • Notre 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 Arena • Rochester, 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 Arena • University 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 Mariucci • Minneapolis, 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 Arena • East 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 Arena • Columbus, 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 Center • Madison, 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 Arena • Ann 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 Arena • Ann 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 Arena • Ann 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 . [ 4]
Scoring statistics
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
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
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
† incoming freshman
[ 8]
References
^ "2023-24 National Team Statistics" . College Hockey Inc . Retrieved May 3, 2024 .^ "Michigan vs Notre Dame - NCAA College Hockey - Highlights - March 09, 2024" . YouTube . Retrieved May 3, 2024 .^ "2023-24 Hockey Roster" . Notre Dame Fighting Irish . Retrieved January 3, 2021 .^ "2023–24 Hockey schedule" . College Notre Dame Fighting Irish . Retrieved September 14, 2022 .^ "Univ. of Notre Dame 2023-2024 Skater Stats" . Elite Prospects . Retrieved March 7, 2020 .^ "USCHO Division I Men's Poll" . USCHO.com . Retrieved November 26, 2019 .^ "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 .^ "NCAA player rankings, selections in 2024 NHL Draft" . USCHO.com . Retrieved June 29, 2024 .
External links
Playing venues Head coaches Seasons Conference affiliations Rivalries Culture & lore All-time leaders Frozen Four appearances NCAA Tournament appearances Conference Tournament titles
