The No. 2 seed Michigan Wolverines defeated the third-seeded Notre Dame Fighting Irish 2-1 in the Big Ten Tournament semifinals on Saturday night at Yost Arena.
The teams went scoreless in the first period, but sophomore forward Matty Beniers got the scoring started for the Wolverines on a beautiful back-and-forth pass with Brendan Brisson just 3:46 into the second period.
Notre Dame struck back in a timely matter, however. With 7:56 to go in the second period, Fighting Irish forward Jack Adams evened the game with a goal of his own right in front of Michigan's crease.
The two Big Ten powerhouses entered the third period knotted at one goal, with 20 minutes to decide which team would advance to the Big Ten Championship game. It didn't take long for the tie to be broken. Brendan Brisson picked up his second point of the night 3:59 into the third period, with his 18th goal of the season.
Brisson's third period goal gave the Wolverines a 2-1 lead over the rival Irish. Notre Dame did all it could in the remaining minutes to even the score, but Erik Portillo and the Michigan defensemen did an excellent job of keeping the Irish at a distance. Notre Dame pulled its goalie with just under two minutes to go in the game, but could hardly muster a shot in what turned out to be the end of its Big Ten Tournament run.
The Wolverines prevailed, 2-1, and will now advance to the winner-take-all Big Ten Championship game against the winner of Penn State vs. Minnesota on Saturday, March 19. The Wolverines and Gophers have met four times already this season, each team taking two games.
With its victory over Notre Dame on Saturday night, the Wolverines are set to advance to their third Big Ten Championship game since the inauguration of the tournament in 2014.
The Wolverines will look to claim their second title in Minneapolis on Saturday at 8 p.m.
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