# 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. 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.

## Departures

| 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

| 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.

## Standings

2023–24 Big Ten ice hockey Standingsvte :
| | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Overall record | Overall record | Overall record | Overall record | Overall 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

| 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. Source: ||||||||||

## 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 |

## 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 | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | 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. Note: USA Hockey did not release a poll in week 12.

## Awards and honors

| Player | Award | Ref |
| Landon Slaggert | Big Ten Second Team | |

## 2024 NHL Entry Draft

| Round | Pick | Player | NHL team |
| 4 | 114 | Nicholas Kempf $^†$ | Washington Capitals |
† incoming freshman