“They did it again!”
These words were yelled by ESPN play-by-play announcer John Buccigross just seconds after Notre Dame captain Jake Evans snuck a puck under the legs of Michigan goaltender Hayden Lavigne to give the Notre Dame Fighting Irish a 4-3 lead with 5.2 seconds left in regulation during Thursday night’s Frozen Four semifinal game against their conference-rival, the Michigan Wolverines. The goal proved to be the game winner as the Irish defeated the Wolverines 4-3 to advance to Saturday’s National Championship Game against the Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs.
Thursday night’s win marks the fifth consecutive game that Notre Dame won with a goal either in the final minute of regulation or in overtime, dating back to the start of the Big Ten Tournament.