Notre Dame hockey: Four Fighting Irish players earn Big Ten accolades

IMG_9992by:Tyler Horka•03/15/22•

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It’s award season for Notre Dame hockey.

Just a few days after a frustrating 2-1 loss to Michigan in the Big Ten Tournament semifinals, the Fighting Irish learned some good news from the league as they await Sunday’s NCAA Tournament selection show. Junior forward Max Ellis is a Second Team All-Big Ten performer while teammates Matthew Galajda, Spencer Stastney and Landon Slaggert earned All-Big Ten honorable mention recognition. Those four Irish players were selected by the conference’s head coaches and a panel of media voters.

Ellis tallied a team-high 16 goals and added 12 assists to finish first on the team in total scoring through the conference tourney. The top moment of the year for Ellis came in November when he helped Notre Dame take two games from Michigan in Ann Arbor with the first hat trick of his career in the second game of the series. Ellis became the first visiting player to post a hat trick at Yost Arena in the last 15 years.

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It took nearly the entire regular season, but Cornell graduate transfer Matthew Galajda finally gained a firm control of the No. 1 starter role between the pipes. He ultimately turned in a stellar season in posting a 17-7-0 record with a 1.98 goals against average and a 9.30 save percentage. Both of those statistics rank eighth nationally. Both of his weekly awards from the Big Ten came in the last month. Galajda has started to play his best when it matters most.

A senior defenseman and a fifth-round pick by the Nashville Predators in the 2018 NHL Draft, Stastney just might be Notre Dame’s best all-around player. He finished tied for second in points (27). He tied with fellow defenseman Nick Leivermann for the team lead in assists (20). Stastney has been nearly a point per game player since the holiday break, posting 18 points in the Irish’s last 21 games. He’s much more than a two-way defenseman, though. He ranks third in the Big Ten in blocked shots (67) and has bailed the Irish out of their own zone too many times to count.

Slaggert, a South Bend native, member of the U.S. National Junior Team and third-round pick by the Chicago Blackhawks in the 2020 NHL Draft, has scored 11 goals and registered 13 assists in 38 games this season. Slaggert is tied for second on the team with three game-winning goals.

Sunday’s selection show starts at 6:30 p.m. ET on ESPNU. The Irish stood tied for No. 6 in the Pairwise rankings on Tuesday and No. 8 in RPI. Notre Dame is firmly in the tournament field. The Irish just need to learn which regional they’ve been assigned to and who they’ll face once they get there.

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2021-22 All-Big Ten Hockey Team and Individual Awards

As selected by Big Ten Coaches and Media Voting Panel

Unanimous selections in all caps

FIRST TEAM

  • MATTY BENIERS, F, MICHIGAN
  • BEN MEYERS, F, MINNESOTA
  • Georgii Merkulov, F, Ohio State
  • Owen Power, D, Michigan
  • Brock Faber, D, Minnesota
  • Jakub Dobes, G, Ohio State

SECOND TEAM

  • Brendan Brisson, F, Michigan
  • Matthew Knies, F, Minnesota
  • Max Ellis, F, Notre Dame
  • Luke Hughes, D, Michigan
  • Jackson Lacombe, D, Minnesota
  • Erik Portillo, G, Michigan

HONORABLE MENTION

  • Thomas Bordeleau, F, Michigan
  • Kent Johnson, F, Michigan
  • Blake McLaughlin, F, Minnesota
  • Sammy Walker, F, Minnesota
  • Landon Slaggert, F, Notre Dame
  • Kevin Wall, F, Penn State
  • Nick Blankenburg, D, Michigan
  • Spencer Stastney, D, Notre Dame
  • Mason Lohrei, D, Ohio State
  • Drew DeRidder, G, Michigan State
  • Justen Close, G, Minnesota
  • Matthew Galajda, G, Notre Dame 

ALL-FRESHMAN TEAM

  • Mackie Samoskevich, F, Michigan
  • MATTHEW KNIES, F, MINNESOTA
  • GEORGII MERKULOV, F, OHIO STATE
  • Luke Hughes, D, Michigan
  • Mason Lohrei, D, Ohio State
  • JAKUB DOBES, G, OHIO STATE

PLAYER OF THE YEAR

  • Ben Meyers, F, Minnesota

DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR

  • Brock Faber, D, Minnesota

GOALTENDER OF THE YEAR

  • Jakub Dobes, G, Ohio State

CO-FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR

  • Luke Hughes, D, Michigan
  • Jakub Dobes, G, Ohio State 

COACH OF THE YEAR

  • Bob Motzko, Minnesota

SCORING CHAMPION

  • Matty Beniers, F, Michigan

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