With the net all his, Bischel leads the Irish

m ore importantly, she was one of my first tangible examples of women taking up space in traditionally male-dominated professions. s urrounded by all-female coaching staffs, m uffet remained a rock-solid leader, no matter if her team was winning or losing. s eeing m uffet’s team of coaches beside her at the helm of an objectively and consistently fantastic program would shape me as a female leader for years to come. I learned as much about what it means to be a strong woman from the sideline as I did watching the players in the game.

After hearing the news of m uffet’s retirement in 2020, I, like many n otre d ame fans, was heartbroken. h ow do you replace an institution like m uffet m cGraw after over 30 seasons? Who would continue to lead this team to college basketball greatness?

The answer is n iele Ivey. After watching Ivey take the lead of the program for the last two seasons and considering her previous coaching at the University, I am convinced Ivey will carve out her own legacy and reach phenom status, just like m cGraw. Though she had a rough go her first season, Ivey has had incredible success turning the program around over the last two years. I was thrilled to hear she was named Acc c oach of the Year at the beginning of this week. In addition to her incredible presence both on the sideline and on social media, I know I would have been equally blown away by Ivey’s work as head coach when I was an Irish fan in the 2010s as I was by m cGraw’s coaching.

I can’t wait to see where Ivey takes my favorite n otre d ame team next.

By TYLER REIDY sports Writer

since notre dame hockey ended its 2021-22 season in Albany, the year of ryan bischel has taken hold. Through patience and relentless work, the goaltender has transformed from a platoon player into a household name. having just concluded one of the greatest netminding regular seasons in Irish history, bischel has the chance to lead the Irish on a deep playoff run beginning this weekend. The journey began with three words from head coach Jeff Jackson last offseason: it’s your net.

“That was a big thing for me. It definitely gave me some motivation to have a big summer in the weight room,” bischel said. “I feel like I was more prepared this year than going into any other year.”

It’s easy to forget that bischel was never supposed to be in south bend. he committed to c larkson University as a high school junior, not wavering for three years. however, after signing his national letter of intent and making an official visit to Potsdam, something didn’t sit right with him. Upon revealing his change of plans to c larkson’s staff, bischel moved away from the eastern college Athletic conference. Through current Irish associate head coach Paul Pooley, he found notre dame.

Although he fell in love with everything the program had to offer, bischel had plenty of waiting to do at notre dame. As a freshman, he sat behind star goaltender cale morris, who finished his time in south bend with a stellar .931 save percentage. Then, after initially splitting time with d ylan st. c yr in 2020-21, a mid-season concussion set him back. Last season could have been his time with st. c yr’s transfer to Quinnipiac. but graduate transfer matthew Galajda swooped in from cornell. even so, bischel kept his head up and showed promise with a .924 save percentage in 2021-22.

“With every goalie that’s been here, I’ve taken little pieces from each of their games and tried to find ways to put those pieces into my own,” he said. “I’ve tried to be a student of the game for sure.”

For example, take d ylan st. c yr, who will oppose bischel between m ichigan state’s pipes this weekend. While their Irish careers overlapped, bischel focused on learning from what st. c yr does best: playing the puck. on or off the ice, the two never shied away from taking the time to learn and grow together.

Fast-forwarding to this season, bischel has benefited from another man with goaltending expertise: his head coach. Already having developed four different goalies into Frozen Four-caliber players, Jackson is everything bischel could ask for.

“I think he’s taught me a lot about how to understand systems,” bischel said. “being prepared for a different team, having the knowledge of what their systems are gonna look like and what their threats are gonna be offensively — that’s been a big deal.”

Just as valuable has been bischel’s mental preparation. Jackson has played a role in that aspect as well, offering up books to help the netminder keep his mind in top shape. In their conversations, playing with swagger under pressure has surfaced quite frequently. sure enough, that’s exactly what bischel needed to stop 80 of 84 shots and earn home playoff ice in the first round of the big Ten Tournament at no. 4 m ichigan last weekend.

“For me [swagger] is about having that inner confidence so that everyone can see it. They can see your confidence without you being cocky,” Jackson said. “Great goalies that I’ve had in my coaching career have all had that, and I thought ryan was lacking that at first.” remember how c larkson’s coaching staff wished not to face bischel on another ec Ac team? Instead, he is now puzzling the big Ten, a conference with six of its seven teams ranked. his nc AAbest 1,095 saves have helped him reach the m ike r ichter Award List and earn a nomination for the hobey baker Award nomination. The awards honor the country’s best goaltender and overall player, respectively. bischel admitted that he has given up on trying to understand the PairWise rankings that predict notre dame’s nc AA tournament chances. however, he has turned in his best performances in his team’s biggest games. o ver the last four contests, none of which the Irish have lost, bischel has posted a spectacular .960 save percentage.

“ o ur backs were against the wall the last couple weekends, and it seems like when we’re in that position we find another gear and we find a way to win,” b ischel said. “It’s been a commitment to doing the little things 100 percent.” b ischel’s week has served as a microcosm of the workload he has accepted as n otre d ame’s starting puck-stopper. After making 48 saves s aturday in Ann Arbor, he returned to campus to take a fixedincome securities exam m onday morning. e ntering the postseason, secure may be the best word to describe how Irish fans feel with b ischel in net. With his efforts, n otre d ame is playing better than it has all year. And, the team is ready for more.

“We’ve had a roller coaster of a year, and I think our team has been put in a lot of tough environments,” b ischel said. “ o bviously, the b ig Ten’s been pretty tight this year, so I think we’re more battle-tested than a lot of other teams in the country, and that gives us a lot of confidence going into the playoffs.”

Contact Tyler Reidy at treidy3@nd.edu successful results against national title contenders. b ut an upset somewhere along the gauntlet could go a long way in both boosting the national rankings of the Irish and establishing confidence heading into the nc AA tournament. n otre d ame women’s lacrosse will take on d uke s aturday afternoon in c harlotte, n orth c arolina. The game is set to begin at 1:30 p.m. and will be broadcast on the A cc n etwork e xtra.

Contact J.J. Post at jpost2@nd.edu

By RYAN MURPHY sports Writer

The storied hockey rivalry between n otre d ame and m ichigan has produced some iconic late-game heroics over the years. Think of c alle r idderwall’s overtime goal that sent the upstart Irish to the 2008 national championship in d enver. Perhaps instead Jake e vans’ game-winner with 3.7 seconds left in the 2018 Frozen Four semifinal first comes to mind. e ven as recent as last year, the series has produced some dramatic gamewinning goals. Forwards then junior m ax e llis and then sophomore r yder r olston scored in overtime on consecutive nights to give the Irish a sweep of the Wolverines in Ann Arbor just a season ago.

The list of epic moments between the two rivals is long. And this past weekend at Yost Ice Arena, the list got longer. The latest to add his name to the pantheon of great moments: junior defenseman d rew b avaro.

Playing in the final game of the b ig Ten regular season s aturday night at m ichigan, n otre d ame needed just two points to secure home ice in the first round of the b ig