» Defenseman Seamus Casey racked up four assists for his first-career four-point performance.
» Rutger McGroarty scored twice including a power-play goal that wound up as the game-winning goal.
» Freshman Garrett Schifsky scored once and added a pair of assists for a three-point game.

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- A two-goal third-period comeback propelled the fourth-seeded University of Michigan ice hockey team past fifth-seeded Notre Dame 5-4 on Friday night (March 8) inside Yost Ice Arena to kick off the Big Ten Tournament's best-of-three quarterfinal series.

Sophomore stalwart Rutger McGroarty potted two goals to lead the way for the Wolverines while Seamus Casey added four assists to pace the team from the back end.

Michigan (19-13-3) held a 2-1 lead after the first 20 minutes before Notre Dame (15-18-2) tallied three straight to take a 4-2 lead. The Wolverines rebounded with three consecutive to take the game.

Goaltender Jake Barczewski returned to the blue paint for the Wolverines after missing last week's season finale due to injury. The netminder stopped 20 of 24 shots that he faced to earn the win and put them one game away from clinching a spot in the semifinals.

Notre Dame opened the scoring at 5:33 by capitalizing on a transition opportunity from the high slot.

Michigan received its first power-play chance at 9:51 after the the Irish took a penalty. Notre Dame cleared the puck several times to force U-M to reset before the team funneled the puck down low for Nick Moldenhauer to bang across the goal line and tie the game 1-1 with 8:49 left in the first period. Garrett Schifsky earned the primary assist while Casey picked up the secondary helper.

McGroarty scored shortly thereafter when he finished off a beautiful zone entry with a goal from the left side of the blue paint to make it 2-1 at 12:41. Fellow sophomore Gavin Brindley for initiating the rush chance for the Wolverines.

Many inside Yost thought U-M added a third goal onto the lead when T.J. Hughes flipped a shot on goal that forced UND's goaltender to slide across the goal line and into his net as the whistle blew. No review was forthcoming and play carried on and the period ended soon after.

Michigan carried a 2-1 lead and a dominant 20-4 advantage in shots on goal up the stairs to the dressing room after 20 minutes. The Wolverines also won 10 of 16 first-period faceoffs in addition to potting the lone power-play goal.

The Irish returned to the man-advantage at 10:45 when Frank Nazar III was given a penalty for tripping. Just before the power play expired, a point shot snuck through traffic and deflected off a Michigan stick to hit the back of the net and tie the game at two with 7:18 left in the second.

Notre Dame won a faceoff in the offensive zone and quickly ripped a low shot into the back of the net to cut Michigan's lead to 3-2 with 4:58 left in the second period.

Less than a minute later, a shot from below the left dot trickled through the five hole to make it 4-2 in favor of the visitors with four minutes left in the second period.

In need of a goal to stem the tide, it was Schifsky once again who found a loose puck in the slot and buried it for the Wolverines with a turnaround effort from inside the dot with 2:56 left in the period. Jacob Truscott earned the primary helper while his Casey earned the secondary assist.

An Irish defender was sent to the box with 1:50 left to reactivate Michigan's power-play unit. Just over halfway through the attempt, Casey was thrust into the boards from behind in the corner to earn a whistle and turn the power play into a five-on-three advantage with 46 seconds left. After an official review, the UND defenseman was handed a five-minute major penalty.

With one period left to play, Michigan trailed 4-3 but carried 4:14 of power-play time into the second intermission.

Eleven seconds into the period, Hughes released a one-timer from the high slot that deflected off an Irish player and into the top part of the net to tie the game at four. Casey notched the primary assist for putting a pass in Hughes' wheelhouse while Brindley picked up the second assist.

With the team still benefiting from the uninterrupted major power-play chance, McGroarty launched a one-timer from the right dot that found twine at 3:04 to put Michigan in front 5-4. Casey and Hughes earned assists on McGroarty's second tally of the night.

Time wound down until the buzzer sounded for the Michigan win. U-M finished the night with a 39-24 lead in shots on goal in addition to a 36-32 edge in the faceoff dot. Once again, Michigan's top-ranked power-play unit helped to deliver a win by going 3-for-5 while keeping UND to just 1-for-3.

Saturday night (March 9), the Wolverines and the Fighting Irish will battle in the second game of the best-of-three series. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m., and the game will be streamed live on B1G+.