NOTRE DAME, Ind. – Senior netminder for the Irish hockey program, Ryan Bischel earned his second conference honor of the season following his performance in net against No. 2/2 Minnesota last weekend. The Medina, Minnesota, native registered 57 saves in 124:56 minutes played between the pipes over the weekend series, including 36 saves in Friday night’s overtime contest with the Gophers en route to being named Big Ten Third Star of the Week, the conference announced Tuesday.
Bischel stood tall in net Friday night to lead his team to the shootout victory over Minnesota, posting four saves in the three-on-three overtime session before stifling all three Gopher attempts in the shootout as the Irish took the 1-0 shootout win for the extra conference point in the NCAA recognized 2-2 tie. He was named First Star of the Game Friday night following the shootout victory.
Notre Dame’s last line of defense posted a .919 save percentage over the two-game stretch as the team split the series with the second-ranked Gophers.
In addition to picking up his second conference honor of the season, Bischel was named to the Mike Richter Award Watch List last week. In 24 games played in 2022-23, the starting goaltender boasts four shutouts, ranked second nationally, while his 730 saves is the nation’s third-best total. His .924 season save percentage also ranks among the top goaltenders, as he’s eighth nationally and second in the Big Ten.
Bischel and the rest of his Irish squad are back in action Jan. 20-21 at No. 6/6 Penn State. The two teams most recently split the series in Indiana, with Bischel recording a career-high 47 saves in Notre Dame’s game two victory against the Nittany Lions.