NOTRE DAME, Ind. – For the fourth time this season, the Big Ten Conference has recognized Notre Dame hockey’s senior netminder Ryan Bischel as Star of the Week. Following an 87-save weekend, and an additional seven saves in a nine-round shootout, the goaltender has picked up Second Star honors.
Bischel earned the nod in net both nights against No. 7/7 Ohio State in the team’s regular season home finale last weekend. The Medina, Minnesota native tallied 37 saves in a 2-1 victory Friday night before posting his second 50+ save performance of the season in Saturday night’s 2-2 shootout win.
In 124:30 minutes between the pipes over the two-game series, Bischel had 94 unofficial saves, including the nine-round shootout to steal five conference points in the final stretch of the season.
In the third period of Saturday night’s contest, Bischel became the first NCAA Division I netminder to register 1,000 saves this season. To force the shootout, he recorded 25 saves through the final period of regulation and overtime as the Buckeyes continued to attack, looking for the weekend split.
His 87 saves on 90 shots faced prior to the shootout session to round out the weekend gave him a two-game save percentage of .967 which led the Big Ten and was the third-highest mark in the nation. His save count was also a nation’s best and was 25 more than the closest conference foe.
On top of his performance between the pipes, Bischel also registered an assist on the game-winning goal Friday night for his first point of the season.
The second star honor comes as his fourth conference recognition of the year, having previously been named Third Star of the Week, Nov. 1, Jan. 17, and Jan. 24.