SPORTS

Max Ellis leads four Notre Dame hockey players honored by Big Ten coaches and media

By John Fineran

ND Insider

Notre Dame's Max Ellis skates with the puck during the Wisconsin-Notre Dame Big Ten hockey tournament game on Sunday, March 06, 2022, at Compton Family Ice Arena in South Bend, Indiana.

SOUTH BEND — Four members of the No. 9 Notre Dame hockey team were honored by the Big Ten Conference coaches and media for their play during the 2021-22 season.

Junior forward Max Ellis, the leading scorer for coach Jeff Jackson’s 27-11-0 squad which finished third in the regular season and reached the conference’s postseason tournament semifinals, was named to the second team. A 5-foot-9, 165-pound junior from Canton, Ohio, Ellis leads the Fighting Irish in scoring with 28 points on a team-high 16 goals and 12 assists.

Three Irish players received honorable mention: graduate goaltender Matthew Galajda, senior defenseman Spencer Stastney and sophomore forward Landon Slaggert.

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A resident of Aurora, Ontario, Galajda was twice a finalist for the Mike Richter Goaltending of the Year award in two of his three seasons at Cornell, where he earned his undergraduate degree. Since coming to Notre Dame, Galajda has a 1.98 goals-against average and .930 saves percentage with a 17-7-0 record in 24 games, two of them shutouts.

A 5-11, 192-pound senior from Mequon, Wisconsin, Stastney is second on the team in scoring with a career-high 27 points on seven goals and 20 assists. He also is third in the Big Ten with 67 blocked shots.

The 6-foot, 190-pound Slaggert, a native of South Bend and son of associate head coach Andy Slaggert, has 24 points on 11 goals and 13 assists. He is a two-time member of U.S. National Junior Team.

The Irish, who fell 2-1 at Michigan last Saturday in the tournament semifinals, are expected to receive a bid to the upcoming 16-team NCAA Tournament when the selections are revealed Sunday night at 6:30 on ESPNU.

ALL-BIG TEN HOCKEY

First team: Matty Beniers, F, Michigan; Ben Meyers, F, Minnesota; Georgii Merkulov, F, Ohio State; Owen Power, D, Michigan; Brock Faber, D, Minnesota; Jakub Dobeš, 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, 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 Dobeš, G, Ohio State.

Player of the Year: Ben Meyers, F, Minnesota.

Freshman of the Year: Jakub Dobeš, G, Ohio State

Defensive Player of the Year: Brock Faber, D, Minnesota.

Goaltender of the Year: Jakub Dobeš, Ohio State

Freshmen of the Year: Luke Hughes, D, Michigan, and Jakub Dobeš, F, Ohio State.

Coach of the Year: Bob Motzko, Minnesota.

Scoring champion: Matty Beniers, F, Michigan.