It happened in the second period of Saturday’s game when Notre Dame forward Danny Nelson lost an edge on his rush and collided with the Michigan goalie. When a skater loses his skates going full speed, the surface and the momentum determine the direction, which, unfortunately, was towards Ivankovic’s left leg. After several minutes of training staff ministrations, he was helped off the ice by his teammates, unable to put any weight on the injured leg. Michigan coach Brandon Naurato said after the game, “I don’t want to talk about medical stuff, but he’s gonna be out for a long time. We’ll have to adjust and then be there for him and his recovery and just get through it together.”
To underscore what Michigan is losing, Ivankovic was awarded the December National Goalie of the Month by the Hockey Commissioners Association for leading the B1G with a 1.02 goals-against average and a .964 save percentage. He shined brightest on Friday, December 5th, against No. 3 Michigan State on the road in East Lansing with a shutout. He earned a bronze medal at the World Junior Championship, emerging as Canada's starting netminder.
Replacement goalie, freshman Stephen Peck, has been on Michigan’s radar for a while, landing his commitment when he was a prep goalie and keeping him in the fold while he played two years of junior hockey. Peck is a known quantity to the Michigan coaching staff, so one can assume that they believe he's going to be good. But as an undrafted 20-year-old, it’s anyone’s guess how much of a load Peck can take on.
Off the bench and into the pressure cooker
When Peck came off the bench to replace Ivankovic, he was immediately tested by a Notre Dame 2-on-1 breakaway. With a player steaming down on the net, senior Tyler Duke took away the pass to the second man while Peck concentrated on the shooter. He stayed square and stood tall, forcing a weak shot into his glove. Good stuff.
The next possession, Peck stopped a shot from the slot with his blocker. Following that, Peck watched a slap shot go safely over his net. Then, he narrowly avoided calamity after poking the puck away from his defenseman, junior Ben Robertson. Luckily, Michigan gobbled up the loose puck.
In the ensuing confusion when it became 4-on-4, the Michigan defense lost track of a Notre Dame player who was left all alone with the puck in front of Peck. The Notre Dame player held onto the puck waiting for Peck to make a move, and when Peck dove with an outstretched glove, the Notre Dame player missed the net and shot it out of the rink.
Because senior Josh Eernisse had roughed up Nelson in retaliation for hurting Ivankovic, Notre Dame had a major penalty, where they kept their man advantage regardless of how many goals they scored. Fortunately, Peck made four saves in that time span for a total of seven in the five minutes that had been on the ice.
Unfortunately, Notre Dame poked one home after a massive net-front scramble just after the penalty expired. This wasn’t Peck’s fault, as he had been interfered with while he was in his crease. Michigan appealed for a replay review, but the goal wasn’t overturned.
Summon the ghost of Hayden Lavigne
Michigan hockey is going to have to rally around its new netminder. They’ll play solidly, minimize odd-man rushes, and clear out the front of the net. It seems that with the combination of talent, skill, and coaching, this season isn’t over. Peck is good enough that he can be like former Michigan goalie Hayden Lavigne, an unheralded goalie who replaced the starter, Jack LaFontaine, midway through the 2017-18 season and led Michigan to the Frozen Four semi-finals.