April 10, 2008
2008 NCAA Frozen Four Semifinal
Swede and Sauer
Stockholm native Ridderwall gets winner, Michigan goalie struggles in Notre Dame's stunning overtime victory.

By Joe Gladziszewski

Notre Dame 5, Michigan 4 (OT)
Team	Goal	Str
Time	Assists
First Period
1-ND	Calle Ridderwall (4)	EV
5:00	J. White
2-ND	Mark Van Guilder (13)	EV
5:42	R. Thang, B. Sheahan
3-ND	Ryan Thang (18)	SH
19:25	unassisted
Second Period
1-UM	Chad Kolarik (29)	EV
8:48	K. Porter, B. Hogan
2-UM	Matt Rust (12)	EV
9:03	A. Palushaj, C. Hagelin
Third Period
3-UM	Chad Kolarik (30)	PP
2:16	M. Pacioretty, A. Palushaj
4-ND	Kevin Deeth (10)	EV
11:30	D. Kissel, I. Cole
4-UM	Carl Hagelin (11)	EV
14:39	M. Rust, A. Palushaj
Overtime
5-ND	Calle Ridderwall (5)	EV
5:44	D. VeNard, J. White
Goaltending
ND: Jordan Pearce, 65:44, 29 saves, 4 GA
UM: Billy Sauer, 20:00, 6 saves, 3 GA Bryan Hogan, 45:44, 18 saves, 2 GA
Penalties: ND 5/10; UM 3-6
Power Plays: ND 0-3; UM 1-5
Attendance: 18,544 (sellout)
More Coverage
· Comprehensive ND-UM Notebook Notre Dame's fourth line comes through with a big night; Bryan Hogan steps in for Michigan.

DENVER – Notre Dame did so much to take control of Thursday's second Frozen Four semifinal only to see Michigan respond over and over again, but Calle Ridderwall scored his second goal of the night after 5:44 had been played in overtime to give the Fighting Irish a 4-3 win over Michigan at Pepsi Center in Denver.

The Fighting Irish built a 3-0 lead after one on goals by Calle Ridderwall, Mark Van Guilder, and Ryan Thang.

"It was a great start and it was great to get that first one and get up on Michigan because we know they are so talented offensively. When Calle got that first one everyone was excited on the bench but we knew from past experience when you get the lead like that it doesn't mean that much against a team like Michigan," Thang said.

Thang's goal, the most jaw-dropping tally of the entire weekend thus far, was scored short-handed when he picked up the puck on the left wing wall in his own zone, carried it through the neutral zone and faked an inside move on Michigan defenseman Steve Kampfer that turned the Wolverines' blueliner and gave Thang some space in the left wing circle, which he used to get off a backhand shot over the shoulder of Sauer and under the crossbar with 35 seconds left in the first period.

It left most of the building surprised, and chased Michigan goalie Billy Sauer from the net during the first intermission. That gave Michigan a boost, and the Wolverines responded with two goals in a span of 15 seconds midway through the period. Chad Kolarik scored the first with a bullet into the top corner of the net and Matt Rust banged one in from the edge of the crease to make the score 3-2.

Notre Dame didn't use a timeout or make a goalie change, but managed to maintain its lead through the last 11 minutes of the period.

"You always wait for momentum to change in a game like this and our guys handled it with calm and cool, and at least allowed us to continue to play on," Notre Dame coach Jeff Jackson said.

Michigan tied the game early in the third, on Kolarik's second goal of the game, a power-play goal tap-in after Max Pacioretty's shot hit the post.

Notre Dame went ahead again when Kevin Deeth scored with 8:30 remaining, but Michigan answered three minutes later when Carl Hagelin shot from a sharp angle and the puck went into the net off of the skate of Notre Dame goalie Jordan Pearce.

It reminded both teams of a regular-season meeting back in January during which the Wolverines rallied back from a 2-0 first period deficit and won 3-2 with a goal in the final minute of play.

"It was kind of a crazy game. There was no time that I felt comfortable, even though we started off well. We started off well back in January as well, and they're just too explosive of a team to feel comfortable," Jackson said. "I knew it was going to be a tight game, it just took a little time for it to tighten up."

Notre Dame controlled the overtime, and won the game with their seventh and eighth shots of the extra session. Dan VeNard got a point shot through traffic and Ryan Guentzel nearly tipped it in. Hogan made the save, but the rebound came to the stick of Ridderwall in the slot and he shot it into the net to send Notre Dame to Saturday's national championship.