Michigan HockeyCast 8.12: But At What Cost

Jan 13, 2026

The hosts dive into the drama of modern sports, questioning if comebacks are becoming too theatrical. They celebrate Brandon Naurato’s contract extension while dissecting its symbolic nature. Attention turns to Notre Dame's player suspensions and their minimal impact. A thrilling recap of Michigan's recent games highlights impressive contributions from lesser-known players but reveals defensive concerns. The discussion intensifies around the concerning injury of goalie Jack Ivankovic, alongside a critique of officiating and its effects on player safety.

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ANECDOTE

Ivankovic Injury From Sliding Collision

Jack Ivankovic was taken out when Danny Nelson slid into him and Ivankovic couldn't put weight on a leg.
David Nasternak and Alex Drain replay the hit and note Ivankovic was focused on the puck and possibly didn't see the slide.

INSIGHT

Reputation Colors Judgments Of Hits

Perception of the hit splits by context: neutral observers see incidental contact while Michigan fans see a pattern from Notre Dame.
The hosts highlight Notre Dame's growing reputation for 'greasy' play shaping reactions to such incidents.

INSIGHT

Gray Area Physicality Fuels Retaliation

Hockey tolerates gray-area physicality that often straddles acceptable and dangerous play.
The hosts note Big Ten officiating inconsistencies make the game dirtier because players retaliate when referees fail to police borderline actions.

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1 Hour and 31 Minutes

With David Nasternak and Alex Drain

This Podcast Has a Sponsor: Michigan Law Grad Jonathan Paul is the guy with the C you want skating next to the ref and pleading your case. He's also a good guy to sit next to at the hockey games.

Segment 1:

Have sports gotten too dramatic from a comeback perspective? The Bears are a team of destiny. "The Lions Game We Don't Talk About" is actually several Lions games. Anyways, Michigan hockey. Brandon Naurato has been extended through the 2029-2030 season. Notre Dame players Caeden Carlisle has been suspended one game and Paul Fischer suspended two games after the Michigan series (this will have no impact on Notre Dame's ability to win games, they're just bad). Naurato needed to make some changes going into this season but he's made most of the necessary changes. Coaching extensions have been the kiss of death at Michigan (see: Sherrone, Juwan). The Notre Dame series used to be a dreaded weekend but not so much anymore. It was nice to see not-the-superstars scoring the goals in the first game. That said, this was their worst defensive weekend of the season.
Segment 2:

Michigan won this game but people had a lot to say about it! Michigan was mostly in control but it was a sloppy game overall. "The Incident" though was the injury to goalie Jack Ivankovic. The hit didn't look very menacing but the end result was that he couldn't put any weight on one leg. He seemed so focused on the puck that he didn't see the Notre Dame player. Someone impartial who saw the video of the hit would think there's nothing malicious, but Notre Dame has a reputation of playing dirty and have lost the benefit of the doubt for a lot of people. There's a gray area in how hockey players treat injuries of opposing players. If Notre Dame always takes one of your players out, is it worth just not playing them even in the Big Ten semifinal if you're already a top seed in the NCAA tournament? The referees need to do something to help even it up after Notre Dame took out the goalie, but instead Notre Dame has a power play. That only antagonizes players further. Luckily Michigan scores enough that Stephen Peck could give up three goals per game and Michigan could still be in a good spot. Mercyhurst got a win! The rest of the Big Ten over the weekend. This team was on pace to win a national title before the Ivankovic injury and now we'll just have to see how Stephen Peck does.

MUSIC

NHL on ESPN Theme
"I Wanna Get Better" -- Bleachers
Ice Hockey (NES) theme