SOUTH BEND \u2014 When things aren\u2019t going your way athletically, it\u2019s important to have a short memory.\u00a0
South Bend native Landon Slaggert is proof of that as he captains coach Jeff Jackson\u2019s No. 20\/21 Notre Dame hockey team<\/a> into an important home Big Ten Conference series Friday and Saturday evenings against No. 12\/13 Michigan Wolverines.
The second of three hockey-playing sons of Irish associate head coach Andy Slaggert and wife Tara, senior left wing Landon already has 10 goals and 14 points for the 7-5-2 Irish, including their only goal in last Friday\u2019s 6-1 non-conference loss to No. 1 Boston College.
Considering that Slaggert had just seven goals and 13 points while 16-16-5 Notre Dame missed the NCAA playoffs last season for the first time since 2014-15, there was a lot to forget.
\u201cI\u2019ve found my love of the game again,\u201d the 21-year-old senior said. \u201cLast year was frustrating for the team and for me personally. Obviously, that\u2019s kind of what life is. You have to have the bad times to have the good ones. It definitely was a challenging year. That\u2019s what makes this year all the better.\u201d\u00a0
More:<\/strong>Big Ten announces hockey schedule and Notre Dame 34-game slate is completed<\/a>
A season ago, Slaggert was coming off an exhausting summer during which he competed for Team USA in the World Junior Championships and also participated in a development camp for prospects of the NHL\u2019s Chicago Blackhawks, who chose him with the 79^{th<\/sup>\u00a0pick (third round) of the 2020 draft. Coming off a sophomore season (2021-22) during which he totaled career-bests of 12 goals and 26 points as the left wing on the line centered by brother Graham, Landon didn\u2019t score his first goal last season until the team\u2019s 15th<\/sup>game.
\u201cThis summer, it was nice to have a little more time on my hands where I was able to work on my game and spend some time with friends to recover and regroup,\u201d added Slaggert, who has twice been named the Big Ten\u2019s Third Star of the Week \u2013 on Oct. 31 after scoring four goals in Notre Dame\u2019s non-conference sweep of Mercyhurst and Nov. 14 following a one-goal, three-assist weekend sweep of Ohio State.
An important cog on Notre Dame\u2019s power-play and shorthanded units, Slaggert has settled in well with freshman center Danny Nelson and grad-transfer (from Providence) right wing Patrick Moynihan.\u00a0
\u201cI don\u2019t think we\u2019ve reached our full potential as a line, which is obviously exciting,\u201d Slaggert said. \u201cDanny is a big body who can get pucks back and make plays. Patrick can finish off plays and dish it around as well.\u201d
Known, too, for his work along the boards, behind the net and in front of the net, the 6-foot, 190-pound Slaggert\u2019s 10 goals have come on just 32 shots, a nifty .313 shooting percentage.\u00a0
\u201cLandon has done a great job on the ice, obviously,\u201d Jackson said. \u201cHe\u2019s getting a lot of attention from the opposing teams. We needed him to be productive.\u201d
But Jackson is prouder of Slaggert\u2019s work as a captain. \u201cHe\u2019s not the biggest rah-rah guy \u2013 when he speaks, people listen,\u201d the Irish coach continued. \u201cHe has a pretty good pulse of the group.\u201d
This year\u2019s Irish roster features two grad-transfers and eight freshmen, including Slaggert\u2019s younger brother Carter. \u201cIt\u2019s awesome to pass along the knowledge of the game which I learned from Graham (now skating professionally for the AHL\u2019s Rochester Americans),\u201d Landon said. \u201cIt\u2019s definitely a unique experience having your little brother around, understanding how my brother acted toward me.\u201d
Landon Slaggert feels the best is yet to come for Notre Dame, which had a 5-0-2 streak prior to its losses to powerhouses Minnesota and Boston College.
\u201cI don\u2019t think we can get hung up on a couple of games,\u201d Slaggert said. \u201cIn the end our goal is much\u00a0\u00a0greater than that. As long as we focus on getting better every day, this group has a lot in store for them.\u201d<\/p>\n}

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SOUTH BEND \u2014 When things aren\u2019t going your way athletically, it\u2019s important to have a short memory.\u00a0South Bend native Landon Slaggert is proof of that as he captains coach Jeff Jackson\u2019s No. 20\/21 Notre Dame hockey team into an important home Big Ten Conference series Friday and Saturday evenings against No. 12\/13 Michigan Wolverines.The second […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":31,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-88519","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n