Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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84 MARCH 2023 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED ND SPORTS BY TODD D. BURLAGE P atience isn't always a virtue when it comes to the modern-day student- athlete, in any sport. With the ease the transfer portal pro- vides them to change schools a n d s u r ro u n d i n gs se e m - ingly overnight, "waiting your turn" and "paying your dues" are dying arts. But for Notre Dame senior goaltender Ryan Bischel, he's wired to put team success ahead of personal pursuits, and his patience is being re- warded this season with a full-time starting role, and the great successes that are coming with it. As a freshman in 2019-20, Bischel watched and learned behind legendary Irish goalie Cale Morris. As a sophomore in 2020-21, Bischel played in only nine games and made eight starts as a backup to senior Dylan St-Cyr. And as a junior last season, Bischel — perhaps unex- pectedly — was asked to split time and sometimes play behind graduate trans- fer Matthew Galajda. "Just playing with so many goalies, you learn a lot," Bischel graciously re- sponded when asked about waiting his turn, "just watching each guy and taking little bits and pieces from their games provides a great learning experience." Bischel, a native of Medina, Minn., fi- nally earned the full-time Irish starting role this season, and he's excelled since. Through Feb. 2 (28 games), Bischel led the nation with 879 saves, while his .928 save percentage led the Big Ten and ranked fifth nationally. Bischel explained that his senior-year ascent didn't come by accident. Instead, it was created from steadfast study, pa- tience and opportunity. "I wouldn't say it was frustrating," Bischel said of staying the course. "I just always wanted to do what I was asked to give the team the best chance to succeed." Bischel explained how his patience was already prepped after working through a similar "wait your turn" experience when playing for the Fargo (N.D.) Force in the United States Hockey League from 2016-19, before Notre Dame. Bischel played little as a rookie in Fargo. He split time there as a second- year player, before finally becoming a valuable starter in his third and final season with the Force. "I went through the same plan and timeline [at Notre Dame] as I did in Fargo," Bischel recalled. "I just kept my focus on getting better every day." Bischel's more immediate mission is to help spark Notre Dame to a late-sea- son push toward a Big Ten title and an NCAA Championship berth on a team that has hovered around .500 all sea- son. Notre Dame remarkably went 23 straight games from Oct. 21 through Jan. 28, without winning two in a row. But even with a pedestrian 13-12-3 overall record and an 8-8-2 mark in the Big Ten through Feb. 2, Bischel said there is no panic. And playing in the best hockey con- ference in the country provides plenty of opportunity for a strong late-season run. "The team has a lot of momentum," Bischel said after a two-game sweep of Wisconsin Jan. 27-28. "We're going to focus on making a playoff push and get ourselves ready to play our best hockey at the end of the year." So even while the team has struggled to string wins together this season, no fingers can be pointed at Bischel. The Mike Richter Award watch list member has been honored multiple times this season with Big Ten weekly awards, including Third Star honors after his two-game performance against Penn State Jan. 20-21, when he made 94 saves — 20 more stops than any other goalten- der made in the country that weekend. A gifted student and a finance major, Bischel isn't ready to talk about his suit- and-tie future. Those conversations, he said, can wait until after he hangs up the stick and skates. But in retrospect, Bischel is quick to celebrate his time at Notre Dame. "This place means everything to me, I've loved my time here at Notre Dame," he said. "From a school standpoint, I got everything out of the finance program that I wanted. Socially, I've made a ton of relationships here, and a ton of friends who I'm going to keep in touch with. "And obviously, with hockey, playing in the Big Ten has been a great opportunity." FENCERS ARE POISED FOR A THREE-PEAT If there is such a thing as safety in numbers, the Notre Dame fencing team is a perfect case study. The 2022-23 fencing roster includes a robust 70 members, which serves as a blessing and curse for the Fighting Irish coaches. But according to Notre Dame fencing assistant Christian Rascioni, the benefits of a big roster far outweigh the coaching challenges. In part, because a practice day at Notre Dame often provides better bouts than an actual meet ever could. "Having a large and talented roster can be more challenging for the coaches to organize," Rascioni explained. "But it is definitely beneficial for the kids. Our fencers come from all over the country, and even internationally. So, they bring a huge variety of fencing styles, which also helps a great deal. "For us, it's very important — it's very necessary — to have a large roster." Notre Dame entered the meat of the fencing schedule in February during its quest for a third straight and a 13th overall national championship. The elite fencers on this team are Patience Is Paying Off For Fighting Irish Goalie Ryan Bischel Through Feb. 2, Bischel led the nation with 879 saves and ranked fifth with a .928 save percentage. PHOTO COURTESY NOTRE DAME ATHLETICS