October 25, 1996
Eisler records 47 saves to lead Notre Dame
Columbus, Ohio -- Junior goaltender Matt Eisler continued his
stellar play with 47 saves, leading the University of Notre Dame hockey
team to a 3-0 victory over Ohio State in Central Collegiate Hockey
Association action Friday at the OSU Ice Arena.
Notre Dame (2-0-1, 1-0-1 CCHA) overcame a penalty-ridden first period to
remain unbeaten heading into Saturday's important game against Miami
University. Freshman Joe Dusbabek again came through with the first goal
of the game and junior Lyle Andrusiak assisted on the first two goals
for the Irish, who were outshot 47-30 by OSU.
Ohio State (0-4-0, 0-1-1) suffered through a frustrating 60 minutes of
the game, as the Buckeyes could not solve Eisler, while failing to
capitalize on 10 power-play opportunities. Notre Dame likewise continued
to struggle in man-up chances, going 0-for-6.
Eisler, who entered the game with a 1.94 goals-against-average, turned
away more than 20 shots from close range en route to his second career
shutout.
Notre Dame seized a quick lead in the opening 90 seconds of the game
when Dusbabek scored after controlling a faceoff won at the left circle
by Andrusiak. Dusbabek gathered in the puck near the top of the circle
and quickly slid a low shot inside the left post, past an unsuspecting
OSU goaltender Ray Aho.
Eisler was sharp from the opening drop of the puck, making 13 saves in
the first period alone. Midway through the opening period, OSU's Brandon
Lafrance slid through the neutral zone for a breakaway chance on Eisler,
but the Irish goaltender made the kick save with his right pad. With
four minutes remaining in the first period, OSU's Louie Colsant had an
open shot from between the circles, but Eisler again came through with a
save off his right pad.
Eisler kept things going in the second period, making 21 saves. He added
13 more in the third period.
Notre Dame went ahead 2-0 at the 11:05 mark of the second period when
Dusbabek sent a pass down the left side for Andrusiak, who crossed the
puck to the right post for sophomore Aniket Dhadphale. Aho was in
position, but Dhadphale sent a bouncer inside the left post for his
first goal of the season.
The Irish were unable to secure the clinching third goal until senior
Steve Noble found the empty net with just 1:13 remaining after Brian
Urick sent the puck off the back boards, following a pass from Ben
Nelsen.
NOTRE DAME GOALTENDER MATT EISLER: "It's very special just to
get the win. To tell you the truth, I tried not to think about the
shutout until the last few minutes, which is always hard to do. But in a
2-0 game, you can't really think about a shutout - you just have to
focus on getting a win. Obviously, with 53 saves, I didn't see all of
them. Some of them just hit me and I guess when you feel well and are
playing good, that just happens. Coach mentioned that we can't be giving
up (close to) 50 shots in a game. We didn't play all that poorly. We
were shorthanded for most of the game, so you can't have too many
scoring chances then. I really can't remember a game I've had with this
many saves, at least of this magnitude. There were a couple shots that
were close ones, both in the second period. There was one that I pulled
off the goalline that I just got to in the nick of time. If it was an
inch further, it would have been in. And then right after that, there was
another one. It probably looked innocent enough to people in the stands,
but it was just a floating wrist shot from the point, and the thing was
that I didn't see it all. For some reason I stuck my glove out."
Score by period
Notre Dame 1 1 1 -- 3
Ohio State 0 0 0 -- 0
Scoring
First period - Dusbabek 2 (Andrusiak), 1:27
Second period - Dhadphale 1 (Andrusiak, Dusbabek), 11:05
Third period - Noble 1 (Urick, Nelson), 18:47
Shots by period
Notre Dame 8 13 12 -- 33
Ohio State 13 21 13 -- 47
Saves by period
Eisler (ND) 13 21 13 -- 47
Aho (OSU) 8 13 12 -- 30
Penalties
Notre Dame 14-for-28
Ohio State 0-for-10
Attendance: 956
