November 17, 1996

Mankato State Downs Irish 4-3 In Overtime

Mavericks score two shorthanded goals in 27-second stretch, Smith wins game in OT

Irish again outshoot opponent as frustrations continue in first period and on powerplays

NOTRE DAME, Ind. -- Junior defenseman David Smith scored on a slapshot from the blue line early in overtime, lifting Mankato State to a 4-3 victory over Notre Dame in non-conference hockey action Sunday afternoon at the Joyce Center Fieldhouse.

Mankato State (3-5-10), which is in its first year as a Division I program, held a 3-1 lead with 15 minutes remaining in regulation before Notre Dame's Joe Dusbabek and Terry Lorenz both found the net to eventually force overtime.

Notre Dame (3-5-1) - which lost 5-1 to Ferris State on Friday despite outshooting the Bulldogs 39-21 - again suffered through another frustrating day on offense, as the Irish outshot the Mavericks 40-24 but came away on the short end of the scoreboard.

The loss extended two other frustrating trends for Notre Dame, which went 0-for-8 on powerplay chances Sunday and is just 1-for-21 over the past three games. The Irish also have scored just twice this season in the first period, despite taking a combined 67 shots in the opening 20 minutes of the first nine games this season.

Sunday's slow start required Notre Dame to come back and tie the game for the sixth time this season (in 10 deficits faced). Sunday's game was the first time this season Notre Dame had come back but ended up with a loss, after comeback wins over Western Ontario and Bowling Green and a tie vs. Western Michigan.

Smith - a converted forward who was starting for the first time in his career at defense due to injuries to a pair of teammates - nearly scored the game-winner three seconds before the final shot, on an identical play after junior Mark Zacharias beat Notre Dame freshman Troy Bagne on a faceoff at the right circle. On that first draw, Zacharias kicked the puck back to the right point for Smith, who sent a hard and low shot on net, with sophomore Forrest Karr squeezing the puck between his pads to preserve the tie. Zacharias then beat Bagne again and Smith drilled the game-winner inside the right post (0:55).

Smith had an even earlier chance to score in overtime, when he skated onto a lead pass at the blue line and had a clear path to Karr. But the Irish netminder - who was making just his second career start - stuffed the low shot, setting up the first of the final two faceoffs.

Possibly the most pivotal part of the game came late in the second period when Mavericks sophomore right wing Tyler Deis scored a pair of shorthanded goals in a span of 27 seconds, following costly turnovers in the Irish zone. Deis's goal at 15:44 represented the first shorthanded goal allowed by Notre Dame all season (in over 520 minutes) and the Irish gave one away just seconds later, providing the visitors a two-goal cushion.

Mankato jumped ahead at the 12:51 mark of the first period, scoring on a 4-on-4 situation when Deis skated in from the left side and dropped the puck for junior defenseman Jason Krug, who then beat Karr with a quick shot.

Bagne tied the game early in the second period, netting his first career goal after taking a pass from sophomore Neal Johnson and skating between the circles before beating sophomore Des Christopher on a low shot to the right side (Christopher finished with 37 saves while boosting his season record to 5-1-0).

The Mavericks surged back ahead later in the second period - after a hooking penalty on Andy Fermoyle had the Mavericks skating a man-down - when junior center Jason Rintala intercepted a cross-ice pass from Notre Dame defenseman Benoit Cotnoir and quickly fired a shot from the leftside faceoff circle. Karr made the chest save, but Deis was waiting to stick in the rebound.

Seconds later, junior center Ryan Rintoul came away with the puck at a crowded blue line in the Irish zone and slid a pass between his legs towards the Irish net. Deis skated onto the puck and beat Karr with a shot that ricocheted into the net (16:11).

Dusbabek, a freshman right wing, netted his team-leading fourth goal of the season at the 5:56 mark of the third period, putting back a rebounded shot from Lyle Andrusiak. In the closing moments, another Irish freshman - defenseman Nate Borega - took a pass from sophomore Brian Urick and fired a shot from the left point. Senior co-captain Terry Lorenz was filling the crease area and got his stick on the puck, redirecting it into the net for the equalizer (17:52).

Six minutes before Lorenz' goal, freshman defenseman Tyson Fraser appeared to have tied the game on a shot from the left side of the blue line. The puck hit off Christopher's pad and appeared to bounce up into the net before bouncing down and back into play.

Notre Dame had the game's first eight shots on goal and held the visitors without a shot for the first 10 minutes of the game. Two periods later, the Irish had the first 16 shots of the third period while holding Mankato State without a shot on net in the final period until six minutes remained in regulation.

MANKATO STATE 4, NOTRE DAME 3 (OT)
Non-Conference Hockey
Joyce Center Fieldhouse

                   1   2   3   OT    Final       
MANKATO STATE      1   2   0   1   -   4
NOTRE DAME         0   1   2   0   -   3

SCORING

1st period:  1. MS - Krug (Deis) 4-4, 12:51.

2nd period:  1. ND - Bagne (Johnson) 3:18;  2. MS - Deis
(Rintala) SH, 15:44;  3. MS - Deis (Rintoul) SH, 16:11.

3rd period:  2. ND - Dusbabek (Andrusiak, Lorenz) 5:56;  3.
ND - Lorenz (Borega, Urick) 17:52.

OT:  4. MS - Smith (Zacharias) 0:55.
SHOTS ON GOAL: MS 4-12-4-4/24;  ND 13-10-17-0/40.
SAVES:          Christopher (MS) 13-9-15/37;  Karr (ND) 3-10-4/20.
PENALTIES:      MS 9-for-18;  ND 7-for-14.
POWERPLAY:     MS 0-for-6;   ND 0-for-8.
RECORDS:  Mankato State 5-4-1, Notre Dame 3-5-1

POSTGAME QUOTES

Mankato State Coach Don Brose
"Our kids played well. We were out-sized by Notre Dame, but handled their physicality well. We made the most of our offensive opportunities and Des Christopher played extremely well in the net. This is a good win for us."



Notre Dame Coach Dave Poulin
On the game: "It was disappointing, there's no question about it. We just cannot turn it on. We were fortunate to get to tie them at three, but we shouldn't have been in that situation. We've talked as a group and addressed a lot of issues, but at some point you just have to play."

On Notre Dame errors in the game: "What concerns me is that the same mistakes are being repeated. Mistakes occur all the time in hockey, but it's when they are repeated all the time that you have to address them in a different manner."

"We had two big mistakes that were mental errors. They were physical actions, but they were mental errors. And they were by people who shouldn't be making those mistakes."

On flashes of brilliance: "It is not okay to just do that sometimes. When you witness it happening, you want it to happen more. It is one thing if you are not capable of playing that well, but to see it on occasion ... it's frustrating."

On positives in the game: "We did come back, but we shouldn't have to be in that situation. I am encouraged by how some of the guys are playing, like Joe Dusbabek, Nathan Borega, and Sean Molina."

On the goalies: "This was Forrest Karr's first start in a long time. He did a nice job. I hope they decide by their play [whether Notre Dame uses a rotation system].

What next?: "We just have to keep hammering away. The only thing that I know to do is to keep working. We see the flashes of dominance. Now we just need to put it together in longer stretches."