Dec. 4, 1999
NOTRE DAME, Ind. - Junior right wing Ryan Dolder sweeped home a
deflected shot by classmate Ryan Clark with five minutes to play and
freshman Tony Zasowski made 15 of his 24 saves in the final period, as
Notre Dame picked up two much-needed points in the Central Collegiate
Hockey Association standings Saturday with a 1-0 victory over fifth-ranked
Michigan State at the Joyce Center Fieldhouse.
Notre Dame (6-7-2, 4-5-2 CCHA) posted its first shutout of Michigan
State since a 2-0 win at MSU on Feb. 24, 1978, with a 41-game span in the
series between the Irish shutouts. The victory was Notre Dame's first at
home over the Spartans since Dec. 3, 1982 (3-2), with the previous 10 games
at the Joyce Center producing six MSU wins and four ties.
Michigan State (11-5-0, 10-3-0 CCHA) suffered its fourth loss in
the last five games, with the Spartans managing just four total goals in
those four defeats.
The goal-scoring sequence began on a right-side faceoff in the
Spartans zone, with MSU senior Shawn Horcoff outdrawing Irish sophomore
Brett Henning and sliding the puck to his left. MSU freshman defenseman
Brad Fast then quickly redirected the puck across the ice but Notre Dame
senior left wing Andy Jurkowski raced to the left boards, beating freshman
defenseman John-Michael Liles and sophomore right wing Adam Hall to the
puck.
Jurkowski banked a pass off the boards to Clark at the left point
and the 6-4 defenseman calmly gathered the puck before firing a shot past
the sliding Hall. Henning was trying to screen freshman goaltender Ryan
Miller but quickly jerked his body out of the way as the shot neared the
MSU netminder. The puck bounced off Miller's chest and headed towards the
far side of the crease, with Fast trying in vain to clear the puck before
the righthanded Dolder swooped in and flicked the shot into the open net
(14:56).
The Spartans had several near-misses in the game, with the first
coming in the opening period on an apparent power-play goal from the top of
the slot by Liles that was waved off when Horcoff was called for being in
the crease.
In the closing seconds of the game, freshman left wing Brian
Maloney nearly tied the game when he lifted a shot from the right side of
the crease but the puck glanced squarely off the crossbar and the Irish
cleared the puck down the ice as the final seconds ticked away.
Both teams failed on single power-play chances in each of the first
two periods while both squads went 0-for-2 on the power play in the final
20 minutes.
The Irish had a strong scoring chance in the third period when
junior left wing Damon Whitten was called for holding with 11:26 left to
play. Midway through the power play, MSU senior defenseman Mike Weaver fell
on the puck near the left circle and appeared to cover the puck with his
hands, causing the Irish bench to erupt in hopes for a delay of game
penalty that would have yielded a 5-on-3 chance. But no penalty was called
and an interference penalty on Irish center Ben Simon with 10:11 remaining
wiped out the one extra-man advantage that the hosts did hold.
Zasowski made nine saves in the final 10 minutes, with the first
three coming in the 4-on-4 situation while Simon was in the penalty box,
plus two more on the ensuing MSU power play. His final four saves come on
MSU's fourth power play of the night, after freshman defenseman Evan
Nielsen was called for interference with just 2:44 left on the clock.
Just moments after Simon's penalty, Zasowski stopped back-to-back
chances from freshman center Troy Ferguson and junior center Andrew Bogle.
Then, just seconds before Simon was due to release, Zasowski made a
left-pad save on a shot by Horcoff while Liles' follow-up shot kicked off
the rookie goalie's right skate.
Dolder and Jurkowski helped kill the majority of Nielsen's penalty,
along with senior defensemen Sean Molina and Nathan Borega. The Spartans
called time out to pull Miller for a 6-on-4 advantage with 1:07 left to
play and Horcoff then uncorked a pair of shots from the center of the right
circle, but Zasowski came up with the left-pad saves.
Notes: The Irish are 18-5-4 in their last 27 regular-season home games,
with a 94-53 scoring edge in those games and impressive results versus Ohio
State (3-0), Michigan (2-2, 3-2), MSU (2-2, 1-0) and Northern Michigan
(3-3, 2-1). ... Scoring has been at a premium during the last four games of
the ND-MSU series, with the Spartans totaling just six goals while the
Irish have mustered four in those games (1-0 and 3-1 wins for MSU, a 2-2
tie and Saturday's 1-0 ND win). ... Notre Dame turned in its second strong
showing versus a nationally-ranked opponent in the last eight days, after a
hard-fought battle in a 2-1 loss at current No. 4 New Hampshire on Nov. 27. ... Jurkowski has points in eight of the last 10 games (4G-4A).
Notre Dame Head Coach Dave Poulin: "This was an enormous win-the best
all-around game we have played all year. It is very similar to the New
Hampshire game in that way. It was the most encouraging effort we have had.
We excelled in every facet of the game. You have to do that to beat a team
like Michigan State. ... You seem to see that call (player in the crease) a
lot during a power play. ... (Zasowski) was huge, especially in the final
three minutes. That is a big test to have a penalty kill toward the end of
the game. He made some huge saves throughout the game. ... (I told the
team) 'You gotta enjoy it for awhile, but you have to walk a fine line. You
have to learn how it feels (to win a big game). I want that feeling in the
locker room every night. We do have a game tomorrow, though, you cannot
forget about that."
Michigan State Head Coach Ron Mason: "I thought we played well and had some
good chances. That shot that hit the crossbar is just a tough break. ...
The goal got waved off. We think (Shawn) Horcoff got pushed into the
crease. The referee has to make a knee-jerk decision when that happens."
MICHIGAN STATE (11-5-0, 10-3-0 CCHA) 0 0 0 - 0
NOTRE DAME (6-7-2, 4-5-2 CCHA) 0 0 1 - 1
3rd: 1. Dolder 3 (Clark, Jurkowski) 14:56.
Shots: MSU 6-3-15/24, ND 5-11-7/23.
Saves: MSU (Miller) 5-11-6/22, ND (Zasowski) 6-3-15/24.
Power Play: MSU -for-4, ND -for-4.
Penalties: MSU 4 for 8:00, MSU 4 for 8:00.
