Dec. 11, 1999
NOTRE DAME, Ind. - Notre Dame and the University of
Massachusetts turned in another high-scoring first period but the Irish
shut out the Minutemen the rest of the way, en route to a 5-3 victory in
non-conference hockey action Saturday night at the Joyce Center.
Notre Dame (7-9-2) fell into a 2-0 hole for the second straight
night but the Irish quickly responded to take a 3-2 lead into the first
intermission. UMass had staked a 3-2 lead at the first intermission in
Friday's game, en route to a 4-3 win over the Irish.
The hosts added to their lead on Saturday in the third period, with
senior center Ben Simon notching his first two-goal game of the season and
the third of his career while senior defenseman Nathan Borega iced the win
with an empty-netter.
The Irish gave up the game's first goal for the 12th time this
season but rallied for the victory, with just a 1-9-1 record in the
previous 11 games when trailing 1-0. Notre Dame also had been just 1-9-0
this season when facing a two-goal deficit before pulling off Saturday's
reversal (the Irish rallied for three third-period goals to beat Alaska
Fairbanks, 3-2, on Nov. 13).
UMass (4-8-2) received first goals of the season from freshman
defenseman Samuli Jalkanen and junior left wing Jay Shaw in the game's
early moments but sophomore goaltender Mike Johnson then allowed goals on
three of the next four Irish shots, with junior Markus Helanen taking over
at the start of the second period (Helanen had 33 saves in Friday's win).
The Irish scored a season-high three power-play goals while
sophomore Jeremiah Kimento picked up his third career win, making 19
straight saves after the early UMass flurry (the Minutemen also scored with
13 seconds left to play).
Notre Dame surged to the lead with three goals-the last two coming
on the power play-in an eight-minute stretch of the opening period, with
the goals coming from freshman defenseman Evan Nielsen, Simon and junior
right wing Ryan Dolder.
Freshman right wing John Wroblewski set up the first Irish goal by
moving the puck along the right boards in the UMass zone, with junior right
wing Dan Carlson then firing a pass into the top of the slot. The
righthanded Nielsen collected the puck before snapping his second goal of
the season inside the right post (10:42).
Two minutes later, passes from senior defenseman Tyson Fraser and
sophomore center David Inman set up Simon from the right circle and the
Irish captain beat Johnson with a low shot inside the far left post for his
fifth goal of the season and second of the series.
Notre Dame edged ahead in the closing moments of the period, after
Johnson had attempted to clear the puck around the right boards. Inman
nudged the puck into an open space and Dolder slid to the center of the
blue line before sending a low shot on goal. Johnson had a clear view of
the shot and appeared to make the save, but the puck trickled past his
stick and between his legs for Dolder's fifth goal of the season and third
in the last four games (18:57).
Simon moved into second on the Notre Dame season goalscoring chart
by netting his sixth score of the season midway through the final period.
Simon led a power-play rush down the middle of the ice and lost the puck
before Dolder and Nielsen quickly worked the puck back to the Irish
captain. Simon then swiped the puck by Helanen for a 4-2 cushion (11:55).
UMass pulled Helanen with 1:37 left to play but Borega picked off
the puck near the mid-ice faceoff circle and fired into the empty net for
his first goal of the season and the fourth of his career (18:58).
The Minutemen ended the scoring on a shorthanded goal with 13
seconds left to play, after freshman right wing Tim Turner picked off an
outlet pass and fed junior right wing Ray Geever for his first goal of the
season, on a tap-in from the left side of the crease.
UMass jumped ahead just 76 seconds into the game, after Tim Turner
emerged with the puck following a turnover behind the Irish net and fired a
pass through the slot to the far left point. Jalkanen reared back and sent
a fluttering shot through traffic, with the puck sailing over Kimento's
glove hand and into the right side of the goal (1:16).
The visitors added to their lead at the 7:39 mark, with junior
center Jeff Turner smacking the puck free near the right side of the center
line. The younger Turner brother then picked up the puck and skated into
the slot before dropping a back pass to his right for Shaw, who quickly
bear Kimento with a rising shot to the glove side.
NOTES: Simon's goal held up as the game-winner, giving the Irish seven
different game-winning goalscorers in their seven wins this season (the
others are Inman, junior F Matt Van Arkel, senior LW Any Jurkowski,
Nielsen, Carlson and Dolder) ... Notre Dame is 23 for 25 on the penalty
kill during the past six games (4-for-4 on Saturday) .. . the Irish are
16-4-4 (.750) in their last 24 regular-season home games, with two of the
four losses coming by one goal ... Notre Dame continued to play without two
injured regulars, as freshman C Connor Dunlop missed his third straight
game after suffering an arm injury vs. Michigan State on Dec. 4 while
junior D Ryan Clark sat out the second straight game after suffering a
midgame concussion at MSU on Dec. 5 ... Dunlop is expected to join Inman
and sophomore C Brett Henning in traveling to West Point, N.Y., on Monday,
as members of the U.S. team that will compete in the upcoming World Junior
Championship (the team will train in West Point before flying to Sweden for
exhibitions and the tournament, which runs Dec. 26-Jan. 4) ... Simon pushed
his career point total to 111 (37G-74A) in 121 games ... Dolder has 3G-3A
in the last six games, including last week's game-winner vs. Michigan State
(1-0) ... Simon has eight points (4G-4A) in the last five games, after
totaling just five points in his first 12 ... the Irish have allowed 22
first-period goals this season (factoring out to a 3.67 goals-against
average for 60 minutes), compared to just 26 goals allowed in the second
and third periods combined (2.17 GAA) ... Fraser's assist was his 50th
career point (8G-43A) and marked his 45th career game with a goal or assist
... Jurkowski skated in his 60th straight game on Saturday (the longest
streak by any current Irish player) ... the Irish are 21-0-3 during the
past two seasons when leading at the second intermission (5-0-0 this
season), 16-1-2 when ahead at the first break (4-0-0 this season) and
21-2-4 when scoring first (6-0-1 this season).
UMASS 2 0 1 - 3
NOTRE DAME 3 0 2 - 5
1st: UMass 1. Jalkanen 1 (T. Turner) 1:16, UMass 2. Shaw 1 (T. Turner, J.
Turner) 7:39, ND 1. Nielsen 2 (Carlson, Wroblewski) 10:42, ND 2. Simon 5
(Inman, Fraser), PP, 12:55, ND 3. Dolder 5 (Inman), PP, 18:57.
3rd: ND 4. Simon 6 (Nielsen, Dolder), PP, 11:55, ND 5. Borega 1
(unassisted), EN, 18:58, UMass 3. Geever 1 (T. Turner), SH, 19:47.
Shots: UMass 10-7-6/23, ND 9-7-11/27.
Saves: UMass 6-7-9/22 (Johnson 6-x-x/6, Helanen x-7-9/16), ND (Kimento)
8-7-5/20.
Power Play: UMass 0-for-4, ND 3-for-7.
Penalties: UMass 8 for
27:00, ND 5 for 10:00.
