Nov. 17, 2016
By Dan Colleran
NOTRE DAME, Ind. — Connor Hurley scored early in the second period to cut the UMass Lowell lead to 2-1 but the No. 5/6 River Hawks were able to regain a two-goal lead late in the second period and went on to post a 4-1 win over ninth-ranked Notre Dame on Thursday night at the Compton Family Ice Arena (3,151).
HOW IT HAPPENED
C.J Smith gave the River Hawks a 1-0 lead just 35 seconds into the first period and then Ryan Lohin made it a 2-0 lead at 1:46 of the second period.
Hurley got the Irish on the board with his third goal of the season at 6:18 of the second, but Campbell was able to convert on a 2-on-0 to make it a 3-1 game at 13:44 of the second.
The Irish had several scoring chances in the third but could not get another one past UMass Lowell goaltender Tyler Wall.
With goaltender Cal Petersen heading to the Notre Dame bench in favor of the extra attacker, Smith added an empty net goal at 17:56 of the third for the final 4-1 scoreline.
Notre Dame (5-4-2, 2-2-1 HEA) was 0-for-4 on the power play, but the Irish also held UMass Lowell (8-3-2, 4-1-0) to an 0-for-5 mark with the man advantage.
Petersen made some big stops throughout the night as he was called upon to shut down several odd-man rushes by the River Hawks. He finished with 31 saves and was a big part of keeping the Lowell power play off the board.
Wall made 22 saves for the River Hawks.
COACH JACKSON’S THOUGHTS
On Lowell’s early 1-0 lead …
“There were some untimely goals, no question, early in the game like that getting scored on the first shift [and then] after we made it 2-1. Making an uncharacteristic play, giving them basically a pure 2-on-0 to the net after the turnover. Certainly timing of goals is a factor.”
On Lowell getting odd-man rushes …
“That’s part of their system. We gave them too much time coming out of their zone which allows that center, that high man, to get out of the zone. I’ll take responsibility as far as preparing our guys for that, even showing them film. I mean we didn’t have enough time to practice to play against a team like that when they do something consistently different than anybody [else] you play and they took advantage of it. We still have to read the ice we still have to make good decisions.”
On what the overall message is …
“We have to be better plain and simple. We have to execute the things that we preach and do and practice every day. We have to execute those things. That’s a matter of willingness. They have to have the will to go out there and do the things that are going to help them be successful, especially against a good team like that.”
NOTRE DAME SCORING
2-1 | A quick passing sequence from Jordan Gross to Dylan Malmquist to Connor Hurley in front resulted in Notre Dame’s first goal. Hurley took the centering feed from Malmquist and beat Tyler Wall low for his third goal of the season.
UP NEXT
The Fighting Irish and River Hawks will close out their weekend series at 7:35 p.m. on Friday (Nov. 18).
To purchase tickets visit UND.com/BuyTickets.
UMASS LOWELL SERIES NOTES
- Junior goaltender Cal Petersen made his 61st-consecutive start in the Notre Dame net.
- With an assist, Jordan Gross became the sixth Fighting Irish player to reach 10 points on the season (4-6-10).
- Gross skated in his 90th consecutive game, dating back to game one of his freshman season.
— ND —
Dan Colleran, associate athletics communications director at the University of Notre Dame, has been a part of Fighting Irish Media since August 2015 and coordinates all media and publicity efforts surrounding the Notre Dame hockey and golf programs. A native of Walpole, Massachusetts, Colleran spent the previous three years working with the men’s hockey and soccer programs at Providence College. Colleran also spent two years as an Assistant Executive Director of Communications & Championships at the Ivy League and is a graduate of Providence College (’06 & ’08G).