January 3, 1999

GRAND FORKS, N.D. – Senior goaltender Forrest Karr made 35 saves while four different Irish players scored in the pivotal second period as the undermanned and No. 9-ranked Notre Dame hockey team rebounded from a tough 8-1 loss to defeat No. 1 North Dakota, 4-3, in the finale of a weekend series Sunday night at Engelstad Arena.

Notre Dame (10-6-2) scored four times on its first six shots of the second period to claim a 4-1 lead before holding off the Fighting Sioux to halt a five-game Irish losing streak. Senior right wing Brian Urick tied the game early in the second period with his team-leading 11th goal of the season before junior right wing John Dwyer notched his first goal of the campaign. Freshman center David Inman and sophomore left wing Chad Chipchase rounded out the Irish goal scoring while a pair of timely passes from senior defenseman Benoit Cotnoir highlighted the six Notre Dame players who recorded assists.

North Dakota (13-2-1) saw its eight-game winning streak come to an end, despite outshooting the Irish 38-19. The victory improved Notre Dames record in away non-conference games to 6-1-1 over the past two seasons, including a 2-1 win at then-No. 10 Wisconsin on Oct. 3, 1998 and a 5-5 at former No. 1 Boston College last Nov. 6.

The Irish again played without the services of sophomore left wing Dan Carlson and sophomore defenseman Ryan Clark. Carlson was busy wrapping up play with Team USA at the World Junior Championship while Clark is in the early stages of rehabilitation from Dec. 23 shoulder surgery. The Irish welcomed back Urick, who missed most of Saturdays due to a game misconduct penalty.

Notre Dame made several changes to its lineup, with Urick and senior left wing Aniket Dhadphale dropping back to the second forward line while Chipchase and junior right wing Joe Dusbabek skated alongside junior center Ben Simon. Sophomore left wing Jay Kopischke returned to the third line, with sophomore right wing Matt Van Arkel sitting out the game, while junior defenseman Sean Seyferth skated his second game of the season in place of freshman Sam Cornelius.

Urick forged a 1-1 tie at the 1:44 mark of the second period, with assists from linemates Dhadphale and Inman. The Irish then took the lead six minutes later, when Dwyer tipped in a shot from junior defenseman Tyson Fraser. The goal was set up when senior Craig Hagkull won a rightside faceoff, after junior Troy Bagne was chased from the circle. Hagkull slipped the puck back to the right point and Fraser quickly sent a shot into the crowded crease area where Dwyer was waiting for the go-ahead goal (7:55).

Just over a minute later, Inman scored a memorable goal after Cotnoir sent a pass down the right side. Inman uncorked a shot from the right circle and placed his seventh goal of the season over the glovehand of freshman goaltender Andy Kollar (9:12), who was shaken up when he collided with Urick following the goal.

Chipchase scored his sixth goal of the season less than a minute later, when passes from Cotnoir and Simon worked the puck to an open Chipchase at the left side of the crease. Chipchase fired a shot off a dazed Kollar before knocking home his own rebound for a 4-1 Irish lead (10:10). The Sioux then pulled Kollar for sophomore Karl Goehring, the teams regular starter who played in Saturdays 8-1 win.

The Irish killed off a 5-on-3 situation late in the second period but North Dakota then converted its second power-play goal of the night, when junior center Jason Ulmer tipped in a shot from senior center Jason Blake (19:09). The Sioux then sliced the lead to 4-3 early in the third period, on a rebound goal by senior right wing Jeff Ulmer. Senior defenseman Brad Williamson recorded his fifth assist of the series, after firing a shot from the top of the left circle. Irish senior goaltender Forrest Karr failed to hold onto the glove save, with Ulmer sliding his fifth goal of the season inside the left post (2:34).

North Dakota opened the scoring at the 3:58 mark of the first period, when senior right wing Jay Panzers shot deflected off Fraser and glanced over Karrs right shoulder. Blake set up the power-play score with a drop pass between the circles.

NOTRE DAME (10-6-2) 0 4 0 – 4

NORTH DAKOTA (13-2-1) 1 1 1 – 3

1st: SIOUX 1. Jay Panzer 11 (Blake, Jeff Panzer), PP, 4:54. 2nd: IRISH 1. Urick 11 (Dhadphale, Inman) 1:44; IRISH 2. Dwyer 1 (Fraser, Hagkull) 7:55; IRISH 3. Inman 7 (Cotnoir) 9:12; IRISH 4.Chipchase 6 (Simon, Cotnoir) 10:10; SIOUX 2. Jason Ulmer (Blake, DeFauw), PP, 19:09. 3rd: SIOUX 3. Jeff Ulmer (Williamson, Lundholm) 2:34.

Shots: IRISH 2-8-9/19, SIOUX 8-13-17/38.

Saves: IRISH (Karr) 7-12-16/35; SIOUX (Kollar) 2-2-x/4, (Goehring) x-2-9/11.

Power Play: IRISH 0-0, SIOUX 2-6.

Penalties: IRISH 7 for 14:00, SIOUX 1 for 2:00.