February 19, 1999

EAST LANSING, Mich. – Bryan Adams added two more goals to his season total versus Notre Dame and Joe Blackburn made 25 saves, as No. 3-ranked Michigan State defeated seventh-ranked Notre Dame, 3-1, in Central Collegiate Hockey Association action Friday at Munn Ice Arena.

Notre Dame’s frustrating scoreless streak reached nine-plus periods, 92 shots and 204 minutes of game time before one of the team’s most unlikely goalscorers ended the streak, when junior defenseman Andy Jurkowski scored from the right point with 1:14 left to play. It marked just the second goal of Jurkowski’s career and his first in more than two years, since scoring in a 4-3 loss to Ohio State on Feb. 8, 1997.

Despite the loss, Notre Dame (16-10-4, 13-9-3 CCHA) retained its narrow lead in the race for the fourth and final home-ice spot in the CCHA Tournament, thanks to a 4-1 loss by fifth-place Ferris State (12-9-4) at second-place Ohio State (17-7-3) and a 2-2 home tie by sixth-place Northern Michigan (12-9-4) with eighth-place Lake Superior (7-15-3). The Irish now lead FSU and NMU by one point, with five games remaining for each team.

Michigan State (22-3-6, 17-2-6 CCHA), which extended its unbeaten streak to 19 games and its home unbeaten streak to 27, maintained its three-point lead on OSU in the race for the CCHA regular-season title. Adams scored power-play goals in each of the first two periods-giving him each of MSUs last four goals versus the Irish-before defenseman Jeff Kozakowski scored late in the third period for a 3-0 MSU lead.

Notre Dame’s power play unit went 0-for-6, extending the teams drought in man-up situations to 0-for-16 during the current three-game losing streak.

The game featured 74 penalty minutes by Notre Dame and 71 by MSU (second-most ever by the Spartans), with 115 of the penalty minutes coming on a full-blown exchange between the teams with 49 seconds left to play. Mike York’s slashing penalty on Notre Dame’s Sean Molina initiated the extended pushing and shoving, which resulted in a 2-minute roughing and 10-minute game misconduct penalty for each of the five Irish skaters and for each of York’s four teammates that were on the ice. York did not participate in the pushing and shoving but was given a five-minute slashing penalty and a second penalty for roughing.

Passes from Andrew Hutchinson and Shawn Horcoff set up MSU’s first goal, at 18:50 of the first period. Adams took a shot from the top of the slot and put back his own rebound on the left side before knocking a second rebound past Irish senior goaltender Forrest Karr.

Adams scored again on a tough shot from the left side at 6:52 of the second period, with Kozakowski also scoring from close range at 16:15 of the final period.

Jurkowski scored on a delayed-penalty shot from the right point, with the puck kicking through the crease area and inside the far left post (assists on the goal may be added, pending review of the backup game tape).

In other CCHA action Friday, third-place Michigan (14-6-5) stretched its lead on the Irish to four points, despite squandering a 4-1 lead in a 5-5 tie at 10th-place Western Michigan (4-14-8), which remains a point out of the eighth and final CCHA playoff spot … Miami (7-14-4) stayed even with Lake Superior in eighth place, thanks to a 4-3 win at home over last-place Alaska Fairbanks (6-20-1).

NOTRE DAME 0 0 1 – 1

MICHIGAN STATE 1 1 1 – 3

1st: MSU 1. Adams 18 (Horcoff, Hutchinson), PP, 18:50.

2nd: MSU 2. Adams 19 (Horcoff, Goodenow), 4-3, 6:52.

3rd: MSU 3. Kozakowski 4 (Adams, Hall) 16:15; ND 1. Jurkowski 1 (unassisted) 18:46.

SHOTS: ND 9-8-9/26, MSU 10-8-8/26.

SAVES: ND (Karr) 9-7-77/23, MSU 9-8-8/25.

POWER PLAY: ND 0-for-6, MSU 2-for-4.

PENALTIES: ND 17 for 74:00, MSU 18 for 71:00.