Nov. 4, 2006
Columbus, Ohio – For a team that’s been on the road for four consecutive weekends, a three-point road weekend against a CCHA opponent might satisfy some teams. That wasn’t the case for 10th-ranked Notre Dame on Saturday night at Value City Arena where the Irish and Buckeyes battled to a 1-1 overtime tie.
After two scoreless periods dominated by strong goaltending and excellent penalty killing by both teams Notre Dame’s Josh Sciba and Ohio State’s Tommy Goebel traded third-period power-play goals to give the Irish a three-point weekend. But they weren’t satisfied with the outcome.
“I thought we played a much better game tonight than we did on Friday (a 4-2 win),” said head coach Jeff Jackson. I was happy with the performance. We were sharp mentally and sharp in our execution. What I’m really happy about is the fact that our guys are mad. They are upset that they gave away a point on the road. I don’t think that would have happened last year.”
The tie gives the Irish a 6-1-1 overall record for their best mark after eight games since the 1998-99 season when that team opened the year with a 6-1-1 record. The Irish are 1-0-1 in conference play. The tie also closed out Notre Dame’s seven-game road swing with a 5-1-1 mark. Ohio State goes to 2-5-1 overall and 2-3-1 in the CCHA.
After two periods of play, the Irish had killed all five Ohio State power-play chances while the Buckeyes had killed four Notre Dame man-advantages.
The Irish broke through on their fifth chance just 24 seconds after Kenny Bernard went off for charging.
Wes O’Neill took a feed from Justin White off the right wing boards. O’Neill’s shot from the blue line was stopped by Buckeye goaltender Joseph Palmer but the rebound went to Sciba in the slot who one-timed a shot past the freshman goaltender at 5:38 to give Notre Dame the 1-0 lead.
Ohio State would get its power-play chance at 17:13 when T.J. Jindra went off for interference. The Buckeyes would capitalize 25 seconds later when Goebel pounced on a loose puck and beat David Brown from the slot at 17:38 for the equalizer.
The power-play goal by Ohio State was the first given up by Notre Dame since Oct. 20 at Boston College. Since the Eagles scored in the third period of that game, the Irish had killed 25 consecutive power plays over the last five games.
In overtime, Palmer helped Ohio State salvage the point as he stopped all six shots he faced as the Irish offense kept the pressure on. For the night, Palmer made a career-high 32 saves while Brown stopped 24 shots. Both teams were 1-for-7 on the power play.
Finally heading back to play at the Joyce Center, Jackson is happy where his team stands after eight games.
“I’m definitely happy with this team’s start but we are still growing this program,” said Jackson. “This seven-game span was one big step for us. We’ve had players step up and make contributions early. Our seniors have stepped up and we’ve found out what some of our freshmen can do. We’ve got a way to go, but I’m happy with the progress.”
Notre Dame returns home next weekend for the first time since Oct. 10 when the Irish play host to the Bowling Green Falcons on Nov. 10-11. Friday’s game has a 7:35 p.m. starting time and Saturday’s game will start at 7:05 p.m.
IRISH NOTES:
** The Irish are 5-0-1 in their last five road games, the best six-game road run since the 1987-88 season when that team won six straight away from the Joyce Center.
** Through the first eight games of the season, Notre Dame has not given up a goal in the first period, outscoring the opposition, 8-0, in the opening stanza.
** Through the first eight games this season, Notre Dame is the top defensive team in the country, giving up just 1.12 goals per game.
GAME SUMMARY 1 2 3 OT - FNotre Dame (6-1-1/1-0-1) 0 0 1 0 - 1Ohio State (2-5-1/2-3-1) 0 0 1 0 - 1
ScoringFirst Period: No Scoring.Penalties: ND: 2 for 4 minutes; OSU: 3 for 6 minutes.
Second Period: No Scoring.ND: Penalties: ND: 2 for 4 minutes; OSU: 2 for 4 minutes.
Third Period: ND: Josh Sciba 2 (Wes O'Neill, Justin White), PPG, 5:38; OSU: Tommy Goebel 4 (Sean Collins, Jason DeSantis), PPG, 17:38.Penalties: ND: 2 for 4 minutes; OSU: 3 for 6 minutes.
Overtime: No ScoringPenalties: ND: 0 for 0 minutes; OSU: 1 for 2 minutes.
Shots On Goal:Notre Dame 7 - 11 - 9 - 6 - 33Ohio State 6 - 9 - 8 - 2 - 25
Goaltender Saves:ND - David Brown (65:00) 6 - 9 - 7 - 2 - 24OSU - Joseph Palmer (65:00) 7 - 11 - 8 - 6 - 32
Power Plays:ND: 1 for 7OSU: 1 for 7
Attendance: 5,163