Notre Dame Fighting Irish - Official Athletics Website

Irish Battle 11th-Ranked Ferris State To A 4-4 Tie

Jan. 11, 2003

Box Score

Big Rapids, Mich. – Senior left wing John Wroblewski scored a goal and added two assists and goaltender Morgan Cey made 34 saves as Notre Dame battled 11th-ranked and CCHA-leading Ferris State to a 4-4 tie at Ewigleben Ice Arena on Saturday night.

Wroblewski turned in his second consecutive three-point game of the weekend giving his six points on three goals and three assists. Connor Dunlop added a goal and an assist in the tie while Yan Stastny and Cory McLean chipped in goals for the Irish in the tie.

The tie makes Notre Dame 9-9-4 on the year and 7-8-1 in CCHA play. Ferris State goes to 16-5-1 overall and 11-2-1 in the league.

The Bulldogs potent offense led the way as they scored three third-period goals to wipe out a 3-1 Notre Dame lead after two periods of play as Jeff Legue scored twice and Greg Rallo once to cap the rally.

The Irish got off to a slow start in the first period as it took them 10-and-1/2 minutes to get their first shot on goal, but it ended up in the net behind Ferris State’s Mike Brown.

With the Irish killing a hooking penalty to Brett Lebda, Wroblewski broke up a Ferris State rush at center ice and raced in on Brown. He pulled the puck to his backhand and then flipped a pass to Yan Stastny trailing the play. Stastny drilled it past Brown for his 12th goal of the season at 10:30. The short handed goal was the second of the year for the Irish.

From there, Morgan Cey held the Bulldogs off the scoreboard finishing with 14 saves in the opening period.

Ferris State used the power play to even the score at 1-1 at the 7:11 mark of the second period. With play along the right wing boards, right wing Chris Kunitz was able to control the puck and find Rallo alone in front. The freshman center had time to make a move and flipped a backhander over Cey for his sixth goal of the season.

The Irish power play went to work to get Notre Dame a 3-1 lead before the end of the period. Connor Dunlop notched his second of the season when he took a pass from Wroblewski at the Ferris State blue line, split the Bulldog defense and beat Brown with a backhander under Brown’s pads.

Wroblewski continued his hot pace with his third goal of the weekend at 16:26. Dunlop’s centering feed to Aaron Gill went off his skate to the senior left wing who was parked on the left side of the goal. Wroblewski waited for Brown to make his move before tucking it under the crossbar for his 10th goal of the season.

Ferris State’s top-ranked offense poured it on in the third period. Legue scored his 15th of the season just 32 seconds into the period when he redirected Derek Nesbitt’s centering pass behind Cey.

Rallo tied the game with his second goal of the night at 6:05 to tie the game at 3-3.

The Irish bounced back to retake the lead 4-3 just nine seconds after Rallo’s goal. Notre Dame dumped the puck deep behind the FSU goal where the Bulldogs defense lost control and the biscuit bounced to the right side of the net where McLean was able to control the bouncing puck and stuff it inside the right post at 6:14 for his eighth of the season.

The Bulldogs got the equalizer with just 2:29 left in the game. Legue took a Matt York feed from the right point and redirected the pass behind Cey for his 16th goal of the year.

In overtime, Ferris State got a power-play chance as Yan Stastny was whistled off for holding with 1:53 left in the extra period. Cey and the Irish defense held the fort as the game ended in a 4-4 tie.

On the night, Ferris State outshot the Irish 38-28. Cey had 34 stops while Brown made 24 for the Bulldogs.

The Irish return to action next weekend with a pair of home games versus the Yale Bulldogs. Friday’s game (Jan. 17) will be played at the Joyce Center with a 7:05 p.m. faceoff time. Saturday’s game (Jan. 18) will be played at Chicago’s Allstate Arena with that game to start at 7:05 CST .

GAME SUMARY:

1 2 3 OT F

Notre Dame (9-9-4/7-8-1) 1 2 1 0 4

Ferris State (16-5-1/11-2-1) 0 1 3 0 4

Scoring

First Period: ND: Yan Stastny 12 (John Wroblewski), SHG, 10:30.

Penalties: ND: 3 for 6 minutes; FSU: 1 for 2 minutes

Second Period: FSU: Greg Rallo 6 (Chris Kunitz, Troy Milam), PPG, 7:11; ND: Connor Dunlop 2 (Wroblewski, Brett Lebda), PPG, 8:05; ND: Wroblewski 10 (Aaron Gill, Dunlop), PPG, 16:26.

Penalties: ND: 4 for 8 minutes; FSU: 4 for 8 minutes.

Third Period: FSU: Jeff Legue 15 (Derek Nesbitt, Kunitz), 00:32; FSU: Rallo 7 (Phil Lewandowski, Phil Meyer), 6:05; ND: Cory McLean 8 (unassisted), 6:14; FSU: Legue 16 (Matt York, Kunitz), 17:31.

Penalties: ND: 0 for 0 minutes; FSU: 1 for 2 minutes.

Overtime: No Scoring

Penalties: ND: 0 for 0 minutes; FSU: 0 for 0 minutes.

Shots On Goal:

Notre Dame 5 – 10 – 11 – 2 – 28

Ferris State 14 – 6 – 15 – 3 – 35

Goaltender Saves:

ND – Morgan Cey (65:00) 14 – 5 – 12 – 3 – 32

FSU – Mike Brown (65:00) 4 – 8 – 10 – 2 – 24

Power Plays:

ND: 2 for 6

FSU: 1 for 8

Attendance: 2,493 (sellout)