Feb. 18, 2006
Bowling Green, Ohio – After combining for 11 goals on Friday night in Notre Dame’s 7-4 win over Bowling Green, Saturday night belonged to the goaltenders as the two teams battled to a 1-1 tie in front of 4,236 fans at the Bowling Green Ice Arena.
David Brown, fighting a week-long illness, returned to action and made 34 saves for the Irish while Bowling Green freshman Jimmy Spratt stopped 31 of 32 shots in the 1-1 tie.
Alex Foster scored a first-period power-play goal for the Falcons lone goal while Josh Sciba got the game-tying goal for Notre Dame with less than nine minutes left in the game for the tie.
“I thought both goaltenders played extremely well tonight,” said Irish coach Jeff Jackson.
“(Jimmy) Spatt showed what he’s capable of tonight for Bowling Green. Brownie (David Brown) has been out go-to-guy this season and gives us a chance to win every night. I was really proud of the way he played tonight since he’s been out all week with the flu. He really battled, especially in the second period when they had several good chances.”
The tie gives the Irish a 12-16-4 overall record and a 10-12-4 record in the CCHA, good for an eighth-place tie with 24 points. Bowling Green goes to 13-18-2 on the year and 8-16-2 in conference play.
“The three points this weekend were extremely important. We’re fighting for home ice and every point is crucial with the race being as tight as it is,” said Jackson.
Bowling Green took advantage of one of its three power-play chances to score the lone goal of the first period. Jonathan Matsumoto carried the puck off the right-wing boards and fired a wrist shot that Foster was able to get his stick on and deflect past David Brown for his 10th goal of the year at 8:51.
The score would stay 1-1 until the 11:43 mark of the third period. Defenseman Wes O’Neill led an Irish rush through center ice, carrying the puck into the Bowling Green zone where he slid a pass to Matt Amado. The senior fired a shot at Spratt who made the save but could not control the rebound. Sciba was there to sweep it past Spratt for his team-high 17th goal of the season.
From there, Brown and Spratt took over not allowing their opponent to find the back of the net. On the night, Bowling Green out shot the Irish, 35-32, including 5-0 in the overtime period.
“Tonight’s game was played under control all night,” said Jackson.
“Both teams played with a lot of discipline. It’s nice to play a game that doesn’t have 20 power-plays.”
The Irish will continue their fight for home ice in the CCHA playoffs when they close out the regular-season schedule next weekend The Irish return to action next weekend versus Alaska Fairbanks. Friday’s (2/24) game has a 7:35 p.m. starting time with face off on Saturday (2/25) at 7:00 p.m. Saturday’s game will celebrate Senior Night as the Irish honor the senior class of 2006 following the game versus the Nanooks.
GAME SUMMARY 1 2 3 OT - FNotre Dame (12-16-4/10-12-4) 0 0 1 0 - 1
Bowling Green (13-19-2/8-16-2) 1 0 0 0 - 1
Scoring
First Period: BGSU: Alex Foster 10 (Jonathan Matsumoto, Brandon Svendsen), PPG, 8:31.
Penalties: ND: 3 for 6 minutes; BGSU: 3 for 6 minutes.
Second Period: No Scoring.
Penalties: ND: 2 for 4 minutes; BGSU: 3 for 6 minutes.
Third Period: ND: Josh Sciba 17 (Matt Amado, Wes O'Neill), 11:43.
Penalties: ND: 0 for 0 minutes; BGSU: 0 for 0 minutes.
Overtime: No Scoring
Panalties: ND: 0 for 0 minutes; BGSU: 0 for 0 minutes.
Shots On Goal:
Notre Dame 10 - 11 - 11 - 0 - 32
Bowling Green 12 - 13 - 5 - 5 - 35
Goaltender Saves:
ND - David Brown (65:00) 11 - 13 - 5 - 5 - 34
BGSU - Jimmy Spratt (65:00) 10 - 11 - 10 - 0 - 31
Power Plays:
ND: 0 for 5
BGSU: 1 for 4
Attendance: 4,236