Oct. 27, 2007
Big Rapids, Mich. – Junior goaltender Mitch O’Keefe stopped all 37 shots he faced and the Ferris State Bulldogs killed all 10 Notre Dame power-play chances while scoring two short-handed goals to hand the Irish a 3-0 shutout loss at Ewigleben Arena Saturday night.
Ferris State got a first-period short-handed goal from Matt Frank and one in the third period from Justin Menke while Adam Miller sealed the win with an empty-net goal in the victory.
The shutout was the first against the Irish since Nov. 18, 2006 when they were stopped 2-0 at Michigan State.
The Irish loss snapped a seven-game road winning streak that extended back to Jan. 19 of last season and drops Notre Dame to 4-3-0 overall and 2-1-0 in CCHA play. Ferris State improves to 2-3-1 on the season and the Bulldogs are now 1-1-0 in conference play.
The Bulldogs got the first goal of the game at 16:07 with Notre Dame on their fourth power-play of the opening period.
Off a face off to the left of Notre Dame’s Jordan Pearce, Ferris State defenseman Matt Case took a shot that was blocked by Irish defenseman Brett Blatchford. The loose puck ended up on the stick of center Matt Frank who was able to fire a shot past Pearce for his first goal of the season.
After a scoreless second period that saw the Irish shutdown on four power-play chances, the Bulldogs again came up with another short-handed tally.
Defenseman Evan Case chipped the puck off the right wing boards to center ice and Menke got behind the Irish defense for a breakaway on Pearce. The freshman center broke in on the Irish goal and tried to go to his backhand but the puck rolled off his stick and beat Pearce who was prepared for a tougher shot. The goal came at 6:56 and gave the Bulldogs a 2-0 lead.
The Irish continued to get their chances but O’Keefe denied them time and time again as the Irish would get two more power plays in the third and fire 18 shots on the Bulldog goal.
With 2:20 left in the game, Notre Dame head coach Jeff Jackson pulled Pearce in favor of a sixth attacker only to see Ferris State get the final goal 34 seconds later.
Center Aaron Lewicki broke up an Irish clearing bid on the left wing side and Miller was able to take the puck at the left circle and fire it into the open net for his first of the year at 17:46 and the final of 3-0.
On the night, Notre Dame had a season-high 37 shots on goal while the Bulldogs had 35. Pearce finished the night with 32 saves. In the two game series, Ferris State killed off all 16 Irish power-play chances. That came after Notre Dame scored at least one power-play goal in each of the first five games.
The Irish will look to get back on track as they return home next week for a pair of games at the Joyce Center. They will play host to Lake Superior State on Thursday-Friday, Nov. 1-2. Game time both nights is 7:35 p.m.
IRISH NOTES: ** Notre Dame’s penalty killers were again perfect in the game, killing all five Ferris State chances. On the year, the Irish have given up just one power-play goal in 34 chances and have killed 31 straight penalties over the last six games.
** The seven-game Irish road winning streak equaled the longest road win streak in Notre Dame history. The previous seven-game road win streak came between Jan. 7 and Feb. 4, 1977 as the Irish took two from Minnesota-Duluth, Michigan State, Colorado College and one from Minnesota. They tied the Gophers in the eighth game and then won at Michigan Tech for the longest road unbeaten streak of 8-0-1.
GAME SUMMARY 1 2 3 - F#12/#12 Notre Dame (4-3-0/2-1-0) 0 0 0 - 0Ferris State (2-3-1/1-1-0) 1 0 2 - 3
ScoringFirst Period: FSU: Matt Frank 1 (Matt Case), SHG, 16:07.Penalties: ND: 3 for 6 minutes; FSU: 4 for 8 minutes.
Second Period: No Scoring.Penalties: ND: 1 for 2 minutes; FSU: 4 for 8 minutes.
Third Period: FSU: Justin Menke 2 (Evan Case), SHG, 6:56; FSU: Adam Miller 1 (Aaron Lewicki), ENG, 17:46.Penalties: ND: 1 for 2 minutes; FSU: 3 for 6 minutes.
Shots On Goal:Notre Dame 9 - 10 - 18 - 37Ferris State 7 - 14 - 14 - 35
Goaltender Saves:ND - Jordan Pearce (58:22) 6 - 14 - 12 - 32FSU - Mitch O'Keefe (60:00) 9 - 10 - 18 - 37
Power Plays:ND: 0 for 10FSU: 0 for 5
Attendance: 1,458