Nov. 5, 2010
Bowling Green, Ohio – Bowling Green senior goaltender Nick Eno stopped 30-of-32 Notre Dame shots to lead the Falcons to a 3-2 win at the BGSU Ice Arena on Friday night. The loss was the first of the season for the Irish in CCHA play and snapped and Irish five-game unbeaten streak (4-0-1).
Eno made 13 of his saves on 10 Notre Dame power plays, as the Irish were able to score just once with the man advantage in the game. Marc Rodriguez, Jordan Samuels-Thomas and Camden Wojtala scored for Bowling Green as the Falcons had 2-0 and 3-1 leads in the game. T.J. Tynan scored via the power play for Notre Dame while Billy Maday scored with 23 seconds left and goaltender Mike Johnson pulled in favor of a sixth attacker.
The loss drops the 11th-ranked Irish to 5-2-1 overall and 3-1-1-1 in CCHA action, good for 11 points in the standings. The Falcons improve to 4-5-0 on the young season and the win was their first in conference play as they go to 1-4-0-0 for three points in the standings.
“There is no question that special teams were the difference tonight and their goaltender played well,” said Irish coach Jeff Jackson.
“I thought Bowling Green played hard and desperate in just about every aspect tonight. They were very efficient on the penalty kill. They blocked a lot of shots and when we did get through, (Nick) Eno stood on his head and made some great saves. It was a combination of their intensity and their goaltender.
The Falcons scored first in the contest off a scramble in front of Johnson in the Irish goal. Samuels-Thomas took a shot from the left side that went off the right post and rolled across the goal line. Rodriguez poked at it as Johnson spun and appeared to clear the puck off the goal line. Officials on the ice ruled it a goal and after going to a review, credited Rodriguez with the goal at 15:29. The goal was his third of the season with Samuels-Thomas and David Solway getting assists.
The Irish had their chances in the period, getting four power plays, including a five-on-three for 1:47 at the 2:50 mark but could not get the puck past Eno.
Late in the first period Anders Lee banged a shot off the post with seven seconds left in the fourth power play and 25 seconds left in the opening period.
There was no scoring in the second period as the Falcons out shot the Irish, 8-4. Notre Dame’s best scoring chance came late in the period on its seventh power-play chance when freshman T.J. Tynan clanged one off the left post from the high slot on the seventh power play of the night for the Irish.
As tough as it was to score in the first two periods, things opened up in the third. Notre Dame had the first great chance on a power play when Ben Ryan broke down the middle and fired a shot that Eno stopped with his pads. The rebound came to Lee on the left side and he fired at the open net. Somehow Eno was able to get his stick across and make an incredible save to stop Notre Dame’s top goal scorer on the doorstep.
The Falcons made it 2-0 at 10:07 when Samuels-Thomas took a pass from Rodriguez on the right circle hashmark and one-timed a wrist shot, beating Johnson to his stick side for his third goal of the season.
Notre Dame finally broke through on their ninth power play of the night when Tynan scored just 1:44 later at 11:51 to cut the lead to 2-1.
Ryan Guentzel carried the puck down the right boards and dropped it to Calle Ridderwall at the right point. He moved it over to Tynan near the top of the left circle and the freshman center’s shot snuck through Eno’s pads for his third goal of the season. The power-play goal snapped an 0-for-12 streak the Irish were on, dating back to Oct. 29.
Bowling Green struck with a power-play goal of its own at 15:03 when Wojtala fired a rebound over Johnson for his second goal of the game and the 3-1 lead. That goal snapped an 0-for-38 streak that the Falcons’ power play was on.
The Irish got their 10th power play of the night with 3:40 left in the game. They were able to control play and pulled Johnson from the goal with 2:10 left in the game for a 6-on-4 advantage. That power play would expire, but the Irish continued to pressure and were able to score at 19:37 to make it a 3-2 game.
With everyone scrambling around the goal, Riley Sheahan came away with the puck and directed a shot towards the goal. The puck went off Ryan in front and settled in front of Maday who lifted it over Eno for his second goal of the season.
The Irish were able to get one last rush with Johnson pulled but the Falcons killed off the final seconds to earn the victory.
“I knew it was going to be a tough game from what I saw on film from their games in Alaska,” said Jackson.
“They are much improved and they are working hard. That’s a credit to (first-year head coach) Chris (Bergeron). They were very well coached tonight.”
On the night, Notre Dame out shot Bowling Green, 32-23. Johnson finished with 20 saves in the game. The Irish were 1-for-10 on the power play while the Falcons were 1-for-4.
The two teams will meet again on Saturday night at 7:05 p.m. at the BGSU Ice Arena.
** IRISH NOTES **
* After going 18 games without a loss (16-0-2) from the start of the 2005-06 season until last February, Notre Dame is now 0-2-2 versus Bowling Green in the last four meetings. The Falcons picked up the extra point in each of the ties by winning the shootout each time.
GAME SUMMARY 1 2 3 - F#11/#11 Notre Dame (5-2-1/3-1-1-1) 0 0 2 - 2Bowling Green (4-5-0/1-4-0-0) 1 0 3 - 3
Scoring
First Period: BGSU: Marc Rodriguez 3 (Jordan Samuels-Thomas, David Solway), 15:29.
Penalties: ND: 1 for 2 minutes; BGSU: 4 for 8 minutes.
Second Period: No Scoring.
Penalties: ND: 2 for 4 minutes; BGSU: 2 for 4 minutes.
Third Period: BGSU: Samuels-Thomas 3 (Rodriguez, Chad Sumsion), 10:07; ND: T.J. Tynan 3 (Calle Ridderwall, Ryan Guentzel), PPG, 11:51; BGSU: Camden Wojtala 2 (Jake Sloat), PPG, 15:03; ND: Billy Maday 2 (Riley Sheahan, Ben Ryan), EX, 19:37.
Penalties: ND: 2 for 4 minutes; BGSU: 4 for 8 minutes.
Shots On Goal: Notre Dame 14 – 4 – 14 – 32 Bowling Green 10 – 7 – 6 – 23
Goaltender Saves: ND: Mike Johnson (57:51) 9 – 7 – 4 – 20 BGSU: Nick Eno (59:56) 14 – 4 – 12 – 30
Power Plays: ND: 1 for 10 BGSU: 1 for 4
Attendance: 2,199