Dec. 6, 2009
Ocford, Ohio – For the second night in a row, Notre Dame got outstanding goaltending from freshman Mike Johnson, but could muster little offensively as the Irish fell to No. 1 ranked Miami, 4-0, on Saturday at Steve Cady Arena.
Johnson stopped 32 of 36 shots in the game, keeping the score 1-0 until the third period when the RedHawks scored three times. Four different players scored for the RedHawks as Tommy Wingels and Pat Cannone scored on the power play and Carter Camper and Justin Vaive added even-strength goals. Defenseman Cameron Schilling added three assists for the home team.
The two power-play goals were the first given up by Notre Dame since Nov. 14, and Wingels goal snapped a streak of 31 consecutive penalties killed.
The second consecutive shutout by Miami extended the Irish scoring drought to 133:54 with the last Notre Dame goal coming at 11:06 of the third period of the Nov. 28 game versus Bowling Green when Ryan Thang scored on the power play.
The loss drops the Irish to 7-7-4 overall and 4-4-4-2 in the CCHA while Miami improves to 11-2-5 on the year and 8-1-3-1 in conference action. The RedHawk sweep marked the first time that Notre Dame was swept in a weekend series since Oct. 24-25, 2009 when Miami swept the RedHawks at the Joyce Center.
Miami’s lone goal of the first period came on the power play. With the RedHawks controlling the puck, Camper moved the puck to the right point where Schilling took it and moved towards the right circle, firing a wrist shot wide of the goal to Wingels set up on the goal line to the right of Johnson. Wingels waited for Johnson to slide across the crease before tucking the puck inside the left post at 10:27 for his sixth goal of the season.
Notre Dame was out shot in the first period by a 12-4 margin. The Irish defense was reduced to just four defenders after the first period. Junior Ian Cole was a late scratch due to an injury suffered on Friday night and sophomore Eric Ringel left after the first period after he was run into boards midway through the stanza.
In the second period Johnson kept the Irish in the game, making 13 saves while Knapp stopped all 10 Notre Dame chances.
The RedHawks finally wore down the Irish defense in the third period, scoring three times.
The Miami lead would go to 2-0 at 3:38 of the third period with Cannone getting the goal. With Nick Larson in the penalty box, the Irish tried to clear the puck in the defensive zone but Schilling knocked it down at the right point and fed it to Cannone in the high slot. He moved in and drilled a wrist shot through a screen to beat Johnson over his stick hand. The goal was Cannone’s fourth of the season.
Camper and Vaive added goals late in the period off Irish turnover with Camper scoring at 15:34 and Vaive at 16:55 to close out the Miami scoring for the final of 4-0.
Notre Dame had just 18 shots in the game with Connor Knapp recording his second shutout of the season for the RedHawks.
The Irish were 0-for-7 on the power play in the game and 0-for-15 for the weekend. Miami converted twice on five chances for the night.
The Irish return to action on Friday, Dec. 11 when they travel to Ann Arbor, Mich., to face the Michigan Wolverines in the opening of a home-and-home series. Game time at Yost Arena is 7:35 p.m.
IRISH NOTES:
** The last time Notre Dame was shutout in back-to-back games was Jan. 21-22, 2005 when the Irish were blanked by Wisconsin, 2-0 and 2-0 on consecutive nights. One of those shutouts was at the Joyce Center and the other at Allstate Arena in Chicago.
** The four goals surrendered by the Irish on Saturday night marks just the second time this season that Notre Dame has surrendered more than three goals in a game. Bowling Green had four markers on Nov. 28. The Irish are fourth in the nation in scoring defense as they have allowed just 1.94 goals per game.
•• Despite giving up four goals on Saturday night, freshman goaltender Mike Johnson’s goals-against average still remains among the best in the nation. His 1.60 goals-against average is fourth in the nation and his .940 save percentage is third overall.
GAME SUMMARY 1 2 3 - F#15/#14 Notre Dame (7-7-4/4-4-4-2) 0 0 0 - 0#1/#1 Miami (11-2-5/8-1-3-1) 1 0 3 - 4
Scoring
First Period: MU: Tommy Wingels 6 (Cameron Schilling, Carter Camper), PPG, 10:27.
Penalties: ND: 3 for 6 minutes; MU: 2 for 4 minutes.
Second Period: No Scoring.
Penalties: ND: 1 for 2 minutes; MU: 4 for 8 minutes.
Third Period: MU: Pat Cannone 4 (Schilling), PPG, 3:38; MU: Camper 8 (Schilling), 15:34; MU: Justin Vaive 3 (Matt Tomassoni), 16:55.
Penalties: ND: 2 for 4 minutes; MU: 2 for 4 minutes.
Shots On Goal:Notre Dame 4 - 10 - 4 - 18Miami 12 - 13 - 11 - 36
Goaltender Saves:ND: Mike Johnson (60:00) 11 - 13 - 8 - 32MU: Connor Knapp (59:42) 4 - 10 - 4 - 18
Power Plays:ND: 0 for 7MU: 2 for 5
Attendance: 3,119