Oct. 1, 2000
Notre Dame, Ind. – The Blue team used a strong defensive effort before holding on for a 3-2 win in the first annual Blue-Gold Hockey Scrimmage in front of an estimated 750 fans at the Joyce Center. The game, a benefit for cancer research and Maine head hockey coach Shawn Walsh who is battling the disease, raised over $3500.
“It was great to see so many fans come to the game. It is unfortunate that cancer has affected everyone on this team in some way and that is was so easy for each player to find someone they could play in honor of today,” Irish head coach Dave Poulin said.
The Blue squad jumped out to an early 1-0 lead on senior winger Chad Chipchase’s goal at the 2:00 mark of the opening period (the teams played two, 22-minutes periods). Chipchase took a Connor Dunlop pass, putting the puck behind Gold sophomore netminder Tony Zasowski and trickling into the net.
Senior winger Matt Van Arkel gave the Blue squad a 2-0 lead at the 20:29, when he converted a Sam Cornelius pass in the slot beating Zasowski.
The Blue took a 2-0 lead in to the locker room and extended the lead to three goals when sophomore defenseman Paul Harris scored on a penalty shot at 7:29 in the final period. With the rules having a team being awarded a penalty shot instead of playing man-up when a penalty was called today, Harris skated in on the goalie before slowing down and taking a soft shot that confused Zasowski and went between his legs.
The Gold finally got on the board when junior center Brett Henning converted a penalty shot effort at 9:14. Henning, who missed another penalty shot earlier in the game, deked right before connecting low and on the short side of Blue goalie junior Jeremiah Kimento.
Freshman center Aaron Gill completed the scoring when he sent a penalty shot over Kimento’s shoulder, pulling the Gold within one.
The Gold outshot the Blue 24-23 in the game. There were nine penalty shots with the Gold converting two and the Blue one.
“I thought we played well,” Poulin said.
“I thought you saw some good things. We were able to work on different parts of our system. This was a terrific conditioning workout for us today. You cannot simulate these conditions in practice.”
“It was good hockey today. Everyone came out flying and ready to go, but more importantly, it raised money for a great cause,” Harris said.
The Irish open their season in the Hall of Fame game Saturday, Oct. 7, against Minnesota at the XCel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minn. Notre Dame’s first home game is Tuesday, Oct. 17, against Wayne State.