October 24, 1998

KALAMAZOO, Mich.–The Fighting Irish, coming off an impressive shutout at home over Ohio State on Friday, fell on the road to Central Collegiate Hockey Association foe, Western Michigan, Saturday.

The 2-1 loss marked the first defeat of the year the Notre Dame squad (6-1-0, 5-1-0) currently ranked No. 7 in the nation.

The Broncos, who have taken 14 of their last 15 home meetings with the Irish at Lawson Arena, claimed victory despite being outshot 32-22.

Western Michigan struck first when Chuck Mindel collected a loose puck behind Notre Dame goalie, Forrest Karr, and wristed in a shot from the left corner at 19:31 in the first period.

Notre Dame tied the game on a play initiated by winger Jay Kopischke’s faceoff win. Center Brett Henning made a pass back to Kopischke in the slot where he fired a shot off the Broncos’ goal tender, Matt Barnes; the resulting rebound was slapped in by Matt Van Arkel at 1:14 of the second period.

Western Michigan left wing Steve Rymsha broke the stalemate when he knocked in a rebound that sprung from a shot by Jason Redenius at 3:14 in the third.

Notre Dame pulled Karr and threw an extra man into the mix over the final 30 seconds of the contest. Although the Irish produced four solid shots before the buzzer, Barnes proved equal to the challenge. Barnes turned away 11 shots over the third period.

Irish goalie Forrest Karr tallied 20 saves, while the Broncos’ Barnes, a top veteran goalie in the CCHA, notched 31 and the McDonald’s Star of the Game.

Irish Notes
&149; Notre Dame’s power play went 0-for-4, making them 0-for-11 this weekend.
&149; Forrest Karr is 9-2 on the road the last two years — both losses came against WMU.
&149; Western Michigan earned points against a ranked team for the second straight game (they tied No. 4 Michigan State on Oct. 16.
&149; Notre Dame Sophomore Joe Dusbabek did not play due to injury.