Jan. 28, 2000

FAIRBANKS, Alaska – Juniors Dan Carlson and Ryan Dolder scored in a six-minute stretch of the second period and freshman Tony Zasowski continued his strong play in the nets as Notre Dame posted its third one-goal victory of the season over Alaska-Fairbanks, 2-1, in Central Collegiate Hockey Association action Friday night at the Carlson Center.

The win was the first on the opponent’s ice for Notre Dame this season (1-5-3) but the Irish continued their struggle with scoring goals on the road, as Notre Dame has averaged just 1.8 goals in those nine away games.

Notre Dame (11-13-5, 8-7-4 CCHA, 20 points) picked up some ground in the CCHA standings while maintaining a little breathing room above four teams that are bunched at 17 or 18 points. The Irish remained three points behind fourth-place Lake Superior (11-7-1, 23 pts), which used a 4-2 home win over seventh-place Miami (7-7-3, 17 pts) to move within a point of third place. Notre Dame heads into Saturday’s action just four points out of third, thanks to a stunning 7-4 loss by Northern Michigan (11-4-2, 24 pts) at 10th-place Bowling Green (7-10-0, 14 pts), while the Irish also are suddenly just five points behind second-place Michigan State(12-5-1, 25 pts), which skated to a 2-2 tie at sixth-place Western Michigan (7-9-3, 18 pts). Friday’s other game saw eighth-place Nebraska-Omaha (6-8-5, 17 pts) play to a 5-5 tie at sixth-place Ferris State (8-9-2, 18 pts).

Zasowski-who has allowed just 21 even-strength goals in 15 starts this season-stopped 17 of 18 shots on Friday, with UAF sophomore defenseman Daniel Carriere converting on the power play early in the second period for a 1-0 lead.

UAF had most of the opportunities in the scoreless first period but failed to capitalize on three power plays, including a 37-second stretch of 5-on-3 play. But the Nanooks managed just nine shots on goals the rest of the way, with the Irish owning a 19-6 shot edge during the decisive second period.

GOAL RECAPS:

* Carriere opened the scoring on the power play early in the second period, taking the puck near the center of the right circle and pausing before flicking a shot between Zasowski’s right skate and the far post … sophomore C Bobby Andrews and freshman C Blaine Bablitz assisted on Carriere’s seventh goal of the season (4:15).

* Less than three minutes later, sophomore C David Inman initiated the first Irish goal with a pass around the rightside boards … senior LW Andy Jurkowski then took the puck behind the UAF net before wrapping a pass around the far post … Dolder was waiting at the top of the slot and quickly sent the puck past freshman G Lance Mayes, extending his career-best season goal total to seven (6:57).

* Carlson notched his team-leading third game-winning goal of the season (and second in the last three games) midway through the second period … the power-play goal was set up by a deflected shot from the top of the left circle from freshman RW Michael Chin (who picked up an assist on the play – his first since October 24) … the puck kicked loose between the circles and Carlson alertly sent it into the net, for his team-leading seventh power-play goal of the season (11:42).

NOTES: Carlson’s seven PPGs this season are more than his total from his first two seasons combined (6) while his three game-winning goals equal his total from the past two seasons … ND has evened its all-time series with UAF (12-12-0), including 10-2-0 in the last 12 … Carlson has eight career points (4G-4A) in seven games vs. UAF … 28 of ND’s 69 goals have come on the PP this season … 12 of ND’s last 19 games have been decided by 0-1 goals (6-3-3 in those games) … ND improved to 24-0-3 over the past two season when leading at the second intermission (8-0-0 this season) … Carlson has 7G-5A in the last 12 games and is riding a three-game goal streak … Inman has 4A in his last eight games (one in his first 17) …Chin has 3G/1A in last 10 games … prior to Friday’s game, ND’s comparative stats at home and on the opponent’s ice included several big disparities: 1st-period scoring (14 GF, 15 GA at home, 5 GF, 10 GA away), goals per game (2.7 at home, 1.6 away), shots per game (30.3 at home, 25.4 away), shot margin (+3.8/gm at home, -3.0 away), shot pct. (.088 at home, .064 away), power play pct. (.182 at home, .080 away) and penalty-kill pct. (.874 at home, .691 away).

NOTRE DAME (11-13-5, 8-7-4 CCHA) 0 2 0 – 2

ALASKA FAIRBANKS (5-17-1, 3-16-0 CCHA) 0 1 0 – 1

2nd: UAF 1. Carriere 7 (Andrews, Bablitz), PP, 4:15, ND 2. Dolder 7 (Jurkowski, Inman) 6:57, ND 2. Carlson 10 (Chin), PP, 11:42.

Shots: ND 6-19-8/33, UA F 9-3-6/18.

Saves: ND (Zasowski) 9-2-6/17. UAF (Mayes) 6-17-8/31.

Power Play: ND 1-for-7, UAF 1-for-5.

Penalties: ND 6 for 12:00, UAF 9 for 26:00.