Oct. 23, 2007
Bowling Green, Ohio – Notre Dame got goals from four different players; outstanding special teams work and solid goaltending from Jordan Pearce on the way to a 4-2 win in the CCHA opener versus Bowling Green on Tuesday night.
Mark Van Guilder (ppg), Garrett Regan, Evan Rankin and Erik Condra (shg) led the Notre Dame attack while Pearce made 18 saves on the night, including 10 in the third period. Justin White and Ben Ryan each had two assists for the Irish.
The Irish killed all five Bowling Green power-play chances in the game while notching a short-handed goal of their own and have now killed 21 straight over the last four games. They also scored once on the power-play (1-for-8), giving them at least one power-play goal in each of the first five games of the season.
Bowling Green led 1-0 and 2-1 in the game, getting goals from Dan Sexton and Derek Whitmore on the night.
The victory improves Notre Dame to 3-2-0 overall and 1-0-0 in CCHA play while the Falcons go to 1-2-0 and 0-1-0 in league play. The Irish have now gone nine games (8-0-1) without a loss to Bowling Green, dating back to the 2004-05 season.
“I thought we made some progress tonight,” said head coach Jeff Jackson. “We played well in the second period when we started valuing the puck more. We did a much better job in the second than the first two periods and it showed in the way we played.”
Bowling Green took the first lead of the game at the 14:51 mark, taking advantage of an Irish turnover. Todd McIlrath forced the puck loose in the left wing corner where Whitmore took control, sliding the puck to Sexton in the left wing circle and the freshman snapped a shot past Pearce to make it 1-0.
With 3:47 left in the period, Notre Dame defenseman Luke Lucyk was hit from behind by Bowling Green’s Kai Kantola, going head first into the boards and was down on the ice briefly. Kantola received a major penalty for hitting from behind and a game misconduct on the play. Lucyk would return in the second period and took a regular shift on defense.
The Irish were able to capitalize on the five-minute power play at 17:43 on Van Guilder’s fourth goal of the season. Defenseman Brock Sheahan moved the puck to Van Guilder on the left wing boards. The senior center moved across the face-off circle, looking to pass and instead whipped a shot past Falcon goaltender Jimmy Spratt. The goal tied the game at 1-1.
Bowling Green would take a 2-1 lead just 1:50 into the second period on a goal by Whitmore. With a delayed penalty coming up to Notre Dame, Sexton carried the puck down the right side and slid it across to Whitmore on the left side. The Falcons’ senior captain capped the 2-on-1 as he redirected the puck past Pearce for his third goal of the young season.
From there the Irish would take over the period, out shooting Bowling Green, 18-3 in the period. Notre Dame tied the score at 2-2 just over a minute later at 2:51 when Ryan carried the puck in front of the net and pulled Spratt to the right side with a deke. Ryan’s shot was stopped but Regan crashed the crease and poked the loose puck home for his third goal of the season.
Hard work and hustle by Notre Dame resulted in the third goal at 18:46. Freshman Robin Bergman carried the puck to the front of the net where the Bowling Green defense blocked it. White grabbed the loose disc and shoveled a shot towards the goal that Spratt stopped but couldn’t control. Rankin poked away at the loose puck and managed to push it over the goal line for his first of the year and the eventual game winner to send Notre Dame to the second intermission with a 3-2 lead.
The Irish sealed the win in the third period as the penalty killers went to work. Condra picked a loose puck at the Notre Dame blue line and carried down the right side into the Bowling Green zone. At the top of the right circle he snapped off a shot that beat Spratt to his glove side and give the Irish a 4-2 lead.
“When our penalty kill is playing aggressive, those are the kind of things that can happen,” said Jackson. “I’d like to see us play that aggressively when we are 5-on-5.”
Pearce protected the lead from there, stopping all 10 shots he faced and the Irish had their third win of the year.
“I told Jordan that’s one thing he’s got to learn, to stay focused when there aren’t a lot of shots on goal,” said Jackson. “In the second, he only had a couple shots and he was ready in the third when they had some good chances. He did a good job tonight.”
Notre Dame continues its’ three-game road swing this weekend when the Irish travel to Big Rapids, Mich., to face the Ferris State Bulldogs on Friday and Saturday, Oct. 26-27. Both games have 7:05 p.m. starting times.
GAME SUMMARY 1 2 3 - F#12/#12 Notre Dame (3-2-0/1-0-0) 1 2 1 - 4Bowling Green (1-2-0/0-1-0) 1 1 0 - 2
ScoringFirst Period: BGSU: Dan Sexton 1 (Derek Whitmore, Todd McIlrath), 14:51;ND: Mark Van Guilder 4 (Brock Sheahan, Ben Ryan), PPG, 17:43.Penalties: ND: 3 for 6 minutes; BGSU: 6 for 23 minutes.
Second Period: BGSU: Whitmore 3 (Sexton, Kevin Schmidt), 1:50;ND: Garrett Regan 3 (Ben Ryan, Justin White), 2:59;ND: Evan Rankin (Justin White, Robin Bergman), 18:46.Penalties: ND: 0 for 0 minutes; BGSU: 3 for 6 minutes.
Third Period: ND: Erik Condra 1 (unassisted), SHG, 4:35.Penalties: ND: 3 for 6 minutes; BGSU: 0 for 0 minutes.
Shots On Goal:Notre Dame 8 - 18 - 4 - 30Bowling Green 7 - 3 - 10 - 20
Goaltender Saves:ND - Jordan Pearce (59:17) 6 - 2 - 10 - 18BGSU - Jimmy Spratt (58:31) 7 - 16 - 3 - 26
Power Plays:ND: 1 for 8BGSU: 0 for 5
Attendance: 2,424