Oct. 8, 2010
St. Louis, Mo. – Notre Dame freshman left wing Anders Lee sure knows how to make an entrance.
In his first career game for the Fighting Irish, Lee scored three goals to help pace the Notre Dame attack in a 6-3 win over Holy Cross in the first round of the Warrior College Hockey Ice Breaker Tournament at the Scottrade Center on Friday night.
Lee made the most of playing with seniors Ben Ryan and Ryan Guentzel on his line as both players recorded three assists as that nine had a nine-point night. Joining Lee on the score sheet were senior Joe Lavin, sophomore Nick Larson and fellow freshman T.J. Tynan. Shayne Stockton, Adam Schmidt and Erik Vos scored for the Crusaders.
Notre Dame will now play in the championship game at 3:00 p.m. (CT) on Sunday, Oct. 10 versus Boston University after the Terriers defeated Wisconsin, 4-3, in the second game on Friday night.
“I was pleased with the number of things we did well today,” said head coach Jeff Jackson. “We had patience and poise with the puck. We scored some good goals but that was a result of being patient. It’s still early. We have other areas that we will need to work on.”
Lee wasted little time getting Notre Dame’s first goal of the season just 1:58 into the game. Ryan started the play moving the puck back to defenseman Kevin Lind at the left point. Lind’s shot was stopped by Holy Cross goaltender Thomas Tysowsky but Lee was there for the rebound to give the Irish the 1-0 lead.
“Anders (Lee) has a great shot and great instincts with the puck,” said Jackson. “That whole line with Benny (Ryan) and Ryan (Guentzel) played well. Those were big goals by Anders tonight, but it was a group effort.”
The Crusaders answered at 8:41 when Shayne Stockton whipped a shot from the left circle past Mike Johnson in the Irish goal to make it 1-1.
The Irish lead would go to 2-1 at 12:15 with Lee getting his second of the game off a great centering feed by Guentzel. The senior right wing weaved through a pair of Holy Cross players and found Lee camped on the right post where he one-timed it past Tysowsky.
Lavin increased the lead to 3-1, notching a short-handed goal at 18:13. Again Guentzel led the rush, taking a shot off Johnson’s pads before racing down the right side. He cut to the Crusader goal, firing a shot on Tysowsky that was stopped but Lavin crashed the crease to shovel the rebound home for his first of the year. The Irish out shot Holy Cross, 18-9, in the opening stanza.
Notre Dame’s lead would go to 4-1 as the Irish scored via the power play at 3:09 of the second. Center Riley Sheahan carried the puck out of the left wing corner along goal line and out waited the Crusader defense before centering a pass to Larson at the top of the crease. The sophomore left wing redirected the shot behind Tysowsky to give Notre Dame a three-goal cushion.
Holy Cross would cut the advantage in half at 6:28 when Adam Schmidt fired a shot from the right wing boards that got past Johnson to make it a 4-2 lead.
Before the Crusaders could mount another charge, Lee stepped in to make it a three-goal game with his third of the night at 11:36. Ryan and Guentzel set up the goal as the Edina, Minn., native snapped a shot from in close past Tysowsky for the hat trick.
Tynan closed out the scoring at 19:41 of the second period when he scored his first of the season. Billy Maday took a shot in close that Tysowsky kicked out towards the right circle. Tynan tracked the loose puck down and buried a wrist shot over the Crusader goaltender’s glove to make it a 6-2 game.
Holy Cross would close the scoring with the lone goal of the third period at 17:59 when Vos tucked the rebound of a Brendan Baker shot past Johnson for the final of 6-3.
The two teams finished the night with 35 shots each. Johnson made 32 saves in the win while Tysowsky finished with 29 on the night.
The Irish killed all six Holy Cross power-play chances while scoring once in four chances of their own.
Ryan equaled a career high with three points in the game while Guentzel’s three-point night was a career best.
Notre Dame’s game versus Holy Cross was just the fourth meeting in the all-time series with the Irish now leading, 3-1. The last meeting came on Nov. 4, 1990 at the Joyce Center with Notre Dame taking a 9-2 win.
**IRISH NOTES**
– The Warrior Ice Breaker Tournament is the 33rd in-season tournament that Notre Dame has participated in during the 43-year history of the program. The Irish have finished first (eight times), second (six times), third (seven times) and fourth (11 times). Notre Dame has finished first in three of the last four in-season tournaments that the Irish have participated in going back to the 2007-08 season.
– The Irish dressed 11 freshmen for the game, including freshmen goaltenders Steven Summerhays and Joe Rogers.
GAME SUMMARY 1 2 3 - FHoly Cross (0-1-0) 1 1 1 - 3Notre Dame (1-0-0) 3 3 0 - 6
Scoring First Period: ND: Anders Lee 1 (Kevin Lind, Ben Ryan), 1:58; HC: Shayne Stockton 1 (Everett Sheen, Adam Schmidt), 8:41; ND: Lee 2 (Ryan Guentzel, B. Ryan), 12:15; ND: Joe Lavin 1 (Guentzel, Mike Johnson), SHG, 18:13.
Penalties: HC: 1 for 2 minutes; ND: 1 for 2 minutes.
Second Period: ND: Nick Larson 1 (Riley Sheahan, Shayne Taker), PPG, 3:09; HC: Schmidt 1 (Sheen), 6:28; ND: Lee 3 (B. Ryan, Guentzel), 11:36; ND: T.J. Tynan 1 (Billy Maday, Larson), 19:41.
Penalties: HC: 3 for 6 minutes; ND: 3 for 6 minutes.
Third Period: HC: Erik Vos 1 (Brendan Baker, Matt Gordon), 17:59,
Penalties: HC: 0 for 0 minutes; ND: 3 for 17 minutes.
Shots On Goal:Holy Cross 9 - 13 - 13 - 35Notre Dame 18 - 10 - 7 - 35
Goaltender Saves:HC: Thomas Tysowsky (60:00) 15 - 7 - 7 - 28ND: Mike Johnson (60:00) 8 - 12 - 12 - 32
Power Plays:HC: 0 for 6ND: 1 for 3
Attendance: Not Available