#11 Irish Fall at Ohio State 2-0

COLUMBUS, Ohio —Tommy Nappier stopped all 30 Notre Dame shots he faced to lead No. 4 Ohio State to a 2-0 win over the No. 11 FightingIrish on Saturday night at the Value City Arena (7,994).
 
Cale Morris totaled 22 saves in the Notre Dame (14-10-3, 7-8-2-2 B1G) net, while Austin Pooley and Carson Meyer scored for Ohio State (17-5-4, 9-3-3-3).  

“I thought we played hard and executed the game plan fairly well,” head coach Jeff Jackson said. “They’re a hard team to play against, have good goaltending and we just couldn’t find a way to score. That was the difference, yesterday and today they found a way to score at key times of the game.”
 
Both goaltenders made six saves in the first period to keep the game scoreless after 20 minutes of play. Morris’ best stop came early in the frame when he flashed his right pad to deny Grant Gabriele’s one-timer from the slot. Eight minutes into the period, Dylan Malmquist had one of Notre Dame’s best chances when he skated down the near boards with speed and tested Nappier’s glove.
 
Ohio State took a 1-0 lead 53 seconds into the second period when a shot from the point deflected off Pooley in front and beat Morris low.
 
Following the Ohio State goal, Nate Clurman hit the post and then Jake Pivonka and Cal Burke forced Nappier into back-to-back pad saves. With just over seven minutes left in the frame it looked as if Cal Burke tied things up, but after video review the goal was waved off as officials cited a crease violation.
 
Morris was busier in the second period, stopping 12 of the 13 shots he faced, including a pair of point-blank stops on Freddy Gerard five minutes into the period.  
 
Two minutes into the third, Morris made a big stop at the top of his crease on Quinn Preston, who was on a two-on-one rush, to keep it a one-goal game.
 
Ohio State extended the lead with 4:44 to play when Meyer fired a wrist shot high past Morris following an offensive zone faceoff win by the Buckeyes.
 
The Irish pulled Morris in favor of the extra attacker with 2:53 left, but could not solve Nappier.
 
Both teams were 0-for-1 on the power play.
 
Up Next
The Fighting Irish have their Big Ten bye next weekend but will return with three home games in five days when they play host to Michigan (Feb. 12) and Wisconsin (Feb. 15-16). For tickets click here.

Trio Up For Hobey Vote

  • It was announced on Jan. 16 that forward Cal Burke, goaltender Cale Morris and defenseman Bobby Nardella have each been selected to Phase One of the Hobey Baker Award’s fan ballot (vote at www.hobeybaker.com).
  • Awarded annually to college hockey’s top player, the Hobey Baker award includes candidates exhibiting the exceptional character traits of the award’s namesake, Hobey Baker, with consideration given to scholastic achievement and sportsmanship.  
  • Morris, who was awarded the 2018 Mike Richter Award as college hockey’s top goaltender, was named a Top-10 Finalist for the Hobey Baker Award last season.
  • Morris was the fourth player in Notre Dame history to be among the 10 finalists for the Hobey Baker, joining Anders Bjork (2017), David Brown (2007) and Dave Poulin (1982).
  • Morris, a Larkspur, Colorado native, was also the first player from the Centennial State to play his way into the Hobey Top 10.
  • The Fan Balloting (Phase I) of the Hobey Baker award calendar will continue until March 10.
  • On March 20, the Top 10 Finalists will be announced, at which time Phase II Fan Balloting will begin and run through March 31, 2019.
  • The Hobey Hat Trick Finalist Announcement will be made on April 4.
  • The 2019 Hobey Baker Award winner will be announced from a field of three Hobey Hat Trick finalists on Friday, April 12, 2019 during the NCAA Frozen Four Championship in Buffalo, New York.

— ND —