Dec. 29, 2007
TAMPA, Fla. – TAMPA, Fla. – The University of Massachusetts Minutemen scored three power-play goals, including the final two goals of the game to hand Notre Dame a 4-3 loss in the opening game of the Lightning College Hockey Classic Saturday night at the St. Pete Times Forum.
The Irish got goals from Erik Condra, Christian Hanson and Luke Lucyk to build a 3-2 lead at the 8:54 mark of the second period only to see Justin Braun and James Marcou score power-play goals with Marcou’s game winner coming at the 14:26 mark of the third period. Michael Kostka (ppg) and Cory Quirk also scored for the Minutemen. Quirk finished the game with three points (1g, 2a) and P.J. Fenton had three assists in the contest.
The loss snapped Notre Dame’s nine-game winning streak and drops the sixth-ranked Irish to 16-5-0 overall. Massachusetts improves to 8-3-5 on the season.
The game marked the first time this season that Notre Dame has surrendered three power-play goals in a game. The last time the Irish gave up three power-play goals in a game was on Dec. 17, 2005 when Lake Superior State had three man-advantage goals in a 4-0 win over Notre Dame.
The Minutemen got on the scoreboard first when they picked up their first power-play goal of the night when Kostka scored at 16:12 off assists from Cory Quirk and P.J. Fenton.
The Irish tied the game at 19:07, just one second after a power play ended. Sophomore center Kevin Deeth slid a pass through a UMass defender’s legs to Condra who pulled goaltender Paul Dainton to the ice and flipped a backhander into the net.
Massachusetts made it 2-1 just 30 seconds into the second period when Quirk beat Irish goaltender Jordan Pearce from in front for his fifth goal of the year.
Notre Dame answered back just 1:11 later when Hanson took a feed from Robin Bergman and beat Dainton with a nice move in front for his career-best sixth goal of the season to tie the game at 2-2.
The Irish would take the lead at 8:54 off a face off to the right of Dainton. Hanson won a face off back to Lucyk who fired a shot that went off a UMass defender and changed direction past Dainton for Lucyk’s first goal of the season.
Massachusetts equaled the score at 17:48 when Braun scored off assists from Chris Davis and P.J. Fenton for his fourth goal of the year.
That set up Marcou’s game winner at 14:26 when the freshman flipped a rebound past Pearce for his fourth of the season.
Notre Dame out shot the Minutemen, 32-25, in the game. Dainton finished with 29 saves while Pearce had 21 stops in the game. UMass was 3-for-5 on the power play while the Irish were 0-for-5.
In the second game of the tournament, Colorado College rallied from a 2-0 deficit to score three third-period goals with the game winner coming with 7.6 seconds on the clock for a 3-2 win over Rensselaer. The Tigers got two goals from Jimmy Kilpatrick and the game winner on the power-play from Stephen Schultz at 19:53. Paul Kerins and Jake Morissette scored for Rensselaer.
The Engineers will face Notre Dame at 5:05 p.m. on Sunday while Massachusetts and Colorado College will meet for the championship at 8:05 p.m.
IRISH NOTES:
**Erik Condra’s score gave him a team-high 23 points through 21 games this season. He has also taken a team-high 63 shots.
**Christian Hanson tacked on a goal in the second period to bring his season total to six. His assist on Lucyk’s score was his fifth of the season.
**Notre Dame is 2-3-0 all-time against UMass.
**The Irish are now 2-4-0 against top-15 teams, last losing to a ranked opponent during a doubleheader split against Miami (Nov. 9-10).
GAME SUMMARY 1 2 3 - F#6/#6 Notre Dame (16-5-0) 1 2 0 - 3#9/#9 UMass (8-3-5) 1 2 1 - 4
Scoring First Period: UMass: Michael Kostka 3 (Cory Quirk, P.J. Fenton), PPG, 16:12; ND: Erik Condra 9 (Kevin Deeth, Ryan Thang), 19:07.
Penalties: ND: 2 for 4 minutes; UMass: 2 for 4 minutes
Second Period: UMass: Cory Quirk 5 (Chris Davis, P.J. Fenton), 00:30; ND: Christian Hanson 6 (Robin Bergman, Evan Rankin), 1:41; ND: Luke Lucyk 1 (Christian Hanson), 8:54; UMass: Justin Braun 4 (Chris Davis, P.J. Fenton), PPG, 17:48.
Penalties: ND: 2 for 4 minutes; UMass: 2 for 4 minutes.
Third Period: UMass: James Marcou 4 (Cory Quirk, Justin Braun), PPG, 14:26.
Penalties: ND: 1 for 2 minutes; UMass: 1 for 5 minutes.
Shots On Goal:UMass 6 - 13 - 6 - 25Notre Dame 6 - 13 - 13 - 29
Goaltender Saves:ND - Jordan Pearce (59:06) 5 - 11 - 5 - 21UMass - Paul Dainton (60:00) 5 - 11 - 13 - 11
Power Plays:ND: 0 for 5PR: 3 for 5