Nov. 6, 1999
Nov. 6, 1999
OMAHA, Neb. – Nebraska-Omaha used a steady offensive onslaught and an effective penalty kill to defeat visiting Notre Dame, 5-3, in the second and final game of their Central Collegiate Hockey Association series Saturday at the Omaha Civic Auditorium.
Notre Dame (2-6-2, 1-5-2 CCHA) received goals from senior left wing Andy Jurkowski, senior defenseman Tyson Fraser and sophomore left wing David Inman but the Irish failed to catch the Mavericks, which held early leads of 1-0 and 2-1 before stretching to their final cushion.
Nebraska-Omaha (1-3-2, 1-3-2 CCHA) brought the sellout crowd of 8,314 fans to its feet while posting the program’s first win in its inaugural CCHA season. UNO held a 35-26 edge in shots on goal and stopped six of seven Irish power plays.
Irish freshman Tony Zasowski-who stopped 37 of 39 UNO shots in Fridays 2-2 tie with the Mavericks-gave up two goals in each of the first two periods while the hosts racked up a commanding 28-11 edge in shots during the first two periods.
For the second straight night, the Irish failed to cash in a lengthy 5-on-3 opportunity, after a pair of UNO penalties yielded a two-man advantage for 54 seconds late in the second period.
UNOs second-period surge included a pair of goals after scrambles in front of the Irish net. Sophomore left wing Nick Fohr knocked in his first goal of the season from the top of the crease at the 2:51 mark while freshman right wing David Brisson netted his second goal of the season five minutes later, after scooping home a loose puck from the left side of the slot (7:16).
Inmans shot from the left circle yielded his team-leading sixth goal of the season and cut UNOs lead to 4-3 with 14 minutes left to play but the Mavericks restored their two-goal cushion with seven minutes to play, after senior right wing Jeff Edwards took a faceoff from junior center Jason Cupp and drilled a shot from the right circle inside the far left post.
The Mavericks opened the scoring midway through the first period on a goal by junior Jason White but the Irish just 33 seconds later, when senior left wing Andy Jurkowski contiued his recent scoring streak by sending home a pass from sophomore center Brett Henning, beating senior goaltender Kendall Sidoruk from the left side of the crease (10:59).
UNO went back ahead late in the opening period, on a power-play goal from the left side of the crease by senior defenseman Ryan Bencurik (17:51), but the Irish forged a 2-2 tie on a power-play goal in the final minute of the period. Senior center Ben Simon sent a pass to the top of the left circle for senior defenseman Tyson Fraser, who beat Sidoruk with a rising shot at the 19:29 mark.
NOTES: Notre Dame scored twice in the first period, after totaling just one first-period goal in the first nine games this season … Jurkowski has a point in four of the last five games, including goals vs. Ferris State, Miami and UNO … Fraser and fellow senior defensemen Nathan Borega skated together for the fourth time this season and the 70th time in their career … Notre Dame has scored power-play goals in eight of 10 games this season while 10 of the teams total 22 goals have come on the PP.
NOTRE DAME (2-6-2, 1-5-2 CCHA) 2 0 1 - 3NEBRASKA OMAHA (1-3-2, 1-3-2 CCHA) 2 2 1 - 5
1st: ND 1. White 3 (Carr, Reynolds) 10:26, ND 1. Jurkowski 3 (Henning, Dusbabek) 10:59, UNO 2. Bencurik 1 (Carr) 17:51, ND 2. Fraser (Simon, Dolder), PP, 19:29.
2nd: UNO 3. Fohr 1 (Reynolds, Carr) 2:51, UNO 4. Brisson 2 (Reynolds, Cupp), PP, 7:16.
3rd: ND 3. Inman 6 (Simon) 6:19, UNO 5. Edwards 2 (Cupp) 12:59.
Shots: UNO 16-12-7/35, ND 6-5-15/26.
Saves: UNO (Sidoruk) 4-5-14/23, ND (Zasowski) 14-10-6/30.
Power Play: UNO 2-for-4, ND 1-for-7.
Penalties: UNO 8 for 16:00, ND 5 for 10:00.