Feb. 11, 2000

NOTRE DAME, Ind. – Sophomore left wing Jeff Hoggan scored a pivotal shorthanded goal and senior Kendall Sidoruk made 30 saves, as visiting Nebraska-Omaha emerged with a 3-1 victory Friday night over Notre Dame, in Central Collegiate Hockey Association action that could have a direct bearing on home-ice positioning for the upcoming CCHA Tournament.

Notre Dame (12-15-6, 9-9-5 CCHA) and UNO (11-13-5, 9-9-5) currently stand in a dead heat for the fifth and final home-ice spot in the CCHA first-round series. Any ties in the final regular-season standings will first be broken based on league wins (ND and UNO currently have the same number of wins), followed by head-to-head results (UNO had clinched head-to-head with the Irish, after playing to a 2-2 tie and 5-3 win at home vs. ND in November).

The Irish claimed an early 1-0 lead-on the team-leading 13th goal of the season from junior left wing Dan Carlson-but Sidoruk shut out the hosts over the game’s final 56 minutes. The Mavericks special teams then made the game’s key plays, with a power-play goal tying the game before Hoggan’s shorthanded score late in the opening. UNO first into the empty net with 0:37 left to play, sealing the win.

Notre Dame freshman goaltender Tony Zasowski made 23 saves in the loss and has allowed just eight non-power-play goals in the last 10 games.

UNO surged to the lead shortly before the first intermission, after an Irish turnover in the neutral zone. Senior right wing Jeff Edwards picked up the puck near the right boards and sent a lead pass for Hoggan, who slanted into the slot before scoring his ninth goal of the season with a shot that sneaked between Zasowski’s left skate and the near post (17:45).

The Mavericks had tied the game midway through the first period, on a power-play goal from junior center Jason Cupp. Junior center Allan Carr send a shot from the high slot, with Zasowski shifting to his left before quickly kicking to his right for the pad save. The puck then bounced around at the top of the crease, with Hoggan getting a piece of the puck before Cupp knocked home is fourth goal of the season into the open left side of the net (8:25).

The Irish opened the scoring just three minutes into the game, when a pass in transition from senior center Ben Simon kicked off the right leg of the charging Carlson and skidded into the near side of the net. Senior right wing Joe Dusbabek set up the goal with an outlet pass down the right side while senior center Ben Simon fed the puck from the bottom of the right circle, as the Irish capitalized on a UNO player losing his stick during the counterattack (3:17).

Both goaltenders made several tough saves during the final period while each team hit the post in the final 25 minutes of game time (Dusbabek clanged a shot from the slot off the crossbar with four minutes left in the second period). Sophomore defenseman Zach Scribner ended the drama by firing a shot from near the center of the UNO zone into the vacated net at the other end of the ice (19:23).

NOTES: ND has outshot its opponent (or tied in the shot margin) during each of the last seven games with a 4-2-1 record in those games … Carlson has 7G in the last seven games … the Irish had posted six straight games with a PPG before Friday’s 0-for-6 … UNO has fought off 5-on-3 situations in each of its games vs. ND this season … Dusbabek has 5G-6A in his last 10 games played … Zasowski improved his Irish record season totals to a 2.24 goals-against average and .909 save pct. … he has allowed 0-2 goals in 14 of his 19 starts … in other CCHA action Friday, first-place Michigan (16-5-1) posted a 7-2 home win over ninth-place Western Michigan (8-12-3) … Michigan State (14-7-1) moved within a point of second-place Northern Michigan (14-5-2), with a 3-2 overtime win over visiting NMU … Lake Superior (14-8-1) kept pace with MSU, hanks to a 1-0 overtime win at 11th-place Ohio State … Ferris State (10-11-2) now stands just a point behind ND and UNO, after a 3-2 win at last-place Alaska Fairbanks (3-19-1) while 10th-place Bowling Green (9-12-0) crept closer to clinching a playoff spot with a 5-1 win at eighth-place Miami.

NEBRASKA-OMAHA 2 0 1 – 3

NOTRE DAME 1 0 0 – 1

1st: ND 1. Carlson 13 (Simon, Dusbabek) 3:17, UNO 1. Cupp 4 (Hoggan, Carr), PP, 8:25, UNO 2. Hoggan 9 (Edwards), SH, 17:45.

3rd: UNO 3. Scribner 6 (Skogland), EN, 19:23.

SHOTS: UNO 10-7-9/26, ND 13-7-11/31.

SAVES: UNO (Sidoruk) 12-7-11/30, ND (Zasowski) 8-7-8/23.

POWER PLAY: UNO 1-for-5, ND 0-for-6.

PENALTIES: UNO 8 for 24:00, ND 6 for 12:00.