October 25, 1996

Eisler records 47 saves to lead Notre Dame

Columbus, Ohio — Junior goaltender Matt Eisler continued hisstellar play with 47 saves, leading the University of Notre Dame hockeyteam to a 3-0 victory over Ohio State in Central Collegiate HockeyAssociation action Friday at the OSU Ice Arena.

Notre Dame (2-0-1, 1-0-1 CCHA) overcame a penalty-ridden first period toremain unbeaten heading into Saturday’s important game against MiamiUniversity. Freshman Joe Dusbabek again came through with the first goalof the game and junior Lyle Andrusiak assisted on the first two goalsfor the Irish, who were outshot 47-30 by OSU.

Ohio State (0-4-0, 0-1-1) suffered through a frustrating 60 minutes ofthe game, as the Buckeyes could not solve Eisler, while failing tocapitalize on 10 power-play opportunities. Notre Dame likewise continuedto struggle in man-up chances, going 0-for-6.

Eisler, who entered the game with a 1.94 goals-against-average, turnedaway more than 20 shots from close range en route to his second careershutout.

Notre Dame seized a quick lead in the opening 90 seconds of the gamewhen Dusbabek scored after controlling a faceoff won at the left circleby Andrusiak. Dusbabek gathered in the puck near the top of the circleand quickly slid a low shot inside the left post, past an unsuspectingOSU goaltender Ray Aho.

Eisler was sharp from the opening drop of the puck, making 13 saves inthe first period alone. Midway through the opening period, OSU’s BrandonLafrance slid through the neutral zone for a breakaway chance on Eisler,but the Irish goaltender made the kick save with his right pad. Withfour minutes remaining in the first period, OSU’s Louie Colsant had anopen shot from between the circles, but Eisler again came through with asave off his right pad.

Eisler kept things going in the second period, making 21 saves. He added13 more in the third period.

Notre Dame went ahead 2-0 at the 11:05 mark of the second period whenDusbabek sent a pass down the left side for Andrusiak, who crossed thepuck to the right post for sophomore Aniket Dhadphale. Aho was inposition, but Dhadphale sent a bouncer inside the left post for hisfirst goal of the season.

The Irish were unable to secure the clinching third goal until seniorSteve Noble found the empty net with just 1:13 remaining after BrianUrick sent the puck off the back boards, following a pass from BenNelsen.

NOTRE DAME GOALTENDER MATT EISLER: “It’s very special just toget the win. To tell you the truth, I tried not to think about theshutout until the last few minutes, which is always hard to do. But in a2-0 game, you can’t really think about a shutout – you just have tofocus on getting a win. Obviously, with 53 saves, I didn’t see all ofthem. Some of them just hit me and I guess when you feel well and areplaying good, that just happens. Coach mentioned that we can’t be givingup (close to) 50 shots in a game. We didn’t play all that poorly. Wewere shorthanded for most of the game, so you can’t have too manyscoring chances then. I really can’t remember a game I’ve had with thismany saves, at least of this magnitude. There were a couple shots thatwere close ones, both in the second period. There was one that I pulledoff the goalline that I just got to in the nick of time. If it was aninch further, it would have been in. And then right after that, there wasanother one. It probably looked innocent enough to people in the stands,but it was just a floating wrist shot from the point, and the thing wasthat I didn’t see it all. For some reason I stuck my glove out.”

Score by periodNotre Dame   1    1    1    -- 3Ohio State   0    0    0    -- 0ScoringFirst period - Dusbabek 2 (Andrusiak), 1:27Second period - Dhadphale 1 (Andrusiak, Dusbabek), 11:05Third period - Noble 1 (Urick, Nelson), 18:47Shots by periodNotre Dame   8   13   12   -- 33Ohio State  13   21   13   -- 47Saves by periodEisler (ND) 13   21   13   -- 47Aho (OSU)    8   13   12   -- 30PenaltiesNotre Dame  14-for-28Ohio State   0-for-10Attendance: 956