Hockey: Irish tie 1, lose 1 over weekend
By JUSTIN SCHUVER
Sports Writer
For both games this weekend against Ohio State, the Irish found themselves down 2-0 quickly.
The results couldn't have been more different.
Friday, Notre Dame scored three unanswered goals after the two-goal deficit, only to end up with a 3-3 tie when Ohio State scored with 4.7 seconds remaining.
Saturday, the Irish offense simply never got going and the team ended up with a 2-0 loss, despite a phenomenal effort in goal with Morgan Cey making 41 saves.
"We got outplayed tonight, which was disappointing coming off the way we played last night," said Irish coach Dave Poulin after Saturday's loss.
Friday, in front of one of the smallest crowds this year, the Irish put on perhaps one of their best performances of the season, leading No. 10 Ohio State 3-2 going into the third period before the Buckeyes were able to tie.
In front of a sellout on Saturday, the Irish went back to square one.
"We need some guys to step up and make plays," said Poulin after his team was shutout for the first time this season.
The shutout on Saturday was unexpected following an impressive performance the night before. The Buckeyes normally average giving up 24.1 shots to their opponent over the course of a game.
Notre Dame had 24 shots on goal just shortly into the third period.
Ohio State had a power play that was clicking at a rate of one goal every five chances.
The Irish only allowed the Buckeyes one power play goal in 11 opportunities.
"I thought we had a lot of energy," said Poulin about Friday's game. "We didn't throw the puck away and had many great chances."
The Buckeyes scored on its first power play chance of the game, with defenseman Doug Andress scoring from the blue line past a screened Cey about four minutes into the first period.
Ohio State padded its lead just 43 seconds into the second period with a goal by forward Paul Caponigri.
Even after the early deficit, it was apparent that the Irish were playing exceptionally well and just not getting any breaks. Finally, the breaks started coming.
A little more than halfway into the second period, with the Irish on a 5-on-3 power play, defenseman Brett Lebda slapped a hard shot toward Buckeye goaltender Mike Betz. Betz bobbled the save, leaving an easy rebound shot for forward Kyle Dolder, who scored his first goal of the season.
Five minutes later on the power play, the Irish tied the game at two goals apiece when forward John Wroblewski scored after Betz gave up a rebound from a hard Neil Komadoski shot.
Just 40 seconds later, it was again special teams that gave the Irish their first lead, although not in the usual way. Despite being on the penalty kill, Lebda was able to wrist a shot past Betz from the right circle for the third Irish shorthanded goal of the season.
For most of the third period, the Irish appeared headed to perhaps its biggest win of the season, with Cey coming up huge as the Irish were being outshot 13-3.
It was that 14th shot that Cey could not save.
With a little over a minute left, the Buckeyes decided to pull Betz in favor of another offensive player. Despite several opportunities to clear the puck down the ice, the Irish could not get the puck away from their goal, and Buckeye David Steckel was able to score off a rebound with just 4.7 seconds left in the game to send the contest into overtime.
It was the second straight home overtime tie for the Irish, after a 3-3 result on Jan. 25 against Michigan State. The result Friday was the same, with neither team scoring in the extra period.
"There's no question this feels like a loss," Poulin said. "The guys should be angry and we can't keep falling just short."
If the guys were angry, it would have been difficult to tell after Saturday's performance, a game in which Ohio State simply dominated the Irish and held a 43-23 advantage in shots on goal.
The Buckeyes got on the board a little less than 15 minutes into the first period, when Paul Caponigri took advantage of an Irish turnover and wristed a shot over Cey's glove.
Ohio State got all the scoring they would need on a power play goal five minutes into the second period, when Ryan Kesler snapped a shot past Cey after a beautiful feed from R.J. Umberger.
There was no sign of letdown in the Buckeyes after this 2-0 lead though, as the physical play of the Ohio State club kept the Irish from being able to organize any kind of offensive flow.
Even in the third period, when the Irish were trying their hardest to mount a comeback, Ohio State outshot them 17-6.
"Maybe it's a good time for an off-week," said Poulin. "It will give us a chance to regroup. Maybe we need this."
All Sports Stories for Monday, February 3, 2003
