Irish bounce back into contention
By MATT ORENCHUK
Sports Writer
Hold on to your hats everybody, because the Notre Dame hockey team might be onto something big.
After the Irish stumbled out of the gates in October with a 0-4-2 record, things seemed bleak. But in January, the Irish gained a different perspective on things. In the last six weeks, Notre Dame is 6-3-1. In that recent run, the Irish collected wins against perennial hockey power Princeton and nationally-ranked Northern Michigan.
On Dec. 21 Notre Dame defeated the USA Under-18 team 3-2 in an exhibition. On the weekend of Dec. 28 and 29, the Irish traveled to New Jersey where they swept Princeton. Finally, for the past two weekends Notre Dame has been at home to host nationally ranked Michigan and Northern Michigan. The Irish tied Michigan 3-3 before dropping a 2-1 decision in the second game. The Irish defeated Northern Michigan 4-1 Friday before losing to the Wildcats 4-0 Saturday.
Currently, the Irish sit in seventh place in the CCHA with 16 points in conference play. The CCHA standings are tightly packed. Right now, there are eight teams that are within six points of third place. The Irish know that if they continue their stellar play, they will be able to move up in the conference.
"We have it all in front of us," said Irish head coach Dave Poulin. "In the next six weeks we have a schedule that will give us a great chance to make a move in the conference."
A big influence for the Irish has been the play of freshman goaltender Morgan Cey. Cey has been spectacular over the past couple of weeks. In his last nine games Cey has a save percentage of .936 with a goals against average of 2.00. The impact of Cey isn't lost on Poulin.
"He [Cey] gives us a chance to win every night," said Poulin.
In the past six weeks, the Irish have also had to cope with the loss of sophomores Brett Lebda and Rob Globke. Lebda and Globke are part of the U.S. Junior National Team and missed games this December to participate in the World Junior Championships.
But the pair returned to Notre Dame for last weekend's series against Northern Michigan. The return was especially important for the Notre Dame offense, because it allowed Poulin to reunite one of his most productive lines. The line of Dave Inman, Mike Chin and Rob Globke has been diligently producing goals for the Irish for the last two months.
"We're playing well," said Cey. "The coaches have all been very positive. We feel like we are one step away from being an elite team in the league."
All Sports Stories for Wednesday, January 16, 2002
