Irish sit in driver's seat for final CCHA spot; will play Alaska
By MATT ORENCHUK
Sports Writer
There are two types of teams when it comes to making a postseason tournament in any sport — those who control their own destiny, and those that need help.
Until very recently, the Notre Dame hockey team was the in the latter category. The Irish were in last place, and their chances of making the CCHA playoffs were in serious doubt.
Then came a weekend sweep of Bowling Green and an unlikely tie at No. 5 Michigan. All of the sudden the Irish control their own destiny in the race for the final CCHA playoff spot.
"We don't have to sit and watch," Irish coach Dave Poulin said. "We can go out and control our own fate."
Notre Dame currently has 15 points and sits tied for the last playoff spot with the Bowling Green Falcons. By virtue of the season sweep of Bowling Green, the Irish have the tiebreaker on their side. With only two more weekends of hockey to play, Notre Dame knows exactly what they have to do.
This weekend Notre Dame travels to Alaska to play the Nanooks of Alaska-Fairbanks. What that means for the Irish is a four-hour time change and a grueling 16-hour trip up north.
Poulin doesn't think that is very exciting, but realizes that his team has no choice but to go up there. Because Alaska is so far away, the CCHA usually only schedules for teams to go out there once per season.
"We have no choice," Poulin said. "We have to get acclimated. We are going out there a day early so that our bodies can catch up."
A smaller concern for the Irish will be the ice surface in Alaska. Unlike most of the other rinks in the CCHA which have NHL sized ice surfaces, the rink in Alaska is the bigger Olympic size. The game will have a lot of open ice, and there will be many offensive opportunities. That means there will be more pressure on the defense not to give up breakaways, and on Irish goalie Tony Zasowski to be on his game.
The Irish are starting to come together after a midseason slump that saw the team go 1-11-1 in a two-month span from mid-November to mid-January. A big reason for that has been the renewed play of Zasowski.
Zasowski stopped a career best 40 shots in last weekend's Michigan tie. After rotating goalies for the much of the season, it appears that he is the man right now.
"Zasowski has played well," Poulin said. "He has stepped up and he is the guy for us right now."
With only two more weekends of hockey to play, Notre Dame knows exactly what they have to do to get into the playoffs. The situation isn't new since the Irish have been playing with their backs against the wall for the past three weeks. As improbable as it is, everything Notre Dame needs to do is on the ice.
"A couple of weeks ago, if you would have told us that we would be in this position, I would have said it was improbable," said Poulin. "We are looking to control our own destiny."
All Sports Stories for Friday, February 23, 2001
