Feb. 5, 2016
By Dan Colleran
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – Thomas DiPauli tipped in a Jordan Gross shot from the point at 12:22 of the third period to break a 1-1 tie and eventually send tenth-ranked Notre Dame to a 2-1 victory over Vermont on Friday night at the Gutterson Fieldhouse (4,007).
DiPauli and Steven Fogarty each finished with a goal and an assist on the night, while Gross had a pair of assists. In net, Cal Petersen stopped 23 of the 24 shots he faced.
With the win, Notre Dame improved to 15-5-7 on the season and to 11-2-2 in Hockey East play.
The first period ended tied at 0-0 thanks to solid goaltending at both ends, including a Petersen pad save on a Brendan Bradley breakaway chance. In the Vermont goal, Packy Munson’s best save of the first 20 minutes came as he slid across the crease and gloved away a Mario Lucia shot from the low slot.
Mario Puskarich gave the Catamounts a 1-0 lead 55 seconds into the second period, sending a deflected shot past Petersen.
Notre Dame responded just 59 seconds later when Fogarty fired a wrist shot high past Munson for his eighth goal of the season at 1:54.
The teams headed to the locker room after two periods of play, knotted at 1-1.
Three minutes into the third period, Petersen made a big save and then Justin Wade was able to clear the rebound to keep it a tie game.
Then, at 12:22 of the third, DiPauli notched his third power-play goal of the season and what also proved to be his second game winner of the year. Gross earned the primary assist on the play with a wrist shot from the point, while Fogarty had the second assist for a two-point night.
Vermont pulled Munson for the final two minutes of the game, searching for the tying goal but the Notre Dame defense, led by Petersen, held for the win.
Munson finished with 28 saves for the Catamounts (11-15-2, 5-8-2 HEA).
The Irish power play went 1-for-5 on the night, while Vermont was 0-for-2.
Notre Dame and Vermont close out their weekend series at 7:05 p.m. tomorrow night (Feb. 6) at the Gutterson Fieldhouse.
Goals
— Vermont opened the scoring just 55 seconds into the second period when Mario Puskarich’s shot from the slot deflected high past Petersen, with Craig Puffer and Brendan Bradley earning the assists.
— Steven Fogarty and the Irish answered just 59 seconds later to tie the game at 1-1. Fogarty took a Thomas DiPauli pass at the offensive blue line, skated down the near boards and ripped a wrist shot high past Packy Munson’s glove for his eighth goal of the season. Jordan Gross created the original turnover by gloving down a Vermont clearing attempt to earn his 16th assist of the season on the play.
— Thomas DiPauli tipped in a Jordan Gross shot from the point at 12:22 of the third period for his 10th goal of the season. In addition to Gross, Fogarty also earned an assist on the play as he got the puck to Gross at the point.
Notes
— Notre Dame improved to 6-1-1 in road/neutral site Hockey East games this season and to 3-1-1 in games following a loss.
— Cal Petersen made his 27th-consecutive start in the Notre Dame goal this season and his 40th in a row dating back to the 2014-15 season.
— With a goal and an assist, Steven Fogarty posted his fifth multi-point game of the season and the 14th of his Irish career.
— With a goal and an assist, Thomas DiPauli posted his sixth multi-point game of the season and the 14th of his Irish career.
— With two assists, Jordan Gross posted his eighth multi-point game of the season and the 13th of his Irish career.
— Notre Dame’s 11 Hockey East wins are the most the team has earned in three seasons of play in the conference.
— ND —
Dan Colleran, associate athletics communications director at the University of Notre Dame, has been a part of Fighting Irish Media since August 2015 and coordinates all media and publicity efforts surrounding the Notre Dame hockey and men’s golf programs. A native of Walpole, Massachusetts, Colleran spent the previous three years working with the men’s hockey and soccer programs at Providence College. Colleran also spent two years as an Assistant Executive Director of Communications & Championships at the Ivy League and is a graduate of Providence College (’06 & ’08G).