POTSDAM, N.Y. — The Irish hockey team heads back to South Bend following a win at Clarkson, 5-2, to close out their opening weekend in the North Country. Five individuals scored in the victory as the team improves to 2-0-0 on the season following a pair of road tilts.
The Golden Knights struck first Saturday evening when a broken play in the Irish defensive end wound up over the shoulder of Nicholas Kempf for the 1-0 tally.
Shortly after, the Irish found themselves on the powerplay after a hooking call went against Clarkson at 4:50 of the opening period, however Notre Dame was unable to convert on the opportunity and the Golden Knights returned to full strength still up by one.
The Irish offense got going midway through the opening period but could not find the equalizer. The line of Hunter Strand, Grant Silianoff and Maddox Fleming created an odd man rush with just under five minutes to play in the first frame but the Clarkson netminder made a series of saves to keep the Irish off the board.
With 2:37 to play in the first, a scrum in front of the Golden Knights net resulted in a pair of roughing calls and the two teams were forced to play two minutes at four-on-four.
Clarkson extended their lead with 81 seconds to play in the first period as Kempf made the initial save but could not get back into place before the Golden Knights gathered the rebound to take the 2-0 lead.
The score remained stagnant halfway through the second period with the visiting team’s best chance coming off a shot from the blue line from Paul Fischer that rang off the pipe and back into play.
The Irish took a penalty with just over five minutes to go in the middle frame but Notre Dame successfully killed it off to keep the deficit at two goals late in the period.
Late in the second, Brennan Ali warded off a pair of Golden Knights defenders and drew a holding penalty to give the Irish the man advantage with 2:00 left before the intermission.
The Irish took advantage of the powerplay opportunity late in the second stanza as Cole Knuble net his third of the weekend. The goal came with just 21.1 seconds to play in the frame as the Irish trailed 2-1 heading into the final period of regulation.
Michael Mastrodomenico tied things up just 72 seconds into the third period as his wrister beat the Clarkson goalie glove side to make it a 2-2 game.
Both teams traded shots midway through the third period but neither side was able to break the stalemate until Knuble drew a tripping call behind the Irish net and the Irish powerplay returned to the ice. Hunter Strand took advantage of the man-advantage at 8:38 of the third to give the Irish their first lead of the night.
Danny Nelson extended the Irish lead at 10:21 of the third period to make it a 4-2 contest with the assist to Brennan Ali.
A set of coincidentals at 13:02 sent a skater from each side to the box. The two teams traded shots during the four-on-four but both netminders stood tall in net and the score remained 4-2 late in the frame.
The Irish would score once more as Justin Janicke’s blocked shot went the length of the ice into the empty net in the Clarkson end to close the night off with the 5-2 final.
With the win, the Irish improve to 2-0 on the season and head back to South Bend with a pair of wins in the North Country.
GOALS
- Cole Knuble scored his third tally of the season with a powerplay tally in the waning seconds of the second period Saturday night. His shot off a pass from Justin Janicke sailed top shelf on the Clarkson netminder to get the Irish on the board with just 21.1 seconds to play in the period. The goal, which came on the powerplay, was also assisted by Paul Fischer after the sophomore blueliner carried the puck out of the defensive zone before feeding a pass back to Janicke to create the rush.
- The Irish offense took just 72 seconds of the third period to tie things up Saturday night in Potsdam as Michael Mastrodomenico beat the Clarkson netminder to make it a 2-2 game at 1:12 of the third. Cole Knuble picked up an assist on the play for his second point of the night while Grant Silianoff, who set up the play winning the puck battle along the near boards, was credited with the second assist.
- Hunter Strand net his first goal of the season to give Notre Dame the 3-2 lead with 11:22 to play in the third behind a powerplay tally, the team’s second of the night.
- Danny Nelson extended the Irish lead at 10:21 of the third to make it a 4-2 game as fellow sophomore and lineman Brennan Ali registered the lone assist on the goal.
- The Irish capped off the night with an unconventional empty-net goal as Justin Janicke jumped in front of a shot in the defensive end with the Golden Knights skating six-on-five. His blocked shot bounced off his shinpad and went the length of the ice to mark the fifth goal of the night for the Irish and post the 5-2 final.
KEY STATS
- Earning his first collegiate start, Nicholas Kempf finished the night in net with 30 saves on 32 shots faced. The rookie netminder allowed two goals in the opening period before thwarting off all shots faced in periods two and three to clinch the victory for Notre Dame.
- The Irish scored five unanswered goals Saturday, including four in the third period to erase a 2-0 deficit faced in period one. All five goals came in the final 20:21 of regulation, including a powerplay tally with 21 seconds left I the second to spark the Irish comeback.
- Cole Knuble net his third goal of the season and now leads the team in both goals (three) and points (four) through two games played.
- Danny Nelson’s goal halfway through the third period was his second of the season.
- The Irish goals came from five individuals Saturday night, while 10 skaters registered at least one point in the win.
- Notre Dame’s defense blocked 11 shots in the contest, including one block which turned directly into a goal. Zach Plucinski led the team in the category with two blocks on the night.
- With four shots on goal, Knuble led the team in the category for the second consecutive night. The sophomore center scored the team’s first goal of the night, sparking the five-goal run to end the game.
- The Irish went 50-percent on the powerplay with goals from Knuble and Strand while up a man. On the flip side, the Irish were tasked with just one penalty kill on the night of which they successfully killed off.
UP NEXT
The Irish open a three-week homestand next weekend when they host Alaska, Oct. 18-19. Friday’s game against the Nanooks is set for a 7:05pm puck drop and will be streamed on Peacock.