Nov. 17, 2001
Kalamazoo, Mich. – Western Michigan’s Dana Slattery scored two first-period goals and goaltender Mike Mantua made 28 saves as the Broncos handed the Notre Dame Fighting Irish a 4-2 loss Saturday night in CCHA action at Lawson Arena.
The loss snapped Notre Dame’s three-game unbeaten string (1-0-2) and drops the Irish to 2-6-4 overall and 2-3-3 in CCHA play. Western Michigan is now 5-4-3 on the season and 4-4-2 in league play.
Special teams were the deciding factor in this game as Western Michigan scored a pair of power play goals on five chances while the Irish were 0-for-4 on their power play chances.
“This was a special teams game, no question about it,” said Irish coach Dave Poulin following the game. “They got two power play goals and scored a third as a penalty was expiring. They took advantage of their chances and we didn’t.”
Lattery staked Western to a 2-0 first-period lead with his two goals just under seven minutes apart. The sophomore from Cochrane, Alb., got his first of the night at 7:31 when he combined with left wing Chad Kline on a two-on-one to beat Morgan Cey.
Lattery’s second goal of the period came on the power play as the big center scored off a scramble in front of Cey. The Broncos Jeff Campbell took a shot on goal that went off a Notre Dame defender. Lattery picked up the loose puck in front and flipped past the Irish goaltender for the 2-0 lead.
Michael Chin got the Irish back in the game as he picked up his fourth goal of the season at 2:16. Defenseman Tom Galvin set up the goal as his timing pass found Chin cutting to the goal. The junior right wing deflected the pass over a Bronco goaltender Mike Mantua to cut WMU’s lead to 2-1.
For Chin, the goal was his second in as many nights and extended his career-best point streak to five games with three goals and two assists for five points.
The Broncos got the two-goal lead back at 9:40 when Ryan Crane score his second of the season off the rebound of Chad Kline’s shot. The goal came just eight seconds after the Irish had killed a Western Michigan power play.
The Irish grinded out their second goal of the night. Outstanding forechecking by the line of Yan Stastny, John Wroblewski and Cory McLean bottled the Broncos up in their zone. Stastny found McLean in front and the freshmen got a pair of shots at Mantua before Wroblewski jammed the third shot in the flurry under the Bronco goaltender at 14:11.
“Robo (Wroblewski) really paid the price on his goal, but that’s the kind of effort we need from everyone,” said Poulin. “Our grinders, and I say that with affection, generated our offense tonight.”
The goal was the third of the season for Wroblewski and a career high for the junior right wing. The Neenah, Wis. native has now scored points in six of his last seven games (3-3-6).
The final goal of the night came via the Bronco power play as Jeff Campbell fired home the rebound of a big slapshot by defenseman Dave Cousineau at 5:29. The goal was the third of the season for Campbell, the CCHA rookie of the year last season.
The Irish had their chances in the third period, but Mantua slammed the door on the Notre Dame attack. For the game, Western outshot Notre Dame by a 31-30 margin. Cey made 27 saves in the Notre Dame goal while Mantua kicked aside 28 Irish shots in the battle of CCHA freshmen goaltenders.
The Irish are off next week before returning to action on Dec. 1-2 when they play host to the Lake Superior State Lakers at the Joyce Center.
Game Summary: 1 2 3 F
Notre Dame (2-6-4/2-3-3) 0 2 0 2
Western Michigan (4-4-3/3-4-2) 2 1 1 4
Scoring
First Period: WMU: Dana Lattery 3 (Chad Kline, Ryan Crane), 7:31, WMU: Lattery 4 (Jeff Campbell, Pat Dwyer), PPG, 14:25.
Penalties: ND: 1 for 2 minutes, WMU: 1 for 2 minutes.
Second Period: ND: Michael Chin 4 (Tom Galvin), 2:16, WMU: Crane 2 (Kline, Anthony Battaglia), 9:40, ND: John Wroblewski 3 (Cory McLean, Yan Stastny), 14:41.
Penalties: ND: 4 for 8 minutes, WMU: 5 for 10 minutes.
Third Period: WMU: Campbell 3 (Dave Cousineau, Dwyer), PPG, 6:20.
Penalties: ND: 4 for 16 minutes, WMU: 1 for 2 minutes.
Shots On Goal:
Notre Dame 11 – 11 – 8 – 30
Western Michigan 10 – 9 – 12 – 31
Goaltender Saves:
ND – Morgan Cey (59:20) 8 – 8 – 11 – 27
WMU – Mike Mantua (60:00) 11 – 9 – 8 – 28
Power Plays:
ND: 0 for 4
WMU: 2 for 5
Attendance: 2,874