January 22, 1999
MARQUETTE, Mich. –
January 22, 1999
MARQUETTE, Mich. – Local product Aniket Dhadphale opened the scoring with his team-leading 13th goal of the season midway through the first period and sophomore right wing Ryan Dolder lit the lamp 11 seconds later but host Northern Michigan used three third-period goals to force overtime and an eventual 3-3- tie in Central Collegiate Hockey Association action Friday at Lakeview Arena.
Notre Dame (14-6-3, 11-5-2 CCHA), which stretched its unbeaten streak to six games, again played without three regulars: senior right wing Brian Urick, junior defenseman Tyson Fraser and sophomore defenseman Ryan Clark. Urick missed his first game of the season due to a hand injury suffered in the Jan. 16 Alaska Fairbanks game while Fraser missed his third straight game due to injury. Clark has now missed seven straight games while rehabilitating from Dec. 23 shoulder surgery and likely won’t return this season.
The result moved the Irish into a tie with idle Ohio State (11-6-2) for third place in the CCHA, five points behind Michigan and seven behind Michigan State. The Buckeyes posted a 3-0 win over fifth-place Ferris State on Thursday and will play host to Michigan on Saturday.
Urick, who saw his string of consecutive games played end at 74, had appeared in 133 of the first 134 games of his career and had never previously missed a Notre Dame game due to an injury. As a sophomore, he missed the Jan. 24, 1997 home game versus St. Cloud State due to a game misconduct suspension that carried over (ironically) from a previous game against Alaska Fairbanks. The Urick-less Irish went on in that game to upset No. 8-ranked St. Cloud, 5-2.
Northern Michigan (15-9-1, 10-8-1 CCHA) picked up some ground in its quest for a top-four CCHA finish and home ice for the eight-team conference playoffs. The Wildcats remain in sixth place, one point behind FSU and three behind the Irish and OSU.
Notre Dame appeared to take a 4-1 lead with nine minutes left to play, when junior defenseman Sean Molina’s shot was tipped at the left circle by sophomore left wing Jay Kopischke. The puck smacked off the part of the goal near where the crossbar and right post meet and immediately kicked back into play with no goal signaled by the goal judge or linesman.
The Irish held a 3-1 lead with five minutes to play before the hosts scored twice in a span of 37 seconds. Junior left wing Lee Ruff knocked home his first goal of the season at the 15:24 mark, on a bouncing shot from the blue line that appeared to deflect off a skate before banging off the right post and into the net.
NMU sophomore right wing Fred Mattersdorfer then tied the game, skating through traffic on the left side before beating Irish senior goaltender Forrest Karr with a high shot to the stick side (16:01).
The two-goal first period goals extended Notre Dame’s scoring streak to eight straight periods, with the Irish notching two goals during each period of that streak (after opening the Jan. 9 Miami game with no goals on their first 33 shots).
NMU cashed in a power-play chance early in the third period for a 2-1 game but the Irish responded with 10 minutes left to play, when junior center Troy Bagne scored his first goal in his last 35 games played. The potent Irish power play converted its first chance of the night, with junior right wing Joe Dusbabek and senior defenseman Benoit Cotnoir recording the assists. Dusbabek slid a pass down the blue line to his right and Cotnoir then sent a patented low shot on net. NMU sophomore Dan Ragusett made the save but Dhadphale slapped home the rebound for his team-leading sixth power-play goal of the season (10:12).
After the ensuing faceoff, Kopischke collected a loose puck behind the NMU net and delivered a pass into the slot. Dolder was in position for his sixth goal of the season, lifting the stick-side shot over Ragusett’s blocker (10:23).
NMU posted its first goal of the game early in the third period, when freshman center Chad Theuer scored on the power play from close range for his fifth goal of the season (3:29). Later in the period, Bagne overskated a centering pass from Dolder but recovered in time to push home a shot from the left side (9:52).
NOTES: The Irish moved sophomore left wing Chad Chipchase to the first line, bumped sophomore left wing Dan Carlson back to the second line and played Dhadphale at Urick’s right wing position … junior center Ben Simon failed to record a point for just the fifth time this season … in the only other CCHA action of the night, Michigan State (14-2-3) moved back into sole possession of first place with a 4-1 win at last-place Lake Superior (3-12-2) … Dhadphale is now tied for eighth on the Irish career power-play list with 22, just two behind former All-American Brian Walsh (1974-77) … Dhadphale’s goal was the 56th of his career and gives him 98 career points in 128 games … 35 of Cotnoir’s 55 career assists have come on the power play, including 11 plays that have set up power-play goals by Dhadphale … Cotnoir’s assist gives him 80 career points and moves him into a tie with Steve Curry (1970-74) for ninth on the Irish all-time scoring list for defensemen … Friday’s game served as a homecoming for first-year Irish hockey equipment manager Dave Gilbert, who spent the first 18 years of his life in Marquette, Mich. before spending the next seven years as a student and equipment manager at Lake Superior State (site of Saturday night’s Irish hockey game).
NOTRE DAME 2 0 1 0 – 3
NORTHERN MICHIGAN 0 0 3 0 – 3
1st: ND 1. Dhadphale 13 (Cotnoir, Dusbabek), PP, 10:12; ND 2. Dolder 3 (Kopischke) 10:23.
3rd: NMU 1. Theuer 5 (Trudeau, Vigier), PP, 16:31; ND 3. Bagne 1 (Dolder) 9:52; NMU 2. Ruff 1 (Smith, Vigier) 15:24; NMU 3. Mattersdorfer 7 (Connolly, Metro) 16:00.
SHOTS: ND 14-7-7-2/30; NMU 7-7-10-2/26.
SAVES: ND (Karr) 7-7-7-2/23, NMU (Ragusett) 12-7-6-2/27.
POWER PLAY: ND 1-for-4, NMU 1-for-6.
PENALTIES: ND 8 for 18:00, NMU 6 for 12:00.