Jan. 12, 2001
Notre Dame, Ind. – On a night when the Notre Dame Fighting Irish snapped a four-game losing streak and knocked off the fifth-ranked Western Michigan Broncos, 4-1, there were plenty of heroes.
Freshman center Aaron Gill (Rochester, Minn.) had a three-point night, scoring two goals (including the game winner) while adding an assist. Sophomore goaltender Tony Zasowski (Darien, Ill.) made 27 saves in holding the nation’s top scoring team to one goal and freshman defenseman Neil Komadoski (St. Louis, Mo.) set the tone with his physical play while setting up a pair of goals.
But, it was the guy who didn’t score any points who had the biggest game of all. Senior right wing Matt Van Arkel (Richton Park, Ill.) drew the job of stopping the CCHA’s second leading scorer and the Broncos’ playmaker David Gove. The senior right wing entered the game with 42 points (17 goals, 25 assists) and he left the game with 42 points.
“This was a huge win for this hockey team. You have to sit back and enjoy it, ” said head coach Dave Poulin following the game.
“We got a great effort from everyone, but the focal point of this win is without question the play of Matt Van Arkel. His job was to control one of the best players (Gove) in the country and he did it well.”
Poulin continued, “You never completely shut out a talented scorer like Gove. Matt did a great job of controlling him all night and he did it in a skilled way. He basically said I’m going to follow you all night and he did.”
One of the quickest players in the CCHA, Van Arkel used his speed to throw a blanket over Gove.
“I basically tried to keep my feet moving and stay between him and the puck. I wanted to have my momentum going towards him when he did get the puck,” said Van Arkel.
“This was a great win for us. It really helps our confidence beating the No. 5 team in the country. Hopefully this can turn us around in the second half.
After a scoreless first period, Notre Dame scored the first goal of the night as Dan Carlson ran his scoring string to six games with his eighth goal of the season at 7:58 on a nifty wrap-around that he just tucked between Bronco goaltender Jeff Reynaert and the post.
Carlson’s goal marked just the seventh time this season that Notre Dame scored the first goal of the game. The Irish are 4-1-2 in games that they take the first lead.
The remainder of the scoring came in the third period. WMU’s high octane power play tied the score just 1:31 into the final period when Jeff Campbell scored his nation-leading 18th goal of the season on a crossrink feed from talented playmaker Mike Bishai.
Gill put the Irish ahead to stay at 4:39 when he closed out a great scoring rush by Ryan Dolder (Sr., Hutchinson, Minn.). The senior right wing carried the puck the length of the ice around the Western Michigan defense and fired a shot on Reynaert. The big goaltender made the first stop on Dolder, but Gill flipped the rebound in for his sixth goal of the season.
“Aaron just keeps getting better with every game. He continues to emerge as an all-around player,” commented Poulin. “He was a standout all night.”
Notre Dame got its insurance goal at 10:14 when defensemen Ryan Clark (Sr., Littleton, Colo.) and Komadoski teamed up to find freshman right wing Rob Globke (West Bloomfield, Mich.) streaking down the right side. He beat the Western defense and put a nice move on Reynaert for his eighth goal of the season in his first game since returning from playing with the U.S. Junior National team.
Gill closed out the scoring when he blocked a shot at the blueline, skated to center ice and fired the puck into an empty net at 19:56 to close out the scoring.
Notre Dame outshot Western Michigan 42-28 in the game. Zasowski, making his first start since Dec., 30 versus R.P.I. made 27 saves. Reynaert made 38 saves for the Broncos.
The Irish did a good job of controlling the Western Michigan power play holding them to one goal in five chances. The Broncos came into the game with the top power play in the CCHA clicking at a 24.0% success rate.
“Beating a talented team like Western is a big boost for our team. It’s great to see the kids finally get rewarded for their hard work,” said Poulin.
“This hasn’t been a smooth year in a lot of ways, but these guys have never quit, they continue to battle. This is the kind of hockey we are capable of playing. There is a lot of hockey left this season.”
The win improves the Irish to 5-16-3 overall and 3-9-2 in CCHA play. Western had its five-game winning streak snapped and falls to 16-4-3 on the year and 9-3-2 in league play.
The two teams will battle Saturday night at Lawson Arena in Kalamazoo, Mich. Game time is 7:05 p.m.
Irish Notes: Ryan Dolder and Dan Carlson each extended their current scoring streaks to six games. Dolder has 3-5-8 in his last six while Carlson now has 5-7-12 in his last six. Defenseman Brett Lebda (Fr., Buffalo Grove, Ill.) had his scoring streak stopped at five games (3-7-10).
Aaron Gill’s three-point game (2g, 1a) was the first of his career and the second multiple point game of his career…Neil Komadoski’s two-assist night was the first multiple-point game of his career.
Notre Dame has now won eight of the last 11 meetings with Western Michigan and is 7-0-1 in the last eight games with the Broncos at the Joyce Center…Western on the other hand is 14-1 against the Irish at Lawson Arena in the last 15 games dating back to the 1988-89 season…
The game versus the fifth-ranked Broncos was Notre Dame’s seventh this season against a nationally-ranked team and snapped a six-game losing streak. The Irish are now 1-6-0 versus ranked teams. The win was ND’s first against a ranked team since knocking off fifth-ranked Michigan State, 1-0, on Dec. 4, 1999…
SUMMARY:
Western Michigan (16-4-2/9-3-2) 0 0 1 – 1
Notre Dame (5-16-3/3-10-2) 0 1 3 – 4
First Period: No Scoring.
Penalties: WMU: 3 for 6 minutes, ND: 2 for 4 minutes.
Second Period: ND: Dan Carlson – 8 (Neil Komadoski, Aaron Gill), 7:58.
Penalties: WMU: 2 for 4 minutes, ND: 6 for 12 minutes.
Third Period: WMU: Jeff Campbell – 18 (Mike Bishai, Steve Rymsha), PPG, 1:31, ND: Gill – 7 (R. Dolder), 4:39, ND: Rob Globke – 8 (Komadoski, Ryan Clark), 10:14, ND: Gill – 7 (unassisted), 19:56.
Penalties: WMU: 6 for 34 minutes, ND: 3 for 6 minutes.
Power Plays:
Western Michigan: 1 for 5
Notre Dame: 0 for 7
Shots On Goal
Western Michigan: 8 – 15 – 5 – 28
Notre Dame: 12 – 11 – 19 – 42
Goaltender Saves:
Western Michigan: Jeff Reynaert (59:09) 12 – 10 -16 – 38
Notre Dame: Tony Zasowski (60:00) 8 – 15 – 4 – 27
Attendance: 2,003