Oct. 7, 2004
Notre Dame, Ind. – Notre Dame’s senior goaltender, Morgan Cey, stopped 38 of 40 Minnesota-Duluth Bulldog shots to help the Irish to a 2-2 against the fourth-ranked Bulldogs in the season opener for both teams at the Joyce Center, Thursday night.
Cey made 19 of his saves in the third period, including 10 on six power-play chances as the Irish killed off a five-minute power-play chance and a four-minute chance in the period. The Bulldogs scored once on 12 power-play opportunities in the game, while the Irish were 1-for-11 on the night with the man-advantage.
“Morgan really played well tonight,” said Irish coach Dave Poulin.
“This is the strongest and the healthiest he’s been since he got here. He looked big in goal tonight. I was pleased with the way we played tonight, especially the penalty killers. It will be hard to see what we need to work on five-on-five tomorrow.”
Notre Dame scored first at 7:05 of the first period as Josh Sciba picked up his first goal of the year. Linemate Tim Wallace controlled the puck behind the UMD net and sent it around the left-wing boards to Sciba. The sophomore left wing spun and fired the puck at the goal with Wallace screening Bulldog goaltender Isaac Reichmuth in front. The puck went through Wallace and under Reichmuth’s pads for the 1-0 Irish lead.
The Bulldogs tied the game at 10:47 when Josh Miskovich fired a centering pass by Brett Hammond past Cey for his first goal of the campaign.
The game would stay tied until the 14:00 minute mark of the second period when senior captains Cory McLean scored on a five-on-three power play. Freshman defenseman Brock Sheahan moved the puck to Wes O’Neill at the left point. O’Neill’s shot was stopped by Reichmuth but McLean fired the rebound home to give the Irish a 2-1 lead.
The Irish held the lead until the 12:27 mark of the third period when Tim Stapleton tied the game with a shot from the slot just under the cross bar for the Bulldogs power-play goal in the game. Evan Schwabe and Marco Peluso picked up assists on the goal.
From there, Cey and Reichmuth shut down both team’s offenses, making key saves throughout the period.
“I really felt good out there tonight,” said Cey.
“I thought that my defense did a remarkable job. They kept the front clear and let me see the shots. This was a total team effort. They really did a great job.
The tie extended Notre Dame’s regular-season unbeaten streak at the Joyce Center to 15 games at 12-0-3. The last regular-season loss at the Joyce came on Oct. 17, 2003 versus Bowling Green.
The tie gives both teams a 0-0-1 record. They will meet on Friday night with faceoff set for 7:35 p.m. (EST).
IRISH NOTES:
** Notre Dame’s penalty-killing unit picked up where it left off last season. A year ago, the Irish killed 152 of 174 opponent chances for an 87.4% success rate. That ranked Notre Dame tops in the CCHA and fourth in the nation overall.
** A year ago, the Irish were 5-1-1 versus teams ranked in the top five or better. They continued their success this season as the Bulldogs were ranked fourth in the national preseason polls. On his team’s success versus the better teams, Poulin said, “The awareness level is always higher when you play the better teams. It’s human nature to get ready for the top teams.”
** Four of Notre Dame’s eight freshmen saw action in the opener. Forwards Victor Oreskovich and Mark Van Guilder took regular shifts as did defensemen Brock Sheahan and Dan VeNard.
** The Irish have added another player to their roster. He’s freshman forward Andrew Eggert. The Livonia, Mich., native walked on to the team and earned a spot on the roster. He’s 5-9, 173 pounds and shoots left. He split last season between the Cleveland Barons (NAHL) and the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders of the USHL.
SCORING SUMMARY
Minnesota-Duluth (0-0-1) 1 0 1 0 - 2Notre Dame (0-0-1) 1 1 0 0 - 2
ScoringFirst Period: ND: Josh Sciba 1 (Tim Wallace), 7:05; UMD: Josh Miskovich 1 (Brett Hammond), 10:47.
Penalties: UMD: 3 for 6 minutes; ND: 4 for 8 minutes.
Second Period: ND: Cory McLean 1 (Wes O'Neill, Brock Sheahan), PPG, 14:00.
Penalties: UMD: 6 for 15 minutes; ND: 4 for 8 minutes.
Third Period: UMD: Tim Stapleton 1 (Evan Schwabe, Marco Peluso), PPG, 12:27.
Penalties: UMD: 2 for 4 minutes; ND: 5 for 21 minutes.
Shots On Goal:Minnesota-Duluth 9 - 7 - 20 - 4 - 40Notre Dame 8 - 10 - 8 - 1 - 27
Goaltender Saves:Minnesota-Duluth - Isaac Reichmuth (65:00) 7 - 9 - 8 - 1 - 25Notre Dame - Morgan Cey (65:00) 8 - 7 - 19 - 4 - 38
Power Plays: UMD: 1 for 12; ND: 1 for 11
Attendance: 1,325