TEMPE, Az. — The Irish hockey team concluded their trip to Tempe, Arizona against the No. 8/9 Quinnipiac Bobcats, dropping their first-ever meeting against the ECAC team from Connecticut, 7-2.
Newcomer Sutter Muzzatti scored both Irish goals Saturday, his firsts in a Blue and Gold sweater and finished the weekend Ice Breaker Tournament with three points off the two goals and an assist.
The Irish were whistled for the first infraction of the night at 5:20 of the opening frame and were tasked with the kill following a crosschecking call. On the kill, Nicholas Kempf made a series of saves to keep the puck out the net but after a split save kept the Bobcats scoreless, QU capitalized on Kempf’s reset and made it a 1-0 game.
Moments later the Irish were charged with another penalty, this time a slash, and headed back to the kill less than a minute after the opening goal.
The Irish managed to kill off four minutes of man-down play after a third consecutive call went against the Irish just under 10 minutes into the game.
Shortly after returning to full strength, the Bobcats were called for an infraction of the night and the Irish saw their powerplay unit take the ice for the first time of the day.
The Bobcats extended their lead at 14:31 of the opening frame after a turnover at the blue line ended up in the back of the Irish net, making it a 2-0 game.
With 3:24 remaining in the opening period the Irish were tasked with their fourth penalty kill of the day. Winning the faceoff, Danny Nelson, Carter Slaggert and Axel Kumlin created a three-on-one chance the other way but were unable to convert and play continued. Cole Knuble then generated a shorthanded chance himself less than a minute later to keep the offensive pressure in the QU end and kill off the remainder of the penalty deep in their end of the ice.
After some back-and-forth action in the early minutes of the second, the Irish were called for a high stick and skated two minutes on the penalty kill where Knuble and Slaggert both registered chances shorthanded but neither could break the QU netminding as the game returned to five-on-five action.
The Bobcats further extended their lead to three after a rush through the zone beat Kempf blocker side at 9:33 of the second period.
Sutter Muzzatti broke the scoring drought for the Irish Saturday afternoon, chipping a backhand shot over the glove of Matej Marinov in the QU crease to get Notre Dame on the board at 10:49 of the second period.
Riding the momentum of the Muzzatti goal, Michael Mastrodomenico nearly had the Irish within one less than a minute later as his shot from the point rang off the crossbar and back into play.
The Bobcats were called for a high stick in the neutral zone at 13:22 of the second, giving the Irish their second powerplay opportunity of the contest. Notre Dame was unable to capitalize on the opportunity and, with a delayed penalty was incoming on the Irish, the Bobcats reclaimed their three-goal lead at 15:52 of the second.
The score would remain stagnant through the end of the second period as the Irish looked to overcome the three-goal deficit in the third frame.
Two goals for the Bobcats in the early part of the third period forced the Irish to call timeout with 15:17 to play in regulation.
The remainder of the match was relatively uneventful with the Bobcats being called for a pair of penalties late in the contest and the Irish saw their first two-man advantage of the season.
It took the Irish just 30 seconds to find the back of the net during the five-on-three advantage as Muzzatti deflected a shot from Kumlin into the net but Quinnipiac challenged the play for a high stick. After a brief review the call on the ice stood and Muzzatti had his second of the night.
The Bobcats responded with just 7.5 ticks left on the clock for the 7-2 final Saturday as the Irish drop to 0-2-0 on the season.
GOALS
- The first Irish goal of Sutter Muzzatti’s career came at 10:49 of the middle frame as he backhanded a chance into the back of the net to get the Irish on the board Saturday. Paul Fischer fired a shot towards the net where Brennan Ali deflected it across the crease and onto the tape of Muzzatti’s stick before the graduate forward tapped it in for his first goal in an Irish sweater.
- Muzzatti had his second of the night off a deflection in front of the net. Axel Kumlin fired the initial shot on net to pick up the primary assist on the Muzzatti tally while Michael Mastrodomenico was also awarded an assist on the powerplay goal.
KEY STATS
- With his opening goal, Sutter Muzzatti has his first for the Blue and Gold and rides a two-game point streak having registered an assist in the season opener Friday.
- The graduate forward now boasts three points with the Irish, finishing the weekend with two goals and an assist.
UP NEXT
The 2025-26 home season gets underway next Thursday as Catalino Family Head Hockey Coach Brock Sheahan makes his debut inside Compton Family Ice Arena on October. 16 at 7pm. The two game series against St. Lawrence is set to conclude on Friday, October. 17 as the Irish host six straight contests inside the friendly confines of CFIA.