Feb. 3, 2001
Columbus, Ohio – For the second night in a row, Ohio State’s freshmen class did in the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. On Saturday night, the honors went to rookie center R.J. Umberger and left wing Paul Camponigri.
Umberger, the top-rated collegian by the NHL’s Central Scouting, scored once and set up three others while Camponigri scored a pair of power play markers in the Buckeyes’ 5-2 win over Notre Dame at the Value City Arena.
The loss, Notre Dame’s fourth in the last five games, drops the Irish to 6-21-5 overall and 3-14-4 in the CCHA. Ohio State improves to 14-10-2 on the year and 11-7-2 in league play.
Notre Dame took an early lead as the Irish recorded the first five shots of the game with number five finding the back of the net. With OSU’s Eric Skaug off for holding, Notre Dame’s power play cashed in.
Evan Nielsen (So., Evanston, Ill.) fired a slapshot from the right point that deflected off defenseman Jason Crain. Buckeye goaltender Mike Betz made the save, but couldn’t control the rebound. Aaron Gill (Fr., Rochester, Minn.) was there to slide the puck under Betz’ pads for his 10th goal of the season at 5:14. This marked just the ninth time in 32 games this season that Notre Dame scored the first goal of the game.
Ohio State would then score three unanswered goals with freshman center R.J. Umberger figuring in on all three goals.
Umberger made the score 1-1 right after the Irish missed a golden scoring chance in the OSU end. The 6-2, 200-pound center raced down the left wing and beat Irish goaltender Tony Zasowski (So., Darien, Ill.) with a low wrist shot for his 12th goal of the year at 6:32.
Right wing Scott May was the benefactor of an Umberger set up on OSU’s second goal. The big center found left wing Jean-Francois Dufour in the slot. His shot was stopped by Zasowski, but May flipped the rebound home on the backhand for his sixth of the season at 13:49.
The Ohio State scored its third goal of the first period at 17:12 when Umberger’s shot from the bottom of the left face-off circle trickled through Zasowski’s pads. Paul Camponigri tapped it in for a power play goal and his ninth of the season to give the Bucks a 3-1 lead heading to the intermission.
That lead would go to 4-1 when Ohio State scored on its third straight power play chance. Camponigri scored his second man-advantage goal of the game as he redirected a shot by defenseman Doug Andress. Umberger got his third assist on that goal.
The Irish answered back with their second power play goal of the night at 9:44 when Ryan Dolder (Sr., Hutchinson, Minn.) jammed a loose puck past Betz off a goal mouth scramble. Gill won a face-off that Nielsen carried in front of the net where it bounced through the crease before Dolder tucked it in for his career high 13th goal.
The Buckeyes closed out the scoring in the second period when Luke Pavlas whipped a hard wrist shot from between the face-off circles for his second goal of the year at 15:25.
Dan Carlson (Sr., Edina, Minn.)continued his hot play for Notre Dame in the third period. After scoring two goals on Friday night, Carlson found the back of the net for his third goal of the weekend and his 13th of the season off a nice feed from Dolder at 13:44. For Dolder, the assist was his 15th of the season giving him career highs in goals (13), assists (15) and points (28) this season.
Notre Dame returns to action next weekend with a pair of CCHA home games versus the Bowling Green Falcons, Feb. 9-10. Face-off Friday and Saturday night at the Joyce Center is 7:05 p.m.
Game Summary: 1 2 3 F
Notre Dame (6-21-5/3-14-4) 1 1 1 3
Ohio State (14-10-2/11-7-2) 3 2 0 5
Scoring
First Period: ND: Aaron Gill 10 (Evan Nielsen, Tom Galvin), PPG, 5:14, OSU: R.J. Umberger 12 (Paul Camponigri, Jean-Francois Dufour), PPG, 6:32, OSU: Scott May 6 (Dufour, Umberger), 13:49, OSU: Camponigri 9 (Umberger), PPG, 17:12.
Penalties: ND: 3 for 6 minutes, OSU: 3 for 6 minutes.
Second Period: OSU: Camponigri 10 (Doug Andress, Umberger), PPG, 9:03, ND: Ryan Dolder 13 (Neilsen, Gill), PPG, 9:44, OSU: Luke Pavlas 2 (Miguel Lafleche), 15:25.
Penalties: ND: 3 for 6 minutes, OSU: 5 for 10 minutes.
Third Period: ND: Dan Carlson 13 (R. Dolder), 13:44.
Penalties: ND: 5 for 18 minutes, OSU: 2 for 12.
Shots On Goal:
Notre Dame 12 – 10 – 10 – 32
Ohio State 8 – 12 – 9 – 29
Goaltender Saves:
Notre Dame – Tony Zasowski (58:27) 5 – 10 – 9 – 24
Ohio State – Mike Betz (60:00 ) 11 – 9 – 9 – 29
Power Plays:
Notre Dame: 2 for 6
Ohio State: 3 for 7
Attendance: 12,354