Shorthanded Hockey Team Edged By Princeton, 4-3

Dec. 19, 1999

NOTRE DAME, Ind. – The undermanned Notre Dame hockey team traded goals with Princeton for most of the night before the Tigers notched the decisive score on a 5-on-3 goal with 5:17 left to play, in a 4-3 non-conference game Sunday night at the Joyce Center Fieldhouse.

Notre Dame (7-10-2) was limited to playing with just 17 healthy skaters, as five of the team’s 15 forwards and junior defenseman Ryan Clark were out of the lineup due to junior national team commitments and health reasons (see notes below). Despite the missing firepower, the Irish received goals from three unlikely sources, with freshman right wing Michael Chin and senior defenseman Sean Molina notching their first career goals while senior center Troy Bagne scored his fifth career goal to force a 3-3 tie.

The game featured two goals that were scored in the first minute of periods (one by each team) and a pair of goals in the final minute of periods (both by the Tigers).

Princeton (3-7-3) enjoyed a 36-24 edge in shots on goal, including a 12-3 margin in the middle period. Four different players. Nine Tigers players factored in the scoring, led by a three-point night from senior right wing Benoit Morin-who gave Princeton a 2-1 lead before providing the primary assist on the final two PU goals.

The Irish were whistled for having too many men on the ice with 6:10 left to play before losing Molina to a coincidental penalty nine seconds later. The 5-on-3 situation then arose just 28 seconds into the team penalty, when junior right wing Ryan Dolder was called for a controversial high sticking penalty that brought the Irish bench to its feet.

The visitors wasted little time in looking for the go-ahead goal, as junior right wing Chris Corrinet passed from the left boards to sophomore David Schneider, who then slid a pass from the top of the left circle to the top of the right. Morin sent the puck past to Schnedider, whose rising shot sailed over the blocker of sophomore Jeremiah Kimento and inside the left post for his third goal of the season and a 4-3 lead (14:43).

SCORING RECAPS:

• Notre Dame forged the third tie of the game early in the final period, with Bagne scoring a nifty goal from close range … sophomore Sam Cornelius-who split time during the game at defense and as a fourth-line wing-fired a shot from the left point and the rebound kicked towards the left corner … senior LW Andy Jurkowski then turned in another of his trademak hustle plays, streaking to the puck and sweeping it behind him in the direction of the goal … Bagne was camped at the left side of the crease and redirected the puck over the glove hand of freshman Nate Nomeland into the upper right corner of the net (1:02).

• The Tigers snuck into the second intermission with a 3-2 lead, thanks to the second goal of the season from sophomore C David Del Monte, who fought to keep possession at the top of the slot before flicking a pass to the bottom of the right circle for junior RW Kirk Lamb … the return pass came zipping through the crease area and Del Monte snagged the puck before deftly shoveling a backhand shot around Kimento and into the right side of the net for his second goal of the season (19:09).

• Notre Dame had forged a 2-2 tie just minutes earlier (14:45), with Molina starting the play in front of Kimento and passing out to his left for Jurkowski, who angled towards the goal and tried to pass into the slot for Dolder … the puck kicked back to Jurkowski behind the net and he sent a pass back into the slot, with Molina streaking in and smacking the puck past Nomeland for his first career goal in 125 games played (104 shots on goal).

• Princeton claimed its first lead in the opening moments of the second period, with Morin starting and finishing the sequence… Morin sent a cross-ice lead pass from the right boards in the Princeton end and the puck glanced off the stick of sophomore LW Josh Roberts near the left side of the Irish blue line … sophomore D Dave Bennett chased down the puck and skated all the way around the net before quickly firing a pass into the slot, with Morin trailing for the tap-in score and his second goal of the season (00:46).

• PU forced a 1-1 game shortly before the first intermission (19:08), on a shorthanded rebound goal by senior D Darren Yopyk … junior C Ethan Doyle picked up an assist with a pass to junior C Shane Campbell, who uncorked a shot from outside … Kimento made the save but Yopyk pushed the rebound into the net from the top of the crease for his third goal of the season.

• The Irish claimed a 1-0 lead with four minutes left in the opening period, on the first goal of the season from Chin-who was moved up to the first line alongside junior LW Dan Carlson and senior C Ben Simon … Carlson initiated the play by fighting for the puck near the right boards before Simon emerged with possession and slid a pass to the right point for senior D Nathan Borega, who quickly sent a shot on goal … Nomeland made the save but the rebound kicked between the circles to Chin, who avoided the sliding goalie while slapping the puck in to the left side of the net (15:54).

NOTES: The Irish played without three players who are preparing to play for Team USA in the World Junior Championship: sophomore LW/C David Inman, sophomore C Brett Henning and freshman C Connor Dunlop … senior RW Joe Dusbabek (illness) and freshman RW John Wroblewski (injury) also missed the game, as did Clark (he has missed the last three games while recovering from a concussion in the Dec. 5 game at MSU) … prior to Sunday, those six players had combined for one-third of the team’s goals this season (15 of 44) and 42 of the team’s 115 points (36.5 percent) … Sunday’s three goalscorers previously had combined for just four goals in 236 combined career games played … the Irish are 17-5-4 in their last 25 regular-season home games, with three of the four losses come by one goal … Sunday’s loss was the first this season when the Irish scored first (5-1-1, 20-3-4 during the past two seasons) … Notre Dame is 0-4-0 this season when playing the first game of non-conference weekend action (losses to Providence, new Hampshire, UMass and Princeton) but 3-0-0 in the second games (wins over Union, Vermont and UMass) … the Irish are 31-for-34 in penalty killing situations during the past seven games (8-for-9 on Sunday) … six of Notre Dame’s last nine games have been decided by one goal (3-3 in those games) … Notre Dame was whistled for its most penalties (12) in the last 13 games and second-most all season (15 vs. Ferris State on Oct. 24) … Notre Dame’s 32 penalty minutes are a season high … the Irish are just 7-7-2 in the last 16 overall home games (including CCHA playoffs), being outscored 45-38 in those games … Chin’s goal was his first point in the last eight games … Jurkowski posted the first multi-point game of his career and is tied for third on the team with 10 points (4G-6A, he had 2G-4A in 70 games over his first three seasons) … Bagne has two goals in 11 games played this season, after totaling just three in his first three seasons (99 games).

1st: ND 1. Chin 1 (Borega, Simon) 15:54, PU 1. Yopyk 3 (Campbell, Doyle) 19:09.
2nd: PU 2. Morin 3 (Bennett, Roberts) 00:46, ND 2. Molina 1 (Jurkowski) 14:45, PU 3. Del Monte 2 (Morin) 19:09.
3rd: ND 3. Bagne 2 (Jurkowski, Cornelius ) 1:06, PU 4. Schneider 3 (Morin, Corrinet), 5-3, 14:43.

Shots: PU 10-12-14/36, ND 10-3-11/24.
Saves: PU ( Nomeland) 9-2-10/21, ND (Kimento) 9-10-13/32.
Power Play: PU 1-for-9, ND 0-for-6.
Penalties: PU 8 for 16:00, ND 12 for 32:00.