By JOHN FINERAN
SOUTH BEND – Things couldn’t have started any better for coach Jeff Jackson and his Notre Dame hockey team Friday night against No. 9 Michigan at the Compton Family Ice Arena.
The Irish, who have struggled offensively this season, got two goals in a span of 1:33 of the first nine minutes before coach Brandon Naurato’s fast-skating and talented Wolverines woke up and scored five straight goals on the Lefty Smith Rink ice for a 5-3 victory which continued Notre Dame’s season of nightmares.
Since opening the Big Ten season with a 3-2 overtime victory over visiting Wisconsin on Nov. 1, the Irish have won just once (a 5-2 victory over Harvard in the opening game of the Friendship Four tournament in Northern Ireland Nov. 29) and have one tie (a 3-3 overtime tie and 2-1 shootout win over Penn State last weekend in the Frozen Confines at Wrigley Field).
Friday’s setback was Notre Dame’s 12th in the 14-game span, not what the 69-year-old Jackson would have envisioned for his 20th and final season behind the Irish bench in a building he helped design that is filled with banners from four Frozen Four appearances (two of which ended up with runner-up finishes) and eight conference championships.
The frustration was evident to Jackson – and probably also to his successor-in-waiting Brock Sheahan and Jackson’s long-time fellow associate head coaches Paul Pooley and Andy Slaggert – after Notre Dame fell to 6-14-1 overall and just 1-11-1 for six points in the Big Ten. About the only good news from Friday night was that No. 1 Michigan State’s 6-4 victory at Penn State kept the Nittany Lions a point behind the Irish in the Big Ten cellar.
“I know they are as frustrated as we are as coaches,” Jackson said of his team which saw the return of sophomore center Danny Nelson and sophomore defenseman Paul Fischer from their gold medal-winning efforts for Team USA in the World Junior Championship in Ottawa, Ont. Neither notched a point, however, and Nelson, who scored four goals for the Americans, went 0-for-6 in his shots against Michigan grad-transfer goalie (from Ferris State) Logan Stein, who made two point-blank saves.
For the game, Jackson juggled his top two lines, moving senior Justin Janicke from left wing last week on sophomore center Cole Knuble’s line with grad right wing Blake Biondi to right wing on a Friday line centered by Nelson with sophomore left wing Brennan Ali. Janicke’s spot on Knuble’s line was taken senior Hunter Strand.
Knuble finished with a goal and two assists for the Irish, while Biondi had a goal and assist and Strand an assist. Junior defenseman Axel Kumlin had the final goal of the game.
“The effort was fine but our execution isn’t always good,” Jackson continued. “Michigan is a fast team and they play fast. We’re not as fast as them but we don’t play fast enough. We need to move the puck a little bit quicker, move it up the ice and create offense.”
Knuble opened the game’s scoring with his even-strength goal off assists from Strand and Biondi at 7:19, and then with Michigan shorthanded, Biondi whistled a 15-footer over Stein’s glove at 8:52 with help from Janicke and Knuble.
But Biondi took a hooking penalty at 10:04 and Michigan’s talented power play kept Notre Dame goaltender Nicholas Kempf busy with four saves before hulking senior center Mark Estapa beat the Irish freshman netminder from in close at 12:22. Another 6-foot-2, 210-pound center, Kienan Draper, then tied the game with the first of his two goals at 16:08. Though the teams went to their locker rooms tied 2-2, the momentum clearly belonged to Michigan, which would improve to 13-7-1 overall but stay in eighth place in the Big Ten with their 7-4-0 record, good for 18 points.
Three goals in the first 11:58 of the second period – even-strength markers by Philippe Lapointe (3:12) and Draper (8:39) followed by another power-play score by Ethan Edwards (11:58) – had the Irish chasing the rest of the evening. Draper was one of four Wolverines with a two-point night – Estapa and Edwards each had a goal and an assist while defenseman Jacob Truscott had a pair of helpers.
Kumlin closed out the scoring for the Irish at 17:10 of the second period off assists from fellow blueliner Ryan Helliwell and Knuble. There was no scoring in the third period which saw the Irish outshot the Wolverines 13-7. For the game, Michigan outshot Notre Dame 33-31 and both Stein and Kempf finished with 28 saves.
“We just have to keep pushing,” Jackson continued. “At this point, we need to try to continue to work to get better. Eventually to win a hockey game, it’s going to be because of our effort and execution. It can’t be one or the other. Last week against Penn State, I didn’t think the effort was as good as it needed to be. Tonight, it was a little more about execution for me.”
Notre Dame and Michigan conclude their series Saturday at 6 p.m.
MICHIGAN 5, NOTRE DAME 3
At Lefty Smith Rink/Compton Family Ice Arena, South Bend
Michigan 2 3 0—5
Notre Dame 2 1 0—3
First Period—Scoring: 1. Notre Dame, Cole Knuble 8 (Hunter Strand, Blake Biondi) EV 7:19; 2. Notre Dame Blake Biondi 7 (Justin Janicke, Cole Knuble) PP 8:52; 3. Michigan, Mark Estapa 1 (Jackson Hallum, Garrett Schifsky) PP 12:22; 4. Michigan, Kienan Draper 3 (Josh Eernisse, Jacob Truscott) EV 16:08. Penalties: Michigan 1-2, Notre Dame 1-2.
Second Period—Scoring: 5. Michigan, Philippe Lapointe 4 (Ethan Edwards, Mark Estapa) EV 3:12; 6. Michigan, Kienan Draper 4 (Jacob Truscott) EV 8:39; 7. Michigan, Ethan Edwards (TJ Hughes, Michael Hage) PP 11:58; 8. Notre Dame, Axel Kumlin 4 (Ryan Helliwell, Cole Knuble) EV 17:10 Penalties: Michigan 1-2 (2-4), Notre Dame 2-4 (3-6).
Third Period—Scoring: None. Penalties: Michigan 0-0 (2-4), Notre Dame 0-0 (3-6).
Shots on goal: Michigan 33 (12-14-7), Notre Dame 31 (12-6-13).
Goalie saves: Michigan, Logan Stein 28 (10-5-13), Notre Dame, Nicholas Kempf 28 (10-11-7).
Power-play opportunities: Michigan 2 of 2, Notre Dame 1 of 1.
Faceoffs won: Michigan 28 (12-6-10), Notre Dame 32 (9-11-12).
Blocked shots: Michigan 11 (1-5-5), Notre Dame 12 (6-3-3).
Referees: Sean Fernandez and Andrew Bruggeman. Linesmen: Justin Cornell and Jake Davis. Attendance: 4,683 (4,852).
Records: Michigan 13-7-1 overall, 7-4-0 Big Ten for 18 points; Notre Dame 6-14-1 overall, 1-11-1 Big Ten for 6 points.
BIG TEN STANDINGS AND SCHEDULE: (Numbers in parenthesis before school are its rankings in this week’s USCHO.com media poll, this week’s USA Hockey-The Rink Live coaches poll and current PairWise rating)
- (1/1/2) Michigan State 9-1-1, 27 points (18-2-1 overall)
- (3/3/4) Minnesota 8-2-1, 24 points (17-4-2 overall)
- (11/11/10) Ohio State 8-3-0, 23 points (15-5-1 overall)
- (rv/nr/24) Wisconsin 5-9-0, 20 points (9-12-1 overall)
- (9/9/12) Michigan 7-4-0, 18 points (13-7-1 overall)
- (nr/nr/41) NOTRE DAME 1-11-1, 6 points (6-14-1 overall)
- (nr/nr/31) PENN STATE 1-9-1, 5 points (8-10-1 overall)
Friday, Jan. 10: Michigan 5, Notre Dame 3; Michigan State 6, Penn State 4; Ohio State 5, Minnesota 1; Wisconsin was idle.
Saturday, Jan. 11: Michigan at Notre Dame, 6 p.m.; Michigan State at Penn State, 6 p.m.; Minnesota at Ohio State, 6:30 p.m.; Wisconsin is idle.
Friday, Jan. 17: Notre Dame at Minnesota, 8 p.m.; Michigan State at Michigan, 7 p.m.; Canisius at Penn State, 7 p.m. (non-conference); Long Island at Wisconsin, 8 p.m. (non-conference); Ohio State is idle.
Saturday, Jan. 18: Notre Dame at Minnesota, 6 p.m.; Michigan at Michigan State, 7:30 p.m.; Canisius at Penn State, 5 p.m. (non-conference); Long Island at Wisconsin, 7 p.m. (non-conference); Ohio State is idle.
SCHEDULE FOR USCHO.com MEDIA POLL TEAMS AND OTHERS
- Michigan State (Big Ten) (18-2-1) beat Penn State 6-4 Friday. Next: Saturday at Penn State.
- Boston College (Hockey East) (12-4-1) lost to Merrimack 5-2 Friday. Next: Saturday at Merrimack
- Minnesota (Big Ten) (17-4-2) lost at No. 11 Ohio State 5-1 Friday. Next: Saturday at No. 11 Ohio State.
- Western Michigan (NCHC) (13-4-1) was idle. Next: Jan. 17-18 at No. 14 North Dakota.
- Providence (Hockey East) (15-3-2) beat Brown 2-0 Tuesday; Jan. 17-18 No. 2 Boston College.
- Denver (NCHC) (16-5-0) beat Miami 4-1 Friday. Next: Saturday vs. Miami.
- Maine (Hockey East) (14-4-2) beat No. 8 UMass Lowell 3-1 Friday. Next: Saturday at No. 8 UMass Lowell.
- UMass Lowell (Hockey East) (12-5-2) lost to No. 7 Maine 3-1 Friday. Next: Saturday vs. No. 7 Maine.
- Michigan (Big Ten) (13-7-1) beat Notre Dame 5-3 Friday. Next: Saturday at Notre Dame.
- St. Cloud State (NCHC) (11-8-0) lost at Minnesota Duluth 2-0 Friday. Next: Saturday at Minnesota Duluth.
- Ohio State (Big Ten) (15-5-1) beat No. 3 Minnesota 5-1 Friday. Next: Saturday vs. No. 3 Minnesota.
- Minnesota State (CCHA) (14-5-2) lost at Northern Michigan 3-2 Friday. Next: Saturday at Northern Michigan.
- Colorado College (NCHC) (10-8-1) lost at Omaha 5-2 Friday. Next: Saturday at Omaha.
- North Dakota (NCHC) (11-8-1) lost at No. 16 Arizona State 4-1 Friday. Next: Saturday at No. 16 Arizona State.
- Boston University (Hockey East) (10-7-1) beat Vermont 6-1 Friday. Next: Saturday vs. Vermont.
- Arizona State (NCHC) (11-7-1) beat No. 14 North Dakota 4-1 Friday. Next: Saturday vs. No. 14 North Dakota.
- New Hampshire (Hockey East) (10-5-3) lost to Connecticut 4-1 Friday. Next: Saturday at Connecticut.
- Cornell (ECAC) (6-4-4) tied Sacred Heart 1-1 (OT) (Cornell lost shootout 1-0) Friday. Next: Saturday at Sacred Heart.
- Clarkson (ECAC) (12-5-2) beat Union 5-3 Friday. Next: Saturday vs. Rensselaer.
- Quinnipiac (ECAC) (12-7-1) beat Stonehill 6-1 Monday, beat Princeton 4-2 Friday. Next: Saturday vs. Princeton.
Receiving votes
Augustana (CCHA) (12-7-1) was idle. Next: Jan. 17-18 vs. Lindenwood.
Dartmouth (ECAC) (7-6-2) lost to Yale 3-2 Friday. Next: Saturday vs. Brown.
Connecticut (Hockey East) (10-8-1) beat No. 17 New Hampshire 4-1 Friday. Next: Saturday vs. No. 17 New Hampshire.
Massachusetts (Hockey East) (10-8-2) beat Northeastern 5-0 Friday. Next: Saturday vs. Northeastern.
Wisconsin (Big Ten) (9-12-1) was idle. Next: Jan. 17-18 vs. Long Island.
Bentley (Atlantic Hockey) (12-7-2) beat Air Force 1-0 Friday. Next: Saturday at Air Force.
Michigan Tech (CCHA) (11-8-2) lost to Lake Superior State 4-2 Friday. Next: Saturday vs. Lake Superior State.
Harvard (ECAC) (4-7-2) beat Brown 3-1 Friday. Next: Saturday vs. Yale.
Niagara (Atlantic Hockey) (11-8-3) beat Alaska-Anchorage 6-2 Friday. Next: Saturday vs. Alaska-Anchorage.
Sacred Heart (Atlantic Hockey) (11-8-4) tied No. 18 Cornell 1-1 (OT) (Sacred Heart won shootout 1-0) Friday. Next: Saturday vs. Sacred Heart.
Bowling Green (CCHA) (11-7-2) beat Bemidji State 4-3 (OT) Friday. Next: Saturday vs. Bemidji State.
Bemidji State (CCHA) (8-10-3) lost at Bowling Green 4-3 (OT) Friday. Next: Saturday at Bowling Green.
Long Island (Independent) (11-8-1) lost at Colgate 2-1 Friday. Next: Saturday at Colgate.
Northeastern (Hockey East) (6-10-3) lost to Massachusetts 5-0 Friday. Next: Saturday at Massachusetts.
Princeton (ECAC) (6-7-1) lost to No. 20 Quinnipiac 4-2 Friday. Next: Saturday at No. 20 Quinnipiac.
Others
Notre Dame (Big Ten) (6-14-1) lost to No. 9 Michigan 5-3 Friday. Next: Saturday vs. No. 9 Michigan.
Penn State (Big Ten) (8-10-1) lost to No. 1 Michigan State 6-4 Friday. Next: Saturday vs. No. 1 Michigan State.
Holy Cross (Atlantic Hockey) (9-11-1) beat Robert Morris 4-1 Friday. Next: Saturday vs. Robert Morris.
Robert Morris (Atlantic Hockey) (8-10-2) lost at Holy Cross 4-1 Friday. Next: Saturday at Holy Cross.
Lake Superior State (CCHA) (9-11-1) beat Michigan Tech 4-2 Friday. Next: Saturday at Michigan Tech.
St. Thomas (CCHA) (7-10-4) beat Ferris State 9-6 Friday. Next: Saturday vs. Ferris State.
Colgate (ECAC) (9-8-2) beat Long Island 2-1 Friday. Next: Saturday vs. Long Island.
Union (ECAC) (11-8-1) lost at No. 19 Clarkson 5-3 Friday. Next: Saturday at St. Lawrence.
Rensselaer (ECAC) (8-10-2) lost at St. Lawrence 4-1 Friday. Next: Saturday at No. 19 Clarkson.
Vermont (Hockey East) (8-9-3) lost at No. 15 Boston University 6-1 Friday. Saturday at No. 15 Boston University.
Merrimack (Hockey East) (8-10-1) beat No. 2 Boston College 5-2 Friday. Next: Saturday vs. No. 2 Boston College.
Omaha (NCHC) (9-10-0) beat No. 13 Colorado College 5-2 Friday. Next: Saturday vs. No. 13 Colorado College.
Minnesota Duluth (NCHC) (7-11-1) beat No. 10 St. Cloud State 2-0 Friday. Next: Saturday vs. No. 10 St. Cloud State.
Lindenwood (Independent) (5-15-1) beat Stonehill 3-0 Friday. Next: Saturday at Stonehill.
Alaska (Independent) (7-9-4) beat Simon Fraser 2-1 (OT) Friday (exhibition). Next: Saturday vs. Simon Fraser.