BADGERS EARN BIG TEN HOCKEY SPLIT AT NOTRE DAME WITH 2-1 VICTORY

by | Nov 3, 2024 | Headlines, Hockey | 0 comments

BADGERS EARN BIG TEN HOCKEY SPLIT AT NOTRE DAME WITH 2-1 VICTORY

 

By JOHN FINERAN

 

SOUTH BEND – Two games into the Big Ten hockey season, Notre Dame coach Jeff Jackson realizes his team has a lot to learn about itself.

 

Now that learning curve will take place on the road in Michigan the next two weekends

 

For the second straight night at the Lefty Smith Rink in the Compton Family Ice Arena, the No. 19/20 Irish were outplayed by the visiting Wisconsin Badgers. But unlike Friday’s game, which ended with the Irish winning 3-2 on sophomore Cole Knuble’s overtime goal, the Badgers prevailed with a 2-1 victory.

 

The loss was the third straight Saturday defeat for Notre Dame (5-3-0 overall, 1-1-0 Big Ten for two points) which now jumps on the bus the next two weekends. Up next is a road trip to Ann Arbor’s Yost Ice Arena to play a Friday-Saturday series at No. 11 Michigan (5-2-1). The Wolverines likely will jump into the Top 10 this week after they concluded a weekend sweep at No. 5 Boston University with a 5-4 overtime victory.

 

Then on Nov. 15-16, Notre Dame visits East Lansing and Michigan State’s Munn Ice Arena to play the No. 3 Spartans, who were idle this weekend but are off to a 5-1-0 start.

 

And the season doesn’t get any easier when the Irish return to Compton Nov. 22-23 – that’s when No. 4 Minnesota comes to town. The first-place Golden Gophers completed a Big Ten weekend sweep of No. 18 Penn State with a 1-0 victory Saturday in Minneapolis.

 

“We’re going to two tough buildings to play two tough teams,” Jackson said. “Hey, that’s the Big Ten. We know that coming in. That’s why it’s so important to try and take care of your home games because it’s hard when you get on the road.”

 

Coach Mike Hastings’ Badgers (2-6-0 overall, 1-3-0 Big Ten for five points) outshot Notre Dame 44-24 and won the faceoff battles 44-37 in Friday’s loss. Saturday they finished with 35 shots on goal to 23 by Notre Dame, which had a 28-25 edge on puck drops.

 

Wisconsin sandwiched second-period goals from Owen Lindmark (5:34) and Simon Tassy (19:25) around Notre Dame’s lone score by senior defenseman Ryan Helliwell (12:26). Senior goaltender Tommy Scarfone finished with 22 saves, 11 fewer than Notre Dame junior Owen Say, who got his second straight start in net and once again gave his teammates a chance to win.

 

“Same thing as last night – we had some issues getting out of our zone,” Jackson said. “That’s where the problems start. Then we need more sustained ‘O-zone’ (offensive zone) time. I thought we played better in the third period for the most part, but we also took a couple of penalties in the third that kind of hurt us. And they scored that power-play goal at the end of the second, and when you take penalties, it’s eventually going to catch up to you.”

 

Wisconsin came out flying with its 16-7 shot advantage in what would be a scoreless first period. It appeared that the Badgers took a 1-0 lead at 5:22, but a video review showed that Notre Dame senior Tyler Carpenter managed to clear a rebound shot by Sawyer Scholl that was headed into the open net.

 

A little over two minutes into the second period, Irish graduate right wing Blake Biondi hit the post. Notre Dame then showed its youth when Wisconsin right wing Kyle Kukkonen, skating toward freshman defenseman Jaedon Kerr, passed the puck to center Lindmark, who was behind Irish sophomore defenseman Henry Nelson. Lindmark’s shot beat Say at 5:34 for a 1-0 Wisconsin lead.

 

The Irish would tie it at 12:26 on Helliwell’s first goal of the season. Junior defenseman Axel Kumlin passed the puck in the defensive zone to Knuble, who then found Helliwell at center ice. The senior defenseman skated in and beat Scarfone from 25 feet out to tie the game.

 

But late in the second period with Notre Dame’s Brennan Ali off for goaltender interference, Wisconsin got the game-winning goal when Christian Fitzgerald, who earlier had hit the post behind Say, launched another shot at the Irish netminder and teammate Simon Tassy tipped it home with 35 seconds remaining.

 

The Irish had their scoring chances in the third. At 6:07, Ali and center Danny Nelson played give-and-go only to have Nelson’s shot miss a wide-open net. Then at 14:38 with the Irish killing off another penalty, Knuble hit the crossbar on a 2-on-1 break.

 

Notre Dame got a late power-play opportunity at 16:39 when Kukkonen was sent off for tripping, and Jackson pulled Say at 18:10 for a 6-on-4 skaters advantage, but Scarfone stopped Irish senior center Hunter Strand nine seconds later.

 

“We had chances to tie the game,” lamented Jackson, who wouldn’t mind seeing his team being a little more physical in the offensive zone, particularly in front of the opposing goaltender. “I know we can be better. It’s going to be a little bit of a process for us. We’re going through a little bit of growing pains with some of the younger guys and new guys we have.”

 

 

WISCONSIN 2, NOTRE DAME 1

At Lefty Smith Rink in Compton Family Ice Arena, South Bend

 

Wisconsin                  0          2          0—2

Notre Dame              0          1          0—1

 

First Period—Scoring: None. Penalties: Wisconsin 1-2, Notre Dame 1-2.

Second Period—Scoring: 1. Wisconsin, Owen Lindmark 2 (Kyle Kukkonen, Weston Knox) EV 5:34; 2. Notre Dame, Ryan Helliwell 1 (Cole Knuble, Axel Kumlin) EV 12:26; 3. Wisconsin, Simon Tassy 1 (Christian Fitzgerald, Ben Dexheimer) PP 19:25. Penalties: Wisconsin 1-2 (2-4), Notre Dame 1-2 (2-4).

Third Period—Scoring: None. Penalties: Wisconsin 1-2 (3-6), Notre Dame 2-4 (4-8).

Shots on goal: Wisconsin 35 (16-11-8), Notre Dame 23 (7-10-6).

Goalie saves: Wisconsin, Tommy Scarfone 22 (7-9-6); Notre Dame, Owen Say 33 (16-9-8).

Power-play opportunities: Wisconsin 1 of 4, Notre Dame 0 of 3.

Faceoffs won: Wisconsin 25 (7-6-12), Notre Dame 28 (9-8-11).

Blocked shots: Wisconsin 11 (7-2-2), Notre Dame 18 (7-5-6).

Referees: Tony Czech and Kevin Corbett. Linesmen: Pat Richardson and Christopher Libett. Attendance: 4,826 (4,852).

Records: Wisconsin 2-6-0 overall and 1-3-0 Big Ten for 5 points; Notre Dame 5-3-0 overall and 1-1-0 Big Ten for 2 points.

 

BIG TEN STANDINGS: 1. Minnesota 2-0-0, 6 points (7-1-0 overall); T2. Ohio State 2-0-0, 5 points (7-0-1 overall); T2. Wisconsin 1-3-0, 5 points (2-6-0 overall); 4. Notre Dame 1-1-0, 2 points (5-3-0 overall); T5. Penn State 0-2-0, 0 points (4-3-0 overall); T5. Michigan State 0-0-0, 0 points (5-1-0 overall); T5. Michigan 0-0-0, 0 points (5-2-1 overall).

 

Saturday results: Wisconsin 2, Notre Dame 1; Minnesota 1, Penn State 0; Ohio State 6, Lake Superior State 2; Michigan 5, Boston University 4 (OT).

 

Friday results: Notre Dame 3, Wisconsin 2 (OT); Minnesota 3, Penn State 1; Michigan 5, Boston University 1; Ohio State 9, Lake Superior State 3.

 

 

HOW USCHO.com MEDIA POLL MEMBERS FARED SATURDAY

 

  1. Denver(NCHC) (8-0-0) won at Yale, 5-1. Next: Friday, Nov. 8 vs. Lindenwood.

 

  1. Boston College(Hockey East) (5-1-0) won at No. 10 St. Cloud State, 2-1. Next: Friday, Nov. 8 vs. No. 7 Maine.

 

  1. Michigan State(Big Ten) (5-1-0) was idle. Next: Friday, Nov. 8 vs. No. 15 Ohio State.

 

  1. Minnesota (Big Ten) (7-1-0) beat visiting No. 18 Penn State, 1-0. Next: Friday, Nov. 8 at Wisconsin.

 

  1. Boston University(Hockey East) (4-3-0) lost to visiting No. 11 Michigan, 5-4 (OT). Next: Friday, Nov. 8 vs. No. 20 UMass Lowell.

 

  1. North Dakota(NCHC) (3-4-0) lost at No. 9 Cornell, 5-3. Next: Friday, Nov. 8 at Minnesota Duluth.

 

  1. Maine (Hockey East) (6-0-1) beat visiting Merrimack, 6-0. Next: Friday, Nov. 8 at No. 2 Boston College.

 

  1. Colorado College(NCHC) (6-0-0) won at Air Force, 6-1. Next: Friday, Nov. 8 vs. Arizona State.

 

  1. Cornell(ECAC) (2-0-0) beat visiting No. 6 North Dakota, 5-3. Next: Friday, Nov. 8 vs. Yale.

 

  1. St. Cloud State(NCHC) (6-3-0) lost to visiting No. 2 Boston College, 2-1. Next: Friday, Nov. 8 vs. Miami.

 

  1. Michigan(Big Ten) (5-2-1) won at No. 5 Boston University, 5-4 (OT). Next: Friday, Nov. 8 vs. No. 19 Notre Dame.

 

  1. Providence(Hockey East) (5-1-1) won at New Hampshire, 3-0. Next: Friday, Nov. 8 vs. Northeastern.

 

  1. Western Michigan(NCHC) (3-1-0) was idle. Next: Friday, Nov. 8 at Omaha.

 

  1. Quinnipiac(ECAC) (3-3-0) won at Holy Cross, 3-0. Next: Friday, Nov. 8 vs. Dartmouth.

 

  1. Ohio State(Big Ten) (7-0-1) beat visiting Lake Superior State, 6-2. Next: Friday, Nov. 8 at No. 3 Michigan State.

 

  1. Minnesota State(CCHA) (6-4-0) won at Bemidji State, 2-1. Next: Friday, Nov. 8 vs. St. Thomas.

 

  1. Massachusetts(Hockey East) (4-3-1) won at American International, 4-3. Next: Friday, Nov. 8 at Vermont.

 

  1. Penn State(Big Ten) (4-3-0) lost at No. 4 Minnesota, 1-0. Next: Friday, Nov. 15 vs. Wisconsin.

 

  1. Notre Dame(Big Ten) (5-3-0) lost to visiting Wisconsin, 2-1. Next: Friday, Nov. 8 at No. 11 Michigan.

 

  1. UMass Lowell(Hockey East) (5-1-0) was idle. Next: Friday, Nov. 8 at No. 5 Boston University.

 

Others receiving votes

 

Union (ECAC) (6-1-0) was idle. Next: Friday, Nov. 8 vs. Alaska.

 

Omaha (NCHC) (2-4-0) was idle. Next: Friday, Nov. 8 vs. No. 13 Western Michigan.

 

Clarkson (ECAC) (5-3-1) tied visiting Alaska, 3-3 (OT) (Alaska wins shootout, 1-0). Next: Saturday, Nov. 9 vs. Stonehill.

 

Augustana (CCHA) (4-4-0) won at St. Thomas, 3-2. Next: Friday, Nov. 8 vs. Bemidji State.

 

Harvard (ECAC) (0-1-0) was idle. Next: Friday, Nov. 8 at Princeton.

 

New Hampshire (Hockey East) (2-3-1) lost to visiting No. 12 Providence, 3-0. Next: Saturday, Nov. 9 vs. Long Island University.

 

Wisconsin (Big Ten) (2-6-0) won at No. 19 Notre Dame, 2-1. Next: Friday, Nov. 8 vs. No. 4 Minnesota.

 

Connecticut (Hockey East) (4-3-1) lost to visiting Vermont, 1-0 (OT). Next: Sunday vs. Vermont; Friday, Nov. 8 at Merrimack.

 

Arizona State (NCHC) (3-4-1) was idle. Next: Friday, Nov. 8 at No. 8 Colorado College.

 

Minnesota Duluth (NCHC) (3-4-0) was idle. Next: Friday, Nov. 8 vs. No. 6 North Dakota.

 

Dartmouth (ECAC) (1-0-0) was idle. Next: Sunday vs. Stonehill; Friday, Nov. 8 at No. 14 Quinnipiac.

 

RIT (Atlantic Hockey) (2-6-0) was idle. Next: Friday, Nov. 8 at Bentley.

 

Brown (ECAC) (0-0-0) was idle. Next: Friday, Nov. 8 at Colgate.

 

Michigan Tech (CCHA) (4-2-0) beat visiting Northern Michigan, 6-3. Next: Friday, Nov. 8 at Ferris State.

 

Bemidji State (CCHA) (3-4-0) lost to visiting No. 16 Minnesota State, 2-1. Next: Friday, Nov. 8 at Augustana.

 

Holy Cross (Atlantic Hockey) (3-6-0) lost to visiting No. 14 Quinnipiac, 3-0. Next: Friday, Nov. 8 vs. American International.

 

Northeastern (Hockey East) (1-3-1) was idle. Next: Friday, Nov. 8 at No. 12 Providence.

 

Sacred Heart (Atlantic Hockey) (2-5-1) lost to visiting Bentley, 6-4. Next: Friday, Nov. 8 at Mercyhurst.

 

OTHER GAMES

 

Saturday, Nov. 2

 

Mercyhurst 4, Niagara 3 (OT) (Atlantic Hockey)

 

Lindenwood 2, Robert Morris 2 (OT) (Robert Morris wins shootout, 2-1)

 

Bowling Green 5, Ferris State 4 (CCHA)

 

Rensselaer 2, Miami 1

 

 

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