COLLEGE HOCKEY: ROBERT MORRIS AT NOTRE DAME
By John Fineran
Fresh from last week’s 8-2, 3-0 sweep of St. Lawrence to open their home hockey schedule, Coach Brock Sheahan’s Notre Dame Fighting Irish (2-2) play host to Robert Morris of the Atlantic Hockey Association Friday and Saturday evenings. The Colonials (0-2) enter the series after 4-2 and 10-2 setbacks last week at No. 3 Michigan, which visits South Bend Oct. 31-Nov. 1 to open the Big Ten portion of the Irish season.
WHO: Robert Morris Colonials (0-2) vs. Notre Dame Fighting Irish (2-2).
WHEN: Friday at 7 p.m. and Saturday at 6 p.m.
WHERE: Charles W. “Lefty” Smith Ice Rink at Compton Family Ice Arena (4,852), South Bend.
RADIO: WZOC-FM (94.3) and UND.com (Tyler Reidy).
TV/STREAMING: Peacock (Tony Simeone and Steve Konroyd).
TICKETS: Available
LINEUPS: You can find the lineups for each team and print them out at fightingirish.com/HKYLineCharts.
RIVALRY: The teams split a home-and-home series during the 2006-07 season (Brock Sheahan’s junior year at Notre Dame). … The Irish won the opening game, 6-2, on Jan. 5, 2007 at the Mellon Arena in Pittsburgh. … Two days later in the Joyce Center in South Bend, the Colonials skated to a 4-2 triumph.
LAST WEEK: The Colonials opened the regular season last Thursday and Friday nights, losing 4-2 and 10-2 to then fourth-ranked Michigan at the Yost Arena in Ann Arbor, Mich. … After losing to host Arizona State (5-3) and Quinnipiac (7-2) in the Ice Breaker Tournament in Tempe, Ariz., on Oct. 10-11, the Irish opened their home schedule by sweeping St. Lawrence with an 8-2 victory last Thursday and a 3-0 shutout win on Friday.
COACHES: Robert Morris, Derek Schooley (Western Michigan 1994), 20th season at school, 296-322-76; overall, same. Notre Dame, Brock Sheahan (Notre Dame 2008), first season at school, 2-2-0; Overall, same.
SCOUTING THE COLONIALS: The Colonials won a pair of exhibition games against Bowling Green (4-1 at Bowling Green) and Waterloo (6-2 at home) on Oct. 4-5 before being swept in their regular-season opening series last week at Michigan. … Senior right wing Ryan Taylor (1-1-2), a transfer from Clarkson, leads the 11 Colonials who scored points against the Wolverines. … Sophomore right wing Michael Felsing, freshman left wing Luca Primerano and junior right wing Jackson Reineke (power play) scored the other goals for the Colonials against the Wolverines. … Junior left wing Tanner Klimpke (career 25-25-50), junior left wing Cameron Garvey (18-18-36) and junior defenseman Michael Craig (5-29-34) serve as captains. … Freshman Charlie Schenkel (5.44 goals-against average, .866 saves percentage) started both games in Ann Arbor and gave way to sophomore Croix Kochendorfer (12.00 goals-against average, .636 saves percentage) for Friday’s third period. … NCAA statistics (through Oct. 20): Scoring offense, 2.00 goals per game (45th); scoring defense, 7.00 goals per game (56th); scoring margin, -5.00 goals per game (55th); power-play percentage, 0.143 (1 of 7) (38th); penalty-kill percentage, 0.625 (5 of 8) (53rd); faceoff-win percentage, 0.411 (53-76) (56th); penalty minutes per game, 11.00 (20th).
SCOUTING THE FIGHTING IRISH: Junior right wing Evan Werner, a 5-foot-8, 189-pound transfer from Michigan from Flower Mound, Texas, northwest of Dallas, had a five-point weekend (two goals, three assists) last weekend against St. Lawrence and shares the team scoring lead (2-4-6) with senior defenseman and alternate captain Axel Kumlin (1-5-6) who had a four-point weekend. … Grad center Sutter Muzzatti (3-1-4), a 6-foot-6, 240-pound transfer from RPI, leads the Irish in goals scored with three, one more than Werner, junior defenseman/alternate captain Paul Fischer (2-3-5), sophomore right wing/alternate captain Cole Knuble (2-2-4) and junior defenseman Henry Nelson (2-1-3). … Team captains – junior center Danny Nelson and senior defenseman Michael Mastrodomenico – each scored their first goals of the season in last weekend’s sweep of St. Lawrence. … Freshman Panayioti (Pano) Fimis, a 5-foot-10, 182-pound center who played for the major Ontario Hockey League Erie (Pa.) Otters, has three assists this season and is 42-22 (.656) in faceoffs to lead the team. … Fischer and Henry Nelson lead the team in blocked shots with five each. … Sophomore goaltender Nicholas Kempf (3.52 goals-against average, .886 saves percentage) evened his season record at 2-2 with his first career shutout, stopping all 26 shots in Friday’s game against the Saints. … NCAA statistics (through Oct. 20): Scoring offense, 4.00 goals per game (7th); scoring defense, 3.50 goals per game (37th); scoring margin, 0.50 goals per game (24th); power-play percentage, 0.294 (5 of 17) (7th); penalty-kill percentage, 0.955 (21 of 22) (4th); faceoff-win percentage, 0.521 (124-114) (18th); penalty minutes per game, 19.25 (6th).
WHAT BROCK SHEAHAN HAS TO SAY ABOUT …
(Last weekend) “It was nice to bounce back after a slow start giving up similar chances Thursday as we had in the Quinnipiac game. I think we played the way we wanted to play – we played pretty fast, moved the puck a lot and generated a ton (of chances). It was nice to see Nick (Kempf) battle through that (St. Lawrence’s first two goals) – two goals on two shots on two high-level chances. He then made another big save before settling in and playing well the rest of the weekend.”
(Goaltender Nick Kempf) “I think Nick has been practicing well and his game is maturing. It’s important that at some point you see the work you are putting in is paying off. It was a good working point. He needs to keep getting better.”
(Play of the forwards) “We have a little more depth there than we have before. One guy who impressed me who hadn’t played this year and didn’t score was (junior right wing) Maddox Fleming. I thought he played maybe the most complete game he has ever played here for us. That was encouraging because he has a lot of talent, and if we can get him to play the way he is capable, he’s going to help our group. It was nice to see (freshman left wing) Cole Brown get rewarded (he had three assists Friday). I think (6-foot-6 grad center) Sutter Muzzatti has been a big help. He plays the game the right way – he’s super smart – and he adds a physical element.”
(Other players who stood out) “(Junior defenseman) Henry Nelson may be the best skater on our team. He has really good offensive instincts for a defenseman in joining the rush. He can hammer the puck. The big thing for him is to be consistent defensively. (Sophomore defenseman) Jimmy Jurcev is a guy who is playing good hockey – he did at the end of last year. He’s 6-foot-5 and can skate. He has good hockey sense. He understands how to find open men; he moves the puck. … I think (junior left wing) Carter Slaggert has been good all year. He’s playing hard, using his skating, he’s definitely been very reliable and he’s generating more offense than he has in the past. … Another guy would be (junior left wing) Brennan Ali. I’ve challenged him to play a true power forward game to match his physical attributes. He’s been a driver for (Cole) Knuble and (Pano) Fimis on that line.”
(Robert Morris) “They are going to present some challenges. They like to play fast. They are high tempo, get a lot of volume to the net. They did that at times last weekend to Michigan, and Michigan is a really talented team. If you are not ready to play them, they are going to score. Coach Schooley does a good job with his teams – he gets the most out of them. They are well-organized, they play fast and try to get guys behind you. It goes back to us – we have to have the puck a lot and make plays in their end.”
NEXT UP: The Irish open their Big Ten season with evening games Friday, Oct. 31 and Saturday, Nov. 1 against the No. 3/3 Michigan Wolverines at the Lefty Smith Arena in the Compton Family Ice Arena. … The Colonials open their Atlantic Hockey Association season with a home-and-home series against Niagara, hosting the Purple Eagles on Friday, Oct. 31 at Clearview Arena in Moon Township, Pa., before traveling to Lewiston, N.Y., to play the Purple Eagles at Dwyer Arena.
THIS WEEK’S USCHO.com MEDIA POLL AND SCHEDULES
BIG TEN STANDINGS AND SCHEDULE
(Numbers in parentheses are school’s rankings in this week’s USCHO.com media/USA Hockey-The Rink Live coaches polls):
Conference Overall
GP Pts W-L-T GF-GA W-L-T GF-GA
(1/1) Michigan State 0 0 0-0-0 0-0 3-1-0 13-9
(3/3) Michigan 0 0 0-0-0 0-0 6-0-0 40-7
(5/5) Penn State 0 0 0-0-0 0-0 5-1-0 27-17
(12/12) Minnesota 0 0 0-0-0 0-0 2-3-1 19-19
(14/15) Ohio State 0 0 0-0-0 0-0 3-1-0 14-8
(17/16) Wisconsin 0 0 0-0-0 0-0 2-0-2 13-5
(nr/nr) Notre Dame 0 0 0-0-0 0-0 2-2-0 16-14
Thursday, Oct. 23 game
Western Michigan at Michigan, 7 p.m.
Friday, Oct. 24 games
Robert Morris at Notre Dame, 7 p.m.
Sacred Heart at Ohio State, 6:30 p.m.
Stonehill at Penn State, 7 p.m.
Michigan at Western Michigan, 7 p.m.
Michigan State at Northern Michigan, 7 p.m.
Minnesota Duluth at Minnesota, 8 p.m.
Alaska Fairbanks at Wisconsin, 8 p.m.
Saturday, Oct. 25 games
Robert Morris at Notre Dame, 6 p.m.
Sacred Heart at Ohio State, 5 p.m.
Stonehill at Penn State, 6 p.m.
Michigan State at Northern Michigan, 6 p.m.
Alaska Fairbanks at Wisconsin, 7 p.m.
Minnesota Duluth at Minnesota, 8 p.m.
Thursday, Oct. 30 games
Penn State at Ohio State, 6:30 p.m.
Minnesota at Wisconsin, 9 p.m.
Friday, Oct. 31 games
Michigan at Notre Dame, 7 p.m.
Penn State at Ohio State, 6:30 p.m.
Saturday, Nov. 1 games
Michigan at Notre Dame, 6 p.m.
Minnesota at Wisconsin, 7 p.m.
THIS WEEK’S SCHEDULE FOR TOP 20 TEAMS IN USCHO.com MEDIA POLL
1. Michigan State (Big Ten) (3-1-0) at Northern Michigan Friday and Saturday.
2. Western Michigan (NCHC) (3-1-0) at No. 3 Michigan Thursday, vs. No. 3 Michigan Friday.
3. Michigan (Big Ten) (6-0-0) vs. No. 2 Western Michigan Thursday, at No. 2 Western Michigan Friday.
4. Boston University (Hockey East) (2-2-1) vs. No. 11 Connecticut Friday, at No. 11 Connecticut Saturday.
5. Penn State (Big Ten) (5-1-0) vs. Stonehill Friday and Saturday.
6. Quinnipiac (ECAC) (4-1-1) won at Holy Cross 4-1 Tuesday, at Merrimack Friday, at New Hampshire Saturday.
7. Denver (NCHC) (2-1-1) at No. 9 Boston College Friday, at Northeastern Saturday.
8. North Dakota (NCHC) (3-1-0) at Clarkson Friday and Saturday.
9. Boston College (Hockey East) (2-1-1) vs. No. 7 Denver Friday.
10. Maine (Hockey East) (2-1-1) vs. Colgate Friday and Saturday.
11. Connecticut (Hockey East) (2-2-0) at No. 4 Boston University Friday, vs. No. 4 Boston University Saturday.
12. Minnesota (Big Ten) (2-3-1) vs. No. 18 Minnesota Duluth Friday and Saturday.
13. Massachusetts (Hockey East) (4-1-0) at Omaha Friday and Saturday.
14. Ohio State (Big Ten) (3-1-0) vs. Sacred Heart Friday and Saturday.
15. Providence (Hockey East) (1-2-0) at St. Thomas Friday and Saturday.
16. Colorado College (NCHC) (5-1-0) is idle.
17. Wisconsin (Big Ten) (2-0-2) vs. Alaska Fairbanks Friday and Saturday.
18. Minnesota Duluth (NCHC) (5-1-0) at No. 12 Minnesota Friday and Saturday.
19. Cornell (ECAC) (0-0-0) vs. U.S. Under-18 Team (exhibition) Saturday.
20. Minnesota State (CCHA) (1-1-2) vs. RPI Friday and Saturday.
OTHER GAMES THIS WEEK
Friday, Oct. 24
U.S. Under-18 Team at Niagara, 6 p.m. (exhibition)
Canisius at Bentley, 7 p.m.
Holy Cross at Army, 7 p.m.
UMass Lowell at Mercyhurst, 7 p.m.
Long Island at New Hampshire, 7 p.m.
Air Force at RIT, 7:05 p.m.
Bowling Green at Lake Superior, 7:07 p.m.
Ferris State at Michigan Tech, 7:07 p.m.
Alaska Anchorage at St. Cloud State, 8 p.m.
Augustana at Bemidji State, 8:07 p.m.
Miami at Lindenwood, 8:10 p.m.
Saturday, Oct. 25
Holy Cross at Army, 4 p.m.
UMass Lowell at Mercyhurst, 5 p.m.
Air Force at RIT, 5:05 p.m.
Canisius at Bentley, 6 p.m.
Ferris State at Michigan Tech, 6:07 p.m.
Bowling Green at Lake Superior, 6:07 p.m.
Long Island at Merrimack, 7 p.m.
Alaska Anchorage at St. Cloud State, 7 p.m.
Toronto at St. Lawrence, 7 p.m. (exhibition)
Simon Fraser at Princeton, 7 p.m. (exhibition)
Augustana at Bemidji State, 7:07 p.m.
Miami at Lindenwood, 8:10 p.m.
Sunday, Oct. 26
Norwich at Dartmouth, 3 p.m. (exhibition)
Monday, Oct. 27
Simon Fraser at Long Island, 2 p.m. (exhibition)