IRISH SKATERS HIT ANOTHER LOW IN 3-2 HOME SETBACK TO LINDENWOOD

by | Jan 25, 2025 | Hockey, RRSN News | 0 comments

By JOHN FINERAN

SOUTH BEND – On Military Appreciation Night Friday, the Notre Dame hockey team forgot to bring its fight to the ice against visiting Lindenwood.

Coming off maybe its grittiest victory of the year – a 4-3 overtime victory at No. 3 Minnesota last Saturday night – Notre Dame scored two goals within 58 seconds early in the first period and then allowed the third-year independent Division I program from St. Charles, Mo., to score three unanswered goals in the second period for a 3-2 victory before a sellout crowd of 5,169 at the Lefty Smith Rink in the Compton Family Ice Arena.

Notre Dame, which has not put back-to-back victories together since it opened the season 3-0 back in October, fell to 8-16-1 overall and remains a mystery to Jeff Jackson, who announced prior to this season, his 20th in South Bend, that he would be retiring as the head coach.

“It’s been going on all year,” said Jackson, whose team is sixth in the Big Ten with its 3-12-1 record. “If I could explain it, it would be over with. Because it happened after Michigan, too (a 7-4 Irish victory two Saturdays ago) – we came out flat against Minnesota Friday night (in a 5-2 loss).”

It has been that kind of season – highs like Mount Everest, lows like the Dead Sea — for  Jackson, who won two NCAA titles at Lake Superior State in the 1990s, started the U.S. National Development Program and then came to Notre Dame in 2005 where he has become the winningest coach and taken four teams to the NCAA Frozen Four.

And typical of the 69-year-old coach, Jackson is willing to fall on his own sword. “Like I always say, if they’re not ready to play, that’s on me,” he said.

Notre Dame got even-strength goals from sophomore right wing Carter Slaggert at 5:46 and senior left wing Hunter Strand at 6:44 of the first period against Lindenwood goalie Owen Bartoszkiewicz.

“We started off all right,” Jackson said. “We were good in the first period (but) we couldn’t stay the course. We start getting individualistic – we turn pucks over and they’re going the other way in transition. We were not good in many aspects of the game. It wasn’t just our turnovers or our play defensively. We kept on giving them the puck to play in our end.”

The nightmare began in the second period when coach Bill Muckalt’s Lions took advantage of Notre Dame lackadaisical play in its defensive zone and converted on three of their eight shots at Irish goalie Owen Say.

Freshman defenseman Noah Houle intercepted a Notre Dame pass in the neutral zone and beat Say through his five-hole at 8:40 to make it a 2-1 game. Then just over six minutes later, teammates Joe Prouty and Kristof Papp set up Houle to Say’s left. The Irish goaltender made the initial stop on Houle, but the rebound came back to the Lindenwood player, who skated around the Irish net untouched and jammed it home at 14:43 to tie the game.

Finally at 17:49, Tyler Loughman put a backhander past Say after assists from David Gagnon and Brody Mortensen to put the Lions ahead for good.

The Irish outshot the Lions 10-4 in the final period, but Bartoszkiewicz, who spent the 2022-23 season at Minnesota, made 10 saves again and finished with 26, 10 more than Say.

“We worked to prepare (for) how they played – they’re an aggressive forecheck team,” Jackson said of the Lions, who opened their season with a 4-2 victory at Wisconsin and also have a 3-2 victory at Omaha. “We did a good job getting pucks by them in the first period. Then after that, we decided we were going to do it one-on-one, and it just doesn’t work.”

The teams conclude their two-game series Saturday night at 6:05 p.m.

LINDENWOOD 3, NOTRE DAME 2

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

Lindenwood              0          3          0—3

Notre Dame              2          0          0—2

First Period—Scoring: 1. Notre Dame, Carter Slaggert 3 (Jayden Davis, Zach Plucinski) EV 5:46; 2. Notre Dame, Hunter Strand 7 (Blake Biondi, Cole Knuble) EV 6:44. Penalties: Lindenwood 2-4, Notre Dame 1-2.

Second Period—Scoring: 3. Lindenwood, Noah Houle 2 (unassisted) EV 8:40; 4. Lindenwood, Noah Houle 3 (Joe Prouty, Kristof Papp) EV 14:43; 5. Lindenwood, Tyler Loughman 4 (David Gagnon, Brody Mortensen) EV 17:49.  Penalties: Lindenwood 2-4 (4-8), Notre Dame 1-2 (2-4).

Third Period—Scoring: None. Penalties: Lindenwood 1-2 (5-10), Notre Dame 1-2 (3-6).

Shots on goal: Lindenwood 19 (7-8-4), Notre Dame 28 (8-10-10).

Goalie saves: Lindenwood, Owen Bartoszkiewicz 26 (6-10-10); Notre Dame, Owen Say 16 (7-5-4).

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

Faceoffs won: Lindenwood 19 (6-5-8), Notre Dame 30 (8-14-8).

Blocked shots: Lindenwood 14 (2-6-6), Notre Dame 11 (6-4-1).

Referees: Barry Pochmara and Anthony Vikhter. Linesmen: Dan Cohen and Jake Davis. Attendance: 5,169 (4,852).

Records: Lindenwood 6-17-2, Notre Dame 8-16-1.

BIG TEN STANDINGS, RESULTS AND SCHEDULE: (Numbers in parentheses before school are its standings in this week’s USCHO.com media poll, this week’s USA Hockey-The Rink Live coaches poll and current PairWise rating)

  1. (2/2/2) Michigan State 11-2-2, 35 points (20-3-2 overall)
  2. (4/3/3) Minnesota 10-4-1, 31 points (19-6-2 overall)
  3. (9/8/10) Ohio State 8-4-1, 24 points (15-6-2 overall)
  4. (rv/rv/17) Wisconsin 6-9-0, 23 points (11-12-2 overall)
  5. (10/10/11) Michigan 8-7-0, 20 points (14-10-1 overall)
  6. (nr/nr/37) Notre Dame 3-12-1, 11 points (8-16-1 overall)
  7. (rv/nr/27) Penn State 1-9-3, 9 points (10-10-3 overall)

Friday, Jan. 24: Lindenwood 3, Notre Dame 2 (non-conference); Michigan State 9, Minnesota 3.; Penn State 6, Ohio State 6 (OT) (Penn State wins shootout, 1-0); Wisconsin 5, Michigan 4.

Saturday, Jan. 25: Lindenwood at Notre Dame, 6:05 p.m. (non-conference); Ohio State at Penn State, 5 p.m.; Minnesota at Michigan State, 6 p.m.; Michigan at Wisconsin, 8:30 p.m.

Thursday, Jan. 30: Michigan State at Ohio State, 8 p.m.; Notre Dame is idle.

Friday, Jan. 31: Penn State at Michigan, 7 p.m.; Michigan State at Ohio State, 7 p.m.; Wisconsin at Minnesota, 8 p.m.; Notre Dame is idle.

Saturday, Feb. 1: Wisconsin at Minnesota, 6 p.m.; Penn State at Michigan, 8 p.m.; Notre Dame is idle.

SCHEDULE FOR USCHO.com MEDIA POLL TEAMS AND OTHERS

  1. Boston College(Hockey East) (17-4-1) beat No. 8 Boston University 6-2 Friday. Next: Saturday vs. No. 8 Boston University.
  2. Michigan State(Big Ten) (20-3-2) beat No. 4 Minnesota 9-3 Friday. Next: Saturday vs. No. 4 Minnesota.
  3. Western Michigan(NCHC) (16-4-1) beat Miami 8-3 Friday. Next: Saturday vs. Miami.
  4. Minnesota(Big Ten) (19-6-2) lost at No. 2 Michigan State 9-3 Friday. Next: Saturday at No. 2 Michigan State.
  5. Denver (NCHC) (17-6-0) lost at Minnesota Duluth 4-3 Friday. Next: Saturday at Minnesota Duluth.
  6. Maine(Hockey East) (15-5-3) was idle Friday. Next: Friday, Jan. 31 vs. Northeastern; Sunday, Feb. 2 vs. Massachusetts.
  7. Providence (Hockey East) (15-5-3) tied No. 12 UMass Lowell 3-3 (OT) (UMass Lowell wins shootout 1-0) Friday. Next: Saturday vs. No. 12 UMass Lowell.
  8. Boston University(Hockey East) (13-8-1) lost to No. 1 Boston College 6-2 Friday. Next: Saturday at No. 1 Boston College.
  9. Ohio State (Big Ten) (15-6-2) tied Penn State 6-6 (OT) (Penn State wins shootout 1-0) Friday. Next: Saturday at Penn State.
  10. Michigan (Big Ten) (14-10-1) lost at Wisconsin 5-4 Friday. Next: Saturday at Wisconsin.
  11. Arizona State (NCHC) (14-8-1) beat No. 19 Colorado College 4-1 Friday. Next: Saturday vs. No. 19 Colorado College.
  12. UMass Lowell(Hockey East) (12-7-3) tied No. 7 Providence 3-3 (OT) (UMass Lowell wins shootout 1-0) Friday. Next: Saturday at No. 7 Providence.
  13. Connecticut (Hockey East) (13-8-2) beat No. 15 Quinnipiac 2-1 Friday in Connecticut Ice Tournament at Fairfield, Conn. (Martire Family Arena). Next: Saturday vs. Sacred Heart in Connecticut Ice Tournament championship.
  14. Minnesota State(CCHA) (16-7-2) lost at Ferris State 2-0 Friday. Next: Saturday at Ferris State.
  15. Quinnipiac (ECAC) (14-8-2) lost to No. 13 Connecticut 2-1 Friday in Connecticut Ice Tournament at Fairfield, Conn. (Martire Family Arena). Next: Saturday vs. Yale in Connecticut Ice Tournament consolation.
  16. North Dakota (NCHC) (12-10-1) was idle. Next: Jan. 31-Feb. 1 at No. 17 St. Cloud State.
  17. St. Cloud State(NCHC) (11-12-0) lost at Omaha 6-3 Friday. Next: Saturday at Omaha.
  18. New Hampshire(Hockey East) (10-9-3) lost Vermont 3-2 (OT) Friday. Next: Saturday vs. Vermont.
  19. Colorado College (NCHC) (11-11-1) lost at No. 11 Arizona State 4-1 Friday. Next: Saturday at No. 11 Arizona State.
  20. Clarkson(ECAC) (14-7-2) beat St. Lawrence 5-2 Friday. Next: Saturday vs. St. Lawrence.

Also receiving votes

Augustana (CCHA) (14-7-2) beat Bowling Green 1-0 (OT) Friday. Next: Saturday at Bowling Green.

Wisconsin (Big Ten) (11-12-2) beat No. 10 Michigan 5-4 Friday. Next: Saturday vs. No. 10 Michigan.

Cornell (ECAC) (8-5-5) beat Harvard 4-1 Friday. Next: Saturday vs. Dartmouth.

Massachusetts (Hockey East) (12-10-2) beat Alaska 4-2 Friday. Next: Saturday vs. Alaska.

Sacred Heart (Atlantic Hockey) (15-8-4) beat Yale 8-2 Friday in Connecticut Ice Tournament at Fairfield, Conn. (Martire Family Arena). Next: Saturday vs. No. 13 Connecticut in Connecticut Ice Tournament championship.

Dartmouth (ECAC) (10-7-2) lost at Colgate 3-2 Friday. Next: Saturday at Cornell.

Northeastern (Hockey East) (9-10-3) was idle Friday. Next: Saturday vs. Merrimack.

Michigan Tech (CCHA) (14-9-2) beat Northern Michigan 3-2 Friday. Next: Saturday at Northern Michigan.

Omaha (NCHC) (13-10-0) beat No. 17 St. Cloud State 6-3 Friday. Next: Saturday vs. No. 17 St. Cloud State.

Bentley (Atlantic Hockey) (13-10-2) beat American International 6-1 Tuesday. Next: Saturday and Sunday at Princeton.

Bowling Green (CCHA) (12-9-3) lost to Augustana 1-0 (OT) Friday. Next: Saturday vs. Augustana.

Colgate (ECAC) (12-9-2) beat Dartmouth 3-2 Friday. Next: Saturday vs. Harvard.

Holy Cross (Atlantic Hockey) (12-11-2) beat Air Force 3-2 Friday. Next: Saturday at Air Force.

Penn State (Big Ten) (10-10-3) tied No. 9 Ohio State 6-6 (OT) (Penn State wins shootout 1-0) Friday. Next: Saturday vs. No. 9 Ohio State.

Others to watch

Notre Dame (Big Ten) (8-16-1) lost to Lindenwood 3-2 Friday. Next: Saturday vs. Lindenwood.

Lindenwood (Independent) (6-17-2) beat Notre Dame 3-2 Friday. Next: Saturday at Notre Dame.

Vermont (Hockey East) (9-12-3) beat No. 18 New Hampshire 3-2 (OT) Friday. Next: Saturday at No. 18 New Hampshire.

Merrimack (Hockey East) (9-13-1) lost to Brown 5-1 Tuesday. Next: Saturday at Northeastern.

Minnesota Duluth (NCHC) (10-12-1) beat No. 5 Denver 4-3 Friday. Next: Saturday vs. No. 5 Denver.

Bemidji State (CCHA) (8-12-4) was idle Friday. Next: Saturday and Sunday at St. Thomas.

St. Thomas (CCHA) (9-10-5) was idle Friday. Next: Saturday and Sunday vs. Bemidji State.

Lake Superior State (CCHA) (9-13-2) was idle. Next: Jan. 31-Feb. 1 at Augustana.

Niagara (Atlantic Hockey) (13-10-3) beat RIT 7-0 Friday. Next: Saturday at RIT.

Air Force (Atlantic Hockey) (11-15-1) lost to Holy Cross 3-2 Friday. Next: Saturday vs. Holy Cross.

Harvard (ECAC) (6-10-2) lost at Cornell 4-1 Friday. Next: Saturday at Colgate.

Princeton (ECAC) (6-10-1) was idle Friday. Next: Saturday and Sunday vs. Bentley.

Union (ECAC) (13-9-1) was idle Friday. Next: Saturday vs. Rensselaer.

Rensselaer (ECAC) (9-12-2) was idle Friday. Next: Saturday at Union.

Brown (ECAC) (7-9-2) beat Merrimack 5-1 Tuesday. Next: Sunday vs. Stonehill.

Long Island (Independent) (12-10-2) was idle. Next: Jan. 31-Feb. 1 vs. Stonehill.

Stonehill (Independent) (9-19-0) was idle Friday. Next: Sunday at Brown.

Alaska (Independent) (7-10-5) lost at Massachusetts 4-2 Friday. Next: Saturday at Massachusetts.

Alaska Anchorage (Independent) (5-17-4) was idle. Next: Jan. 31-Feb. 1 at Alaska.

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