By John Fineran
SOUTH BEND, Ind. – First-year Notre Dame hockey coach Brock Sheahan knows his team has work to do as it prepares for the opening of the Big Ten season next Friday and Saturday nights against third-ranked Michigan.
The Fighting Irish showed very little of the aggressive offensive effort they showed in three straight non-conference victories, the last a 6-3 triumph Friday night over visiting Robert Morris at the Lefty Smith Rink in the Compton Family Ice Arena.
Saturday night, the Irish looked listless against coach Derek Schooley’s Colonials, who outshot the Irish for most of the game while gaining a 2-2 overtime tie (and a 1-0 shootout victory) for their effort.
“We didn’t deserve to win that game,” Sheahan said after the Irish fell to 3-2-1. “For us, it’s still about learning how to play our game all the time. I thought we were pretty passive at times tonight, especially on the forecheck. When we are aggressive, we get turnovers. We have to learn how hard it is to win games consistently.”
Grad-transfer center Sutter Muzzatti, who had two goals and two assists in Friday’s victory, and junior left-wing Brennan Ali had the Irish goals Saturday night while sophomore goaltender Nicholas Kempf finished with 27 saves.
But Notre Dame was outshot 29-25 by Robert Morris, including 20-11 in the first two periods by the Colonials (0-3-1) who got a solid performance from 6-foot-6 freshman netminder Charlie Schenkel, who made 23 saves, including five during the 3-on-3, five-minute overtime.
The Irish seemed frustrated at times, and it showed late in the first period and for much of the second. After Ali’s game-tying goal at 13:40 of the first period tied the game at 1-1, Notre Dame did not have another shot on net until Axel Kumlin’s backhander was smothered by Schenkel at the 13:27 mark of the second period – a total of 19 minutes and 47 seconds. The Irish even had a power-play opportunity during that span and failed to get a shot on goal.
The Colonials outshot the Irish 12-6 in the first period which ended tied 1-1. Four of Notre Dame’s six shots came in the first 7:15, while the Colonials pressured Kempf late in the period. The sophomore had to make five saves during and just after a minor penalty to teammate Will Belle for holding at 16:48.
As they did in Friday’s 6-3 win by the Irish, the Colonials scored first when center Bruce McDonald sent left wing George Krotiris into the Irish defensive zone. Krotiris then whipped a shot from the mid-slot past Kempf at 12:11 to give Robert Morris a 1-0 lead.
Notre Dame responded at 13:40 when freshman center Fimis put a shot on net that Schenkel turned aside. But Ali jumped on the rebound and put it into the net to tie the game at 1-1. It was Ali’s second goal of the series and Cole Knuble also received an assist.
Kempf kept the Colonials off the scoreboard in the second period, twice stopping left wing Luca Primerano when he was left unguarded. The first time came at 8:16 when Primerano broke in all alone after an Irish turnover. The second time Primerano broke in at 17:19, Kempf made the save before the two players collided and the net was dislodged by their collision.
Kumlin’s shot finally woke the Irish up and they outshot the Colonials 5-0 in the final minutes of the second period but could not beat Schenkel, sending the game into the third period still tied at 1-all.
With Robert Morris’ Braden Rourke in the penalty box for tripping at 7:36, the Irish finally took the lead but they took their time doing so. Only seven seconds remained on the penalty when Ali slipped a pass across the crease to the unguarded Muzzatti, who put it past Schenkel at 9:29 for his sixth goal of the season and a 2-1 Irish lead.
But the Colonials tied the game just under five minutes later when defenseman Michael Craig beat Kempf with help from teammates Trent Wilson and Greg Japchen. That made it 2-2.
Schenkel got a piece of an Evan Werner blast at 18:40, and then the Irish and Kempf got a scare when Ryan Taylor’s shot with 32 seconds remaining in regulation hit off the post.
Notre Dame dominated the 3-on-3 overtime with five shots, all turned aside by Schenkel – two each by Werner and Knuble and the last by Cole Brown.
In the shootout, Notre Dame’s Werner hit the post with his shot in round one. Then Cameron Garvey of Robert Morris beat Kempf for a 1-0 lead. Notre Dame sent out Knuble for the second round, but Knuble never got off a shot as Schenkel poked the puck off his stick. Kempf then denied Primerano to keep it 1-0. But in the third round, Danny Nelson’s shot went off the far post, giving the shootout victory to the Colonials.
After opening the season with seven straight victories, including a 4-0 victory over defending NCAA champion and second-ranked Western Michigan in Ann Arbor on Thursday, the third-ranked Wolverines lost 5-2 when the two teams met Friday in Kalamazoo. Both games this weekend at the Compton are expected to be sellouts.
NOTRE DAME 2, ROBERT MORRIS 2 (OT)
At Lefty Smith Rink in Compton Family Ice Arena, South Bend, Ind.
Robert Morris 1 0 1 0—2
Notre Dame 1 0 1 0—2
First Period—Scoring: 1. Robert Morris, George Krotiris 1 (Bruce McDonald) EV 12:11; 2. Notre Dame, Brennan Ali 2 (Pano Fimis, Cole Knuble) EV 13:40. Penalties: Robert Morris 0-0, Notre Dame 1-2.
Second Period—Scoring: None. Penalties: Robert Morris 1-2 (1-2), Notre Dame 0-0 (1-2).
Third Period—Scoring: 3. Notre Dame, Sutter Muzzatti 6 (Brennan Ali, Cole Brown) PP 9:29; 4. Robert Morris, Michael Craig 1 (Trent Wilson, Greg Japchen) EV 14:17. Penalties: Robert Morris 1-2 (2-4), Notre Dame 0-0 (1-2).
Overtime—Scoring: None. Penalties: Robert Morris 0-0 (2-4), Notre Dame 0-0 (1-2).
Shootout—Round 1: Notre Dame, Evan Werner (miss, off pipe), Robert Morris, Cameron Garvey (make); Round 2: Notre Dame, Cole Knuble (miss, no shot), Robert Morris, Luca Primerano (miss); Round 3: Notre Dame, Danny Nelson (miss, off pipe). Robert Morris wins shootout 1-0.
Shots on goal: Robert Morris 29 (12-8-9-0), Notre Dame 25 (6-5-9-5).
Goalie saves: Robert Morris, Charlie Schenkel 23 (5-5-8-5); Notre Dame, Nicholas Kempf 27 (11-8-8-0).
Power-play opportunities: Robert Morris 0 of 1, Notre Dame 1 of 2.
Faceoffs won: Robert Morris 22 (9-6-6-1), Notre Dame 34 (14-7-11-2).
Blocked shots: Robert Morris 10 (2-3-5-0), Notre Dame 10 (2-1-6-1).
Referees: Sean Fernandez and Logan Gruhl. Linesmen: Riley Bowles and Mike Daltrey. Attendance: 4,162 (4,852c). Records: Robert Morris 0-3-1, Notre Dame 3-2-1.