JACKSON SHUFFLES LINES, IRISH SHOW RESULTS IN 4-2 VICTORY OVER LINDENWOOD

by | Jan 26, 2025 | Hockey, RRSN News | 0 comments

By JOHN FINERAN

SOUTH BEND – With apologies to Elton John’s song “Saturday Night’s Alright For Fighting,” the Notre Dame Fighting Irish hockey team has suddenly found that Saturday nights are alright for winning, too.

For the third straight weekend series, coach Jeff Jackson’s team followed a dreadful Friday night loss with a solid Saturday night victory, this time after the retiring Irish coach juggling his four lines and receiving points from all of them in a 4-2 victory over visiting three-year-old independent Lindenwood.

The victory before a capacity crowd 5,125 watching around the Lefty Smith Rink in the Compton Family Ice Arena improved Notre Dame to 9-16-1 heading into a bye week. The team concludes its Big Ten regular-season schedule with four series, two on the road and two at home. The Irish, tied for sixth place with Penn State in the seven-team league, return to action Feb. 7 and 8 against visiting No. 9 Ohio State. First-year coach Bill Muckalt’s 6-18-2 Lions, who won the series opener 3-2 Friday night, return home for a pair of exhibition games against Canadian college team Simon Fraser.

“I think it’s a mindset,” Jackson said after Notre Dame’s third straight Saturday night victory followed a 7-4 victory over then No. 9 Michigan Jan. 11 and then last Saturday’s 4-3 overtime victory at then No. 3 Minnesota. “It’s like we have to lose to figure out how to win. If we could come out and play the same way each night, it would be great. But I was proud – at least we showed a response and played much better.”

Jackson kept only one line intact after Friday’s loss to the Lions – sophomore center (and leading scorer) Cole Knuble’s line with senior left wing Hunter Strand and graduate right wing Blake Biondi. The Irish coach moved sophomore Brennan Ali away from sophomore center Danny Nelson and senior right wing Justin Janicke and put Ali together with fourth-line graduate center Ian Murphy and sophomore right wing Maddox Fleming. Alternate captain Tyler Carpenter, meanwhile, moved up to third-line left wing with sophomore center Jayden Davis and graduate right wing Grant Silianoff.

Ali scored his fifth goal of the season to get the Irish started in the first period, and the eventual game-winning goal by Carpenter, one of the team’s alternate captains, was his first of the year. Both Janicke and Nelson scored their team-leading 10th goals of the season as the Irish used a 15-4 shot advantage in the first period to build an eventual 40-24 edge by game’s end.

The Irish, who led 2-0 in Friday’s game before three second-period goals by the Lions captured the victory, once again jumped ahead 2-0 beginning with Ali’s fifth goal of the season 4:03 into the game.

“I was definitely more inspired,” Ali said of his goal which came off a nifty feed from improving sophomore defenseman Jaedon Kerr. “Everyone was frustrated by (Friday’s) loss. It (the line change) was just fuel for me.”

Newly-named captain Janicke’s 10th goal of the season, a power-play marker set up by a Danny Nelson faceoff win and Cole Knuble’s primary assist at 1:43 of the second period, made it 2-0.

Lindenwood’s Josh Southgate, with an assist from former Culver Military Academy standout Patrick Schmiedlin, scored at 11:15 of the middle session to cut the lead to 2-1 after two periods.

Senior Carpenter gave the Irish a two-goal lead again early in the third period when he blasted the puck past Lindenwood goaltender Owen Bartoszkiewicz at 1:52 for the eventual game-winner. Arguably the hockey team’s best golfer – he tried to qualify for last year’s U.S. Open — Carpenter was maybe five feet from the goal line to the Lindenwood goaltender’s left when he received a nifty cross-ice feed from defenseman Paul Fischer and quickly buried it for a 3-1 Irish lead.

“In his (Jackson’s) mind it was shuffle the deck and see if the new lines work,” Carpenter said. “I was comfortable with the lineup and excited to get out there and play with them (Davis and Silianoff).”

Lindenwood again would close the margin to one when an unguarded John Evans beat Irish freshman netminder Nicholas Kempf at 13:18. But Nelson finished off the victory with his 10th of the season into an empty net at 19:13 to send the partisan Irish crowd, which included Irish head football coach Marcus Freeman and his family, home happy.

Kempf, who stopped eight of the nine shots he faced in the first two periods, made 14 saves in the third for a game total of 27 and his second victory of the season. Bartoszkiewicz, meanwhile, stopped 14 shots in the each of the first and third periods on way to 36 saves.

“We know we have to be ready to go right from the start of game one because that’s exactly what it is going to be like in playoffs,” Carpenter said.

Jackson concurred after watching his final Notre Dame team give him the 416th victory in his 20th year in South Bend and the 598th of his illustrious 26-year career that includes a pair of NCAA titles at Lake Superior State in 1992 and 1994.

“This team (Lindenwood) was hard to play against,” Jackson said. “We need to learn to be a little hard to play against, too. Consistency has been lacking all year. If we don’t find it, we’re going to have trouble in the last month. We need to continue to work on the things which will make us better.”

NOTRE DAME 4, LINDENWOOD 2

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

Lindenwood              0          1          1—2

Notre Dame              1          1          2—4

First Period—Scoring: 1. Notre Dame, Brennan Ali 5 (Jaedon Kerr, Ian Murphy) EV 4:03. Penalties: Lindenwood 1-2, Notre Dame 2-4.

Second Period—Scoring: 2. Notre Dame, Justin Janicke 10 (Cole Knuble, Danny Nelson) PP 1:43; 3. Lindenwood, Jake Southgate 3 (Patrick Schmiedlin, Drew Kuzma) EV 11:15. Penalties: Lindenwood 4-8 (5-10), Notre Dame 3-6 (5-10).

Third Period—Scoring: 4. Notre Dame, Tyler Carpenter 1 (Paul Fischer, Jayden Davis) EV 1:52; 5. Lindenwood, John Evans 3 (Jacob Vockler) EV 13:18; 6. Notre Dame, Danny Nelson 10 (Justin Janicke) EN 19:13. Penalties: Lindenwood 0-0 (5-10), Notre Dame 1-2 (6-12).

Shots on goal: Lindenwood 24 (4-5-15), Notre Dame 40 (15-9-16).

Goalie saves: Lindenwood, Owen Bartoszkiewicz 36 (14-8-14); Notre Dame, Nicholas Kempf 22 (4-4-14).

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

Faceoffs won: Lindenwood 31 (11-11-9), Notre Dame 36 (14-11-11).

Blocked shots: Lindenwood 12 (6-6-0), Notre Dame 16 (5-5-6).

Referees: Barry Pochmara and Anthony Vikhter. Linesmen: Dan Cohen and Jake Davis. Attendance: 5,125 (4,852).

Records: Lindenwood 6-18-2, Notre Dame 9-16-1.

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 11-2-3, 37 points (20-3-3 overall)
  2. (4/3/3) Minnesota 10-4-2, 32 points (19-6-3 overall)
  3. (9/8/10) Ohio State 8-5-1, 25 points (15-7-2 overall)
  4. (rv/rv/17) Wisconsin 6-9-1, 24 points (11-12-3 overall)
  5. (10/10/11) Michigan 8-7-1, 22 points (14-10-2 overall)

6T. (nr/nr/37) Notre Dame 3-12-1, 11 points (9-16-1 overall)

6T. (rv/nr/27) Penn State 2-9-3, 11 points (11-10-3 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: Notre Dame 4, Lindenwood 2 (non-conference); Michigan State 3, Minnesota 3 (OT) (Michigan State wins shootout 2-0); Penn State 3, Ohio State 2 (OT);  Michigan 4, Wisconsin 4 (OT) (Michigan wins shootout 1-0)

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.

Friday, Feb. 7: Ohio State at Notre Dame, 7:05 p.m.; Michigan at Michigan State, 7 p.m.; Penn State at Wisconsin, 8 p.m.; Minnesota is idle.

Saturday, Feb. 8: Ohio State at Notre Dame, 6:05 p.m.; Michigan State vs. Michigan at Detroit (Duel at the D, Little Caesars Arena), 8 p.m.; Penn State at Wisconsin, 7 p.m.; Minnesota is idle.

SATURDAY’S RESULTS FOR USCHO.com MEDIA POLL TEAMS AND OTHERS

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

Also receiving votes

Augustana (CCHA) (14-7-3) tied Bowling Green 1-1 (Augustana wins shootout 1-0). Next: Friday vs. Lake Superior State, Saturday vs. Lake Superior State.

Wisconsin (Big Ten) (11-12-3) tied No. 10 Michigan 4-4 (OT) (Michigan wins shootout 1-0). Next: Friday at No. 4 Minnesota, Saturday at No. 4 Minnesota.

Cornell (ECAC) (8-6-5) lost to Dartmouth 6-1. Next: Friday at St. Lawrence, Saturday at No. 20 Clarkson.

Massachusetts (Hockey East) (13-10-2) beat Alaska 7-3. Next: Friday vs. Merrimack, Sunday, Feb. 2 at Maine.

Sacred Heart (Atlantic Hockey) (15-9-4) lost to No. 13 Connecticut 1-0 in Connecticut Ice Tournament championship game at Fairfield, Conn. (Martire Family Arena). Next: Friday at Niagara, Saturday at Niagara.

Dartmouth (ECAC) (11-7-2) beat Cornell 6-1. Next: Friday vs. No. 15 Quinnipiac, Saturday vs. Princeton.

Northeastern (Hockey East) (9-11-3) lost to Merrimack 4-3. Next: Friday at No. 6 Maine, Monday, Feb. 3 vs. No. 1 Boston College in Beanpot at Boston (TD Garden).

Michigan Tech (CCHA) (15-9-2) beat Northern Michigan 4-0. Next: Feb. 7-8 vs. Bemidji State.

Omaha (NCHC) (14-10-0) beat No. 17 St. Cloud State 3-1. Next: Friday at No. 5 Denver, Saturday at No. 5 Denver.

Bentley (Atlantic Hockey) (13-11-2) lost at Princeton 3-1. Next: Sunday at Princeton; Tuesday, Feb. 4 vs. Army.

Bowling Green (CCHA) (12-9-4) tied Augustana 1-1 (OT) (Augustana wins shootout 1-0). Next: Friday at Northern Michigan, Saturday at Northern Michigan.

Colgate (ECAC) (12-10-2) lost to Harvard 4-1. Next: Friday at No. 20 Clarkson, Saturday at St. Lawrence.

Holy Cross (Atlantic Hockey) (13-11-2) beat Air Force 6-3. Next: Friday vs. Canisius, Sunday, Feb. 2 vs. Canisius.

Penn State (Big Ten) (11-10-3) beat No. 9 Ohio State 3-2 (OT). Next: Friday at No. 10 Michigan, Saturday at No. 10 Michigan.

Others to watch

Notre Dame (Big Ten) (9-16-1) beat Lindenwood 4-2. Next: Feb. 7-8 vs. No. 9 Ohio State.

Lindenwood (Independent) (6-18-2) lost at Notre Dame 4-2. Next: Friday vs. Simon Fraser (exhibition), Saturday vs. Simon Fraser (exhibition).

Vermont (Hockey East) (9-13-3) lost at No. 18 New Hampshire 5-2. Next: Feb. 7 at No. 12 UMass Lowell.

Merrimack (Hockey East) (10-13-1) beat Northeastern 4-3. Next: Friday at Massachusetts, Saturday at No. 12 UMass Lowell.

Minnesota Duluth (NCHC) (10-13-1) lost to No. 5 Denver 2-1. Next: Feb. 7-8 at Omaha.

Bemidji State (CCHA) (8-13-4) lost at St. Thomas 3-2. Next: Sunday at St. Thomas, Friday vs. Ferris State, Saturday vs. Ferris State.

St. Thomas (CCHA) (10-10-5) beat Bemidji State 3-2. Next: Sunday vs. Bemidji State, Friday vs. No. 14 Minnesota State, Saturday vs. No. 14 Minnesota State.

Lake Superior State (CCHA) (9-13-2) was idle. Next: Friday at Augustana, Saturday at Augustana.

Niagara (Atlantic Hockey) (14-10-3) beat RIT 6-3. Next: Friday vs. Sacred Heart, Saturday vs. Sacred Heart.

Air Force (Atlantic Hockey) (11-16-1) lost to Holy Cross 6-3. Next: Friday vs. RIT, Saturday vs. RIT.

Harvard (ECAC) (7-10-2) beat Colgate 4-1. Next: Friday vs. Princeton; Monday, Feb. 3 vs. No. 8 Boston University in Beanpot at Boston (TD Garden).

Princeton (ECAC) (7-10-1) beat Bentley 3-1. Next: Sunday vs. Bentley, Friday at Harvard, Saturday at Dartmouth.

Union (ECAC) (14-9-1) beat Rensselaer 3-2 (OT). Next: Friday vs. Yale, Saturday vs. Brown.

Rensselaer (ECAC) (9-13-2) lost at Union 3-2 (OT). Next: Friday vs. Brown, Saturday vs. Yale.

Brown (ECAC) (7-9-2) was idle. Next: Sunday vs. Stonehill, Friday at RPI, Saturday at Union.

Long Island (Independent) (12-10-2) was idle. Next: Friday vs. Stonehill, Saturday vs. Stonehill.

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

Alaska (Independent) (7-11-5) lost at Massachusetts 7-3. Next: Friday vs. Alaska Anchorage, Saturday, Feb. 1 vs. Alaska Anchorage.

Alaska Anchorage (Independent) (5-17-4) was idle. Next: Friday at Alaska, Saturday at Alaska.

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