KEMPF’S 38 SAVES NOT ENOUGH AS NO. 2 MICHIGAN ESCAPES WITH 2-1 OVERTIME WIN OVER IRISH
By John Fineran
SOUTH BEND, Ind. – Coach Brock Sheahan likes the direction his first Notre Dame hockey team is headed.
For the second straight night, the Fighting Irish battled No. 2 Michigan but came away without a win as the Wolverines captured a 2-1 overtime victory thanks to 6-foot-5 left wing Will Horcoff’s third goal of the weekend.
It was a disappointing end for the mostly white-clad capacity crowd of 5,039 who came to the Lefty Smith Rink in the Compton Family Ice Arena to celebrate the life of 13-year-old Rudy Chapman of Middlebury, who the Irish hockey team adopted as a teammate during his long fight against bone cancer.
“Rudy was a big member of this team and we loved having him around,” said junior center and captain Danny Nelson, who scored Notre Dame’s only goal. “Unfortunately we couldn’t get the win for him.”
The Irish tried. Once again, Notre Dame got another strong performance in net from sophomore goaltender Nicholas Kempf, who made 38 saves, including 16 in the third period and two more in the overtime before Irish defenseman Michael Mastrodomenico crashed into him while trying to prevent Horcoff from scoring.
Kempf and Mastrodomenico were still trying to get untangled when Michigan right wing Jayden Perron got the puck over to Horcoff, who fired it quickly past Kempf from the faceoff circle with the teams skating three-aside at the 2:29 mark of the five-minute overtime. Coupled with their 5-3 victory in Friday’s penalty-marred game, coach Brandon Naurato’s Wolverines improved to 9-1 for the season and 2-0-0 in the Big Ten with five points, a point behind Penn State and Wisconsin. Notre Dame fell to 3-4-1 overall and 0-2-0 in the Big Ten but got a point for going into overtime.
“Yesterday, I thought we played a much better game than we played today,” Sheahan said of the game which saw Michigan score four power-play goals with the help of two major penalties and game misconducts called against Irish defensemen Caeden Carlisle and Axel Kumlin. “I thought we battled tonight. We were right there. We’re getting better at our game, but moral victories mean nothing to me. But at least we started to see the way we need to play.”
In Friday’s loss, the Irish found themselves at a 13-1 shot disadvantage to start but ended up outshooting the Wolverines 33-27. Saturday, the Wolverines doubled up on the Irish by a 40-20 margin, including 17-5 in the third period. Without Kempf, it would have been a long night.
“He (Kempf) gave us a chance to win,” Sheahan added. “Through two periods, it was a close, tough game. In the third period, for whatever reason, their push was better than ours. They are a very high-volume team at times. They throw a lot of pucks at the net and caused us stress. I don’t think we did a very good job getting out of our end.”
Danny Nelson, who had a goal and two assists in Friday’s loss, gave the Irish a 1-0 lead at 13:46 of the first period when he took a feed from brother Henry Nelson and beat Michigan freshman goaltender Jack Ivankovic, who finished with 19 saves. Irish defenseman Paul Fischer also drew an assist on the goal.
“He (Henry Nelson) finally learned how to pass,” Danny Nelson joked to which his brother replied, “I pass to him plenty of times.”
Henry Nelson was impressed by Kempf’s performance. “He’s our rock back there,” he said. “We’re very lucky to have him.”
Kempf maintained the 1-0 lead through the second period and had 20 saves entering the third period when Michigan turned it up a notch. The Wolverines tied the game at 3:23 of the third period when Nick Moldenhauer batted home the puck off a scramble in front to tie the game at 1-1. It was the only shot of the 17 Michigan directed toward him in the third period that Kempf allowed to escape his grasp.
Notre Dame returns to action next weekend with its first league series on the road at Minnesota. The Golden Gophers, expected by many to be contenders this season, fell to 2-7-1 for the season Saturday when they lost at Wisconsin 4-0.
MICHIGAN 2, NOTRE DAME 1 (OT)
At Lefty Smith Rink in Compton Family Ice Arena, South Bend, Ind.
Michigan 0 0 1 1—2
Notre Dame 1 0 0 0—1
First Period—Scoring: 1. Notre Dame, Danny Nelson 3 (Henry Nelson, Paul Fischer) EV 13:46. Penalties: Michigan 2-4, Notre Dame 2-4.
Second Period—Scoring: None. Penalties: Michigan 0-0 (2-4), Notre Dame 1-2 (3-6).
Third Period—Scoring: 2. Michigan, Nick Moldenhauer 2 (Jayden Perron, Kienan Draper) EV 3:23. Penalties: Michigan 1-2 (3-6), Notre Dame 0-0 (3-6).
Overtime—Scoring: 3. Michigan, Will Horcoff 10 (Jayden Perron, Luca Fantilli) EV 2:29. Penalties: Michigan 0-0 (3-6), Notre Dame 0-0 (3-6).
Shots on goal: Michigan 40 (11-9-17-3), Notre Dame 20 (8-6-5-1).
Goalie saves: Michigan, Jack Ivankovic 19 (7-6-5-1); Notre Dame, Nicholas Kempf 38 (11-9-16-2).
Power-play opportunities: Michigan 0 of 2, Notre Dame 0 of 2.
Faceoffs won: Michigan 31 (9-9-10-3), Notre Dame 30 (11-12-7-0).
Blocked shots: Michigan 10 (2-6-2-0), Notre Dame 11 (2-5-4-0).
Referees: Colin Kronforst and Jacob Rekucki. Linesmen: Christopher Williams and Jonathan Sladek. Attendance: 5,039c (4,852). Records: Michigan 9-1-0, 2-0-0 Big Ten for 5 points; Notre Dame 3-4-1, 0-2-0 Big Ten for 1 point.
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
(4/4) Penn State 2 6 2-0-0 7-5 9-1-0 41-26
(14/14) Wisconsin 2 6 2-0-0 9-2 6-0-2 31-11
(2/2) Michigan 2 5 2-0-0 7-4 9-1-0 53-16
(nr/nr) Notre Dame 2 1 0-2-0 4-7 3-4-1 28-26
(1/1) Michigan State 0 0 0-0-0 0-0 5-1-0 23-11
(19/18) Minnesota 2 0 0-2-0 2-9 2-7-1 22-35
(17/17) Ohio State 2 0 0-2-0 5-7 4-4-0 23-17
THIS WEEK
Thursday, Oct. 30
Penn State 3, Ohio State 2
Wisconsin 5, Minnesota 2
Friday, Oct. 31
Michigan 5, Notre Dame 2
Penn State 4, Ohio State 3
Saturday, Nov. 1
Michigan 2, Notre Dame 1 (OT)
Wisconsin 4, Minnesota 0
NEXT WEEK
Friday, Nov. 7
Notre Dame at Minnesota, 8 p.m.
Wisconsin at Michigan, 7 p.m.
Penn State at Michigan State, 7 p.m.
Saturday, Nov. 8
Notre Dame at Minnesota, 8 p.m.
Penn State at Michigan State, 4 p.m.
Wisconsin at Michigan, 7 p.m.
UPCOMING SCHEDULES FOR TOP 20 TEAMS IN USCHO.com MEDIA POLL
- Michigan State(Big Ten) (5-1-0) is idle this weekend. Next: Nov. 7-8 vs. No. 4 Penn State.
- Michigan (Big Ten) (9-1-0) won at Notre Dame Friday, 5-3; won at Notre Dame Saturday, 2-1 (OT). Next: Nov. 7-8 vs. No. 14 Wisconsin.
- Western Michigan(NCHC) (5-3-0) won at St. Cloud State Friday, 6-5; lost at St. Cloud State Saturday, 5-1. Next: Nov. 7-8 vs. No. 6 Denver.
- Penn State(Big Ten) (9-1-0) won at No. 17 Ohio State Thursday, 3-2; won at No. 17 Ohio State Friday, 4-3. Next: Nov. 7-8 at No. 1 Michigan State.
- Boston University(Hockey East) (3-5-1) lost at No. 12 Maine Friday, 5-4 (OT); lost at No. 12 Maine Saturday, 8-5. Next: Nov. 7 vs. Merrimack, Nov. 8 at Merrimack.
- Denver (NCHC) (4-3-1)lost to Alaska-Anchorage Friday, 4-3 (OT); beat Alaska-Anchorage Saturday, 6-0. Next: Nov. 7-8 at No. 3 Western Michigan.
- Quinnipiac(ECAC) (5-2-1) is idle this weekend. Next: Nov. 4 vs. Alaska Fairbanks, Nov. 7 at Yale, Nov. 8 at Brown.
- North Dakota (NCHC) (5-3-0) lost to No. 10 Minnesota Duluth Friday, 4-3 (OT); beat No. 10 Minnesota Duluth Saturday, 5-1. Next: Nov. 7-8 at Omaha.
- Connecticut(Hockey East) (4-3-1) tied Harvard Friday, 1-1 (OT); beat Merrimack Saturday, 5-1. Next: Nov. 7 vs. No. 16 Providence, Nov. 8 at No. 16 Providence.
- Minnesota Duluth(NCHC) (8-2-0) won at No. 8 North Dakota Friday, 4-3 (OT); lost at No. 8 North Dakota Saturday, 5-1. Next: Nov. 7-8 vs. St. Cloud State.
- Boston College(Hockey East) (2-4-1) lost to Northeastern Thursday, 4-1; lost at Northeastern Friday, 3-0. Next: Nov. 7-8 at Vermont.
- Maine(Hockey East) (5-2-1) beat No. 5 Boston University Friday, 5-4 (OT); beat No. 5 Boston University Saturday, 8-5. Next: Nov. 6-7 at No. 13 Massachusetts.
- Massachusetts(Hockey East) (6-3-0) beat No. 20 Cornell Friday, 2-1; lost to No. 20 Cornell Saturday, 3-1. Next: Nov. 6-7 vs. No. 12 Maine.
- Wisconsin(Big Ten) (6-0-2) beat No. 19 Minnesota Thursday, 5-2; beat No. 19 Minnesota Saturday, 4-0. Next: Nov. 7-8 at No. 2 Michigan.
- Colorado College(NCHC) (5-3-0) lost to Omaha Friday, 3-2; lost to Omaha Saturday, 5-4. Next: Nov. 7-8 at Arizona State.
- Providence(Hockey East) (3-3-1) beat UMass Lowell Friday, 5-2; lost at UMass Lowell Saturday, 5-1. Next: Nov. 7 at No. 9 Connecticut, Nov. 8 vs. No. 9 Connecticut.
- Ohio State(Big Ten) (4-4-0) lost to No. 4 Penn State Thursday, 3-2; lost to No. 4 Penn State Friday, 4-3. Next: Nov. 14-15 at No. 14 Wisconsin.
- Minnesota State (CCHA) (4-2-2) won at St. Thomas Friday, 3-1; lost vs. St. Thomas Saturday, 4-3 (OT). Next: Nov. 7-8 vs. Bowling Green.
- Minnesota (Big Ten) (2-7-1) lost at No. 14 Wisconsin Thursday, 5-2; lost at No. 14 Wisconsin Saturday, 4-0. Next: Nov. 7-8 vs. Notre Dame.
- Cornell (ECAC) (1-1-0) lost at No. 13 Massachusetts Friday, 2-1; won at No. 13 Massachusetts Saturday, 3-1. Next: Nov. 7 at Harvard, Nov. 8 at Dartmouth.
RESULTS AND SCHEDULE
Thursday, Oct. 30
Atlantic Hockey Association
Holy Cross 5, Sacred Heart 2
Non-conference
Long Island 9, Maryville 3 (exhibition)
Friday, Oct. 31
Atlantic Hockey Association
Holy Cross 2, Sacred Heart 2 (OT) (Holy Cross wins shootout, 1-0)
Robert Morris 4, Niagara 2
Bentley 3, Mercyhurst 1
ECAC
RPI 5, Union 2
Hockey East Association
New Hampshire 4, Vermont 2
NCHC
Arizona State 4, Miami 1
CCHA
Bemidji State 4, Bowling Green 4 (OT) (Bemidji State wins shootout, 1-0)
Augustana 2, Northern Michigan 1
Non-conference
Long Island 2, Maryville 1 (exhibition)
Lake Superior State 3, St. Lawrence 3 (OT)
Clarkson 6, Michigan Tech 4
Princeton 5, Alaska Fairbanks 2
Lindenwood 1, Ferris State 0
RIT 3, Colgate 1
Air Force 2, Brown 0
Saturday, Nov. 1
ECAC
Union 3, RPI 0
Atlantic Hockey Association
Bentley 7, Mercyhurst 2
Robert Morris 4, Niagara 3
Canisius 2, Army 2 (OT) (Canisius wins shootout, 2-0)
Hockey East Association
Vermont 2, New Hampshire 1
NCHC
Miami 5, Arizona State 2
CCHA
Bemidji State 3, Bowling Green 2 (OT)
Augustana 3, Northern Michigan 1
Non-conference
Dartmouth 5, Stonehill 2
Michigan Tech 3, St. Lawrence 0
Lake Superior State 6, Clarkson 2
Princeton 6, Alaska Fairbanks 3
Air Force 4, Brown 3
Lindenwood 3, Ferris State 2
RIT 4, Colgate 1
Sunday, Nov. 2
Non-conference
Yale at Dartmouth, 5 p.m.
Tuesday, Nov. 4
Non-conference
Stonehill at Harvard, 7 p.m.