Knuble scores twice, Say saves 32 as No. 18 Irish beat Saints 4-1 in opener
By John Fineran
CANTON, N.Y. – Sophomore center Cole Knuble scored two goals and junior-transfer goaltender Owen Say made 32 saves, 18 in the third period, as No. 18 Notre Dame opened coach Jeff Jackson’s 20thseason behind the Irish bench with a convincing 4-1 non-conference victory over St. Lawrence Friday night at Appleton Arena.
Knuble broke a 1-1 tie with an unassisted goal at 11:55 of the second period and then added his second goal at 16:29 to end the Saints’ comeback hopes in the third period. Grad-transfer (from Minnesota Duluth) right wing Blake Biondi opened the scoring for the Irish in the first period, and sophomore center Danny Nelson scored Notre Dame’s other goal in the second period. Senior left wing Justin Janicke contributed a pair of assists as Notre Dame outshot St. Lawrence 38-33.
The 23-year-old Say, who played for Atlantic Hockey’s Mercyhurst last season, got the start over freshman Nick Kempf, a standout for the U.S. Under-18 team last season, and junior returnee Jack Williams. Say, who hails from London, Ont., entered the transfer portal after going 8-17-4 last season for Mercyhurst. But Jackson, who tended goal for Michigan State back in the mid-1970s and is retiring after this season, was impressed by Say’s .913 saves percentage and brought him to South Bend.
The Irish, coming off a 5-2 exhibition victory over the U.S. Under-18 team Oct. 4 at the Compton Family ice Arena, started strongly against coach Brent Brekke’s Saints, who opened their season last weekend with victories over RIT and Canisius.
Goaltender Mason Kucenski, who finished with 34 saves, made four saves in the first six minutes of the game and also got help from the post which deflected another shot on net by Notre Dame’s Brennan Ali.
Notre Dame had a 14-7 shot advantage in the first period which ended 1-1. The Irish goal came when Biondi, who had two goals in last week’s exhibition victory, backhanded the puck high over Kucenski at 6:45 after feeds from defensemen Michael Mastrodomenico and Ryan Helliwell.
The lead didn’t last long, however, as Notre Dame drew a penalty at 8:04 for too many players on the ice. The Saints tied the game 34 seconds later when Tyler Cristall deflected a shot by Philippe Chapleau past Say.
The Irish then got a power play when left wing Greg Lapointe was sent off for slashing at 11:11. Notre Dame pressured Kucenski with shots by Biondi, Nelson, Ali and defenseman Axel Kumlin, but the Saints goalie stopped them all. Biondi later hit the post at 14:42.
The Irish got another power-play opportunity when Will Arquiett went off for roughing eight seconds into the second period. But Knuble got the only shot on goal before the penalty ended. Say then made three saves in eight seconds beginning at 3:33 to keep the game tied.
The Saints had a 6-5 edge in shots at 8:46 media timeout but the Irish dominated from there to the end of the period, outshooting St. Lawrence 14-8 in the period while scoring twice to take a 3-1 lead into the third period.
Knuble made it 2-1 Irish at 11:55 after his linemates, grad-transfer (from Princeton) right wing Ian Murphy and Janicke, forced an errant Saints clearing attempt. Knuble picked it off in the mid-slot and beat Kucenski for an unassisted goal.
At 16:05, St. Lawrence’s Tomas Mazura went off for holding. Nelson got the goal when he redirected a shot by Paul Fischer from the point. Janicke also picked up an assist as the Irish took a 3-1 lead which they eventually took to the locker room after two periods.
Four of Say’s 18 third-period saves came during a 77-second span beginning at 14:31. Less than two minutes later, Knuble completed a 2-on-1 break with Janicke when his shot beat Kucenski after bouncing off the post at 16:29.
Brekke pulled Kucenski at 17:32 for a sixth attacker and Say made four more saves before Kucenski returned to the ice after the teams each received a minor penalty at the 19:19 mark.
The Irish continue their two-game road trip Saturday night, travelling up U.S. 11 to Potsdam, N.Y., to play another ECAC Hockey power, Clarkson (2-1-0), which beat Niagara Friday night, 4-2.
NOTRE DAME 4, ST. LAWRENCE 1
At Appleton Arena, Canton, N.Y.
Notre Dame 1 2 1—4
St. Lawrence 1 0 0—1
First Period—Scoring: 1. Notre Dame, Blake Biondi 1 (Michael Mastrodomenico, Ryan Helliwell) EV 6:45; 2. St. Lawrence, Tyler Cristall 1 (Philippe Chapleau, Tomas Mazura) PP 8:38. Penalties: Notre Dame 1-2, St. Lawrence 1-2.
Second Period—Scoring: 3. Notre Dame, Cole Knuble 1 (unassisted) EV 11:55. 4. Notre Dame, Danny Nelson 1 (Paul Fischer, Justin Janicke) PP 17:12. Penalties: Notre Dame 0-0 (1-2), St. Lawrence 2-4 (3-6).
Third Period—Scoring: 5. Notre Dame, Cole Knuble 2 (Justin Janicke) EV 16:29. Penalties: Notre Dame 2-4 (3-6), St. Lawrence 1-2 (4-8).
Shots on goal: Notre Dame 38 (14-14-10), St. Lawrence 33 (7-8-18). Goalie saves: Notre Dame, Owen Say 32 (6-8-18), St. Lawrence, Mason Kucenski 34 (13-12-9).
Power-play opportunities: Notre Dame 1 of 3, St. Lawrence 1 of 2. Faceoffs won: Notre Dame 34 (6-12-16), St. Lawrence 33 (12-11-10). Blocked shots: Notre Dame 7 (3-2-2), St. Lawrence 12 (5-5-2).
Referees: Jason Williams and C.J. Hanafin. Linesmen: Adam Wood and Patrick Dapuzzo. Attendance: 1,510 (3,000).
Records: Notre Dame 1-0-0, St. Lawrence 2-1-0.