By John Fineran
For a good portion of the first 40 minutes of Saturday’s Big Ten hockey game between Notre Dame and Minnesota in the 3M Arena at Mariucci in Minneapolis, it appeared coach Brock Sheahan’s Fighting Irish had finally solved some of the offensive woes which had plagued them through their first nine games of the season.
But with the game tied 1-1 heading toward the second-period intermission, the Golden Gophers suddenly awoke and scored two goals within 1:16 of each other and then added an insurance goal in the final period for a 4-1 victory which extended Notre Dame’s winless streak to five games, the last four of which are losses.
Senior defenseman and captain Michael Mastrodomenico scored his third goal of the season at 3:59 of the second period to tie the game after Minnesota’s Brody Lamb had opened the game’s scoring at 3:37 of the first period against Notre Dame sophomore goaltender Nicholas Kempf. Mastrodomenico’s goal was set up by center Cole Knuble, who took a pass from defenseman Paul Fischer and skated behind the net before finding Mastrodomenico all alone near the left point. Mastrodomenico then skated down and beat junior goaltender Luca Di Pasquo to knot the score at 1-all.
But coach Bob Motzko’s Gophers got a power-play goal from senior defenseman Luke Mittelstadt at 16:17 of the second period to regain the lead. Then center Jimmy Clark beat Kempf with a one-timer at 17:33 from the faceoff circle to the Irish goalie’s left to send the Gophers (4-7-1 overall, 2-2-0 Big Ten for six points) eventually on their way to a two-game sweep of the Irish (3-6-1, 0-4-0 Big Ten for one point).
LJ Mooney, one of three Gophers who had two-point nights (Lamb and Clark were the others), had the lone third-period goal when he took a pass from Tate Pritchard behind the Irish defense and beat Kempf on a breakaway goal at 13:48.
Kempf, who allowed just one goal and made 31 saves in Friday night’s eventual 3-0 Minnesota victory, had another 31 saves Saturday night as the Gophers launched 35 shots his way. Minnesota junior goaltender Luca Di Pasquo, who earned Friday’s shutout with a 19-save performance, was tested 34 times by Notre Dame and turned all but one away.
Things won’t get any easier this coming weekend when the Irish return to the Lefty Smith Rink at the Compton Family Ice Arena to play top-ranked Michigan State in a pair of games. The Spartans improved to 7-1-0 this season by finishing a two-game sweep of No. 3 Penn State with a 5-0 shutout victory for goaltender Trey Augustine. Faceoffs are 7 p.m. Friday and 6 p.m. Saturday with Friday’s game being Military Appreciation Night.
MINNESOTA 4, NOTRE DAME 1
3M Arena at Mariucci, Minneapolis, Minn.
Notre Dame 0 1 0—1
Minnesota 1 2 1—4
First Period—Scoring: 1. Minnesota, Brody Lamb 6 (Jimmy Clark) EV 3:37. Penalties: Notre Dame 0-0, Minnesota 1-2.
Second Period—Scoring: 2. Notre Dame, Michael Mastrodomenico 3 (Cole Knuble, Paul Fischer) EV 3:59; 3. Minnesota, Luke Mittelstadt 1 (Brody Lamb, LJ Mooney) PP 16:17; 4. Minnesota, Jimmy Clark 1 (Javon Moore, Max Rud) EV 17:33. Penalties: Notre Dame 2-4 (2-4), Minnesota 1-2 (2-4).
Third Period—Scoring: 5. Minnesota, LJ Mooney 3 (Tate Pritchard) EV 13:48. Penalties: Notre Dame 4-8 (6-12), Minnesota 3-6 (5-10).
Shots on goal: Notre Dame 34 (12-12-10), Minnesota 35 (8-14-13).
Goalie saves: Notre Dame, Nicholas Kempf 31 (7-12-12); Minnesota, Luca Di Pasquo 33 (12-11-10).
Power-play opportunities: Notre Dame 0 of 3, Minnesota 1 of 4.
Faceoffs won: Notre Dame 43 (12-13-18), Minnesota 35 (10-13-12).
Blocked shots: Notre Dame 8 (2-4-2), Minnesota 14 (7-4-3).
Referees: Brandon Schmitt and Jonathon Sitarski. Linesmen: Jonathan Sladek and Matthew Heinen. Attendance: 8,947 (10,257c). Records: Notre Dame 3-6-1, 0-4-0 Big Ten for 1 point; Minnesota 4-7-1, 2-2-0 Big Ten for 6 points.
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-OW-OL-SW GF-GA W-L-T GF-GA
(10/9) Wisconsin 4 9 3-1-0-0-0-0 19-10 7-1-2 41-19
(2/2) Michigan 4 8 3-1-0-1-0-0 15-14 10-2-0 61-26
(3/3) Penn State 4 7 2-2-0-0-1-0 8-12 9-3-0 42-33
(rv/rv) Minnesota 4 6 2-2-0-0-0-0 9-10 4-7-1 29-36
(1/1) Michigan St. 2 5 2-0-0-1-0-0 7-1 7-1-0 30-12
(nr/nr) Notre Dame 4 1 0-4-0-0-1-0 5-14 3-6-1 29-33
(19/rv) Ohio State 2 0 0-2-0-0-0-0 5-7 4-4-0 23-17
THIS WEEK
Friday, Nov. 7
Minnesota 3, Notre Dame 0
Michigan 7, Wisconsin 4
Michigan State 2, Penn State 1 (OT)
Saturday, Nov. 8
Minnesota 4, Notre Dame 1
Michigan State 5, Penn State 0
Wisconsin 6, Michigan 1
NEXT WEEK
Friday, Nov. 14
Michigan State at Notre Dame, 7 p.m. (Peacock)
Michigan at Penn State, 7 p.m. (B1G+)
Ohio State at Wisconsin, 8 p.m. (B1G+)
Long Island at Minnesota, 8:30 p.m. (B1G+)
Saturday, Nov. 15
Michigan State at Notre Dame, 6 p.m. (Peacock)
Michigan at Penn State, 6 p.m. (B1G+)
Ohio State at Wisconsin, 7 p.m. (B1G+)
Long Island at Minnesota, 6 p.m. (B1G+)
RESULTS FOR TOP 20 TEAMS IN USCHO.com MEDIA POLL AND NEXT GAMES
1. Michigan State (Big Ten) (7-1-0) beat No. 3 Penn State Saturday, 5-0. Next: Nov. 14-15 at Notre Dame.
2. Michigan (Big Ten) (10-2-0) loses to No. 10 Wisconsin Saturday, 6-1. Next: Nov. 14-15 at No. 3 Penn State.
3. Penn State (Big Ten) (9-3-0) lost at No. 1 Michigan State Saturday, 5-0. Next: Nov. 14-15 vs. No. 2 Michigan.
4. Western Michigan (NCHC) (5-5-0) lost to No. 9 Denver Saturday, 6-3. Next: Nov. 14-15 vs. Miami.
5. Quinnipiac (ECAC) (6-3-2) won at Brown Saturday, 4-3 (OT). Next: Nov. 15 vs. No. 12 Boston University.
6. Maine (Hockey East) (6-3-1) did not play Saturday. Next: Nov. 14-15 vs. Vermont.
7. Minnesota Duluth (NCHC) (10-2-0) beat St. Cloud State Saturday, 3-2 (OT). Next: Nov. 14-15 vs. Omaha.
8. North Dakota (NCHC) (7-3-0) won at Omaha Saturday, 4-1. Next: Nov. 14-15 vs. Arizona State.
9. Denver (NCHC) (6-3-1) won at No. 4 Western Michigan Saturday, 6-3. Next: Nov. 14 vs. No. 20 Colorado College, Nov. 15 at No. 20 Colorado College.
10. Wisconsin (Big Ten) (7-1-2) won at No. 2 Michigan Saturday, 6-1. Next: Nov. 14-15 vs. No. 19 Ohio State.
11. Connecticut (Hockey East) (4-4-2) tied at No. 15 Providence Saturday, 2-2 (OT) (Connecticut won shootout, 1-0). Next: Nov. 14 vs. No. 14 Northeastern, Nov. 15 at No. 14 Northeastern.
12. Boston University (Hockey East) (5-5-1) won at Merrimack Saturday, 5-4. Next: Nov. 15 at No. 5 Quinnipiac.
13. Massachusetts (Hockey East) (7-4-0) did not play Saturday. Next: Nov. 14 at No. 18 Boston College, Nov. 15 vs. No. 18 Boston College.
14. Northeastern (Hockey East) (7-1-0) beat Stonehill Saturday, 4-2. Next: Nov. 14 at No. 11 Connecticut, Nov. 15 vs. No. 11 Connecticut.
15. Providence (Hockey East) (4-3-2) tied No. 11 Connecticut Saturday, 2-2 (OT) (Connecticut won shootout, 1-0). Next: Nov. 14 vs. Merrimack, Nov. 15 at Merrimack.
16. Minnesota State (CCHA) (4-2-4) tied Bowling Green Saturday, 1-1 (OT) (Bowling Green won shootout, 1-0). Next: Nov. 14-15 at Lake Superior State.
17. Cornell (ECAC) (2-2-0) lost at Dartmouth Saturday, 2-1. Next: Nov. 14 vs. Brown, Nov. 15 vs. Yale.
18. Boston College (Hockey East) (4-4-1) won at Vermont Saturday, 5-0. Next: Nov. 14 vs No. 13 Massachusetts, Nov. 15 at No. 13 Massachusetts.
19. Ohio State (Big Ten) (4-4-0) did not play Saturday. Next: Nov. 14-15 at No. 10 Wisconsin.
20. Colorado College (NCHC) (6-3-1) at Arizona State Saturday, 3-1. Next: Nov. 14 at No. 9 Denver; Nov. 15 vs. No. 9 Denver.
RESULTS AND SCHEDULE
Saturday, Nov. 8
Big Ten
Minnesota 4, Notre Dame 1
Michigan State 5, Penn State 0
Wisconsin 6, Michigan 1
Atlantic Hockey Association
Holy Cross 6, Niagara 2
Air Force 3, Sacred Heart 2
RIT 3, Mercyhurst 2
ECAC
Quinnipiac 4, Brown 3 (OT)
Dartmouth 2, Cornell 1
Harvard 6, Colgate 5
RPI 5, Clarkson 1
Union 5, St. Lawrence 2
Yale 2, Princeton 1 (OT)
Hockey East Association
Boston University 5, Merrimack 4
UMass Lowell 6, New Hampshire 1
Boston College 5, Vermont 0
Connecticut 2, Providence 2 (OT) (Connecticut won shootout, 1-0)
NCHC
Denver 6, Western Michigan 3
Colorado College 3, Arizona State 1
Minnesota Duluth 3, St. Cloud State 2 (OT)
North Dakota 4, Omaha 1
CCHA
Ferris State 2, Augustana 0
Michigan Tech 4, Northern Michigan 2
Bowling Green 1, Minnesota State 1 (OT) (Bowling Green won shootout, 1-0)
Bemidji State 3, Lake Superior State 2 (OT)
Non-conference
Northeastern 4, Stonehill 2
Long Island 2, Robert Morris 0
Simon Fraser at Alaska Fairbanks, late (exhibition)
Sunday, Nov. 9
Atlantic Hockey Association
Bentley at Army, 2 p.m.
Tuesday, Nov. 11
Non-conference
St. Cloud State at St. Thomas, 8:07 p.m.