MUZZATTI’S PAIR OF GOALS NOT ENOUGH FOR IRISH IN 7-2 LOSS TO NO. 8/9 QUINNIPIAC AT ICE BREAKER TOURNAMENT

MUZZATTI’S PAIR OF GOALS NOT ENOUGH FOR IRISH IN 7-2 LOSS TO NO. 8/9 QUINNIPIAC AT ICE BREAKER TOURNAMENT

 Notre Dame freshman center Pano Fimis fires a shot against Quinnipiac in Saturday’s consolation game of the Ice Breaker Tournament at Mullett Arena in Tempe, Ariz. The Irish once again had penalty issues and the No. 8/9 Bobcats skated away with a 7-2 victory. (Photo courtesy Fighting Irish Media)

 By John Fineran

For the second straight game Saturday night in the Ice Breaker Tournament at the Mullett Arena in Tempe, Ariz., Notre Dame’s hockey team had trouble staying out of the penalty box, especially in the first period.

First-year head coach Brock Sheahan’s Fighting Irish struggled with four minor penalties which allowed No. 8/9 Quinnipiac to grab the lead on way to a 7-2 consolation victory in what was the first meeting ever between the two hockey programs.

Notre Dame ended up being penalized seven times for 22 minutes. In Friday’s 5-3 loss to tourney host Arizona State, four penalties totaling 19 minutes helped doom the Irish against the Sun Devils, who also grabbed a 2-0 first-period lead.

For the game, Notre Dame was whistled seven times for 22 minutes. Friday against the Sun Devils, the Irish committed six penalties totaling 23 minutes.

If there was a bright spot for the Irish, it was the two-goal evening enjoyed by graduate center Sutter Muzzatti. A 6-foot-6, 241-pound Okemos, Mich., resident who transferred after an injury-plagued season at RPI, Muzzatti directed home a cross-crease pass from Brennan Ali at 10:48 of the second period to cut Notre Dame’s deficit to 3-1. 

Then with the Irish trailing 6-1 in the third period while on a 5-on-3 power play, Muzzatti tipped a shot by defenseman Axel Kumlin past 6-foot-tall Quinnipiac goalie Matej Marinov, who protested that the six-inch taller Muzzatti scored with the help of a high stick.

Marinov, who hails from Slovakia, faced just 25 Irish shots and turned away 23. His Notre Dame counterpart, sophomore Nicholas Kempf, finished with 31 saves, 17 coming in Notre Dame’s penalty-marred first period.

Freshman right wing Antonin Verreault, who got coach Rand Pecknold’s Bobcats started with a power-play goal at 6:44 of the first period, closed out the night’s scoring with his second goal with seven seconds remaining in regulation.

Junior Mason Marcellus and sophomore Aaron Schwartz each finished with one goal and two assists for Quinnipiac, while freshmen Marcus Vidicek and Ethan Wyttenbach each had a goal and assist as the Bobcats outshot Notre Dame 38-25 and won the faceoff battles 34-30.

Notre Dame (0-2) returned to South Bend Saturday night and have a short week to prepare for a two-game series with 0-3 St. Lawrence, an ECAC Hockey rival of Quinnipiac. The Thursday and Friday games with St. Lawrence both have 7 p.m. faceoffs and are the first of six straight games at the Lefty Smith Rink in the Compton Family Ice Arena for Notre Dame. The Irish then face Atlantic Hockey Association team Robert Morris Oct. 24-25 before opening their Big Ten season against red-hot Michigan Oct. 31 and Nov. 1. The No. 9 Wolverines improved to 4-0 with a 3-1 triumph at No. 7 Providence.

QUINNIPIAC 7, NOTRE DAME 2

At Mullett Arena, Tempe, Ariz. / Ice Breaker Tournament consolation

Quinnipiac           2       2       3—7

Notre Dame        0       1       1—2           

         First Period—Scoring: 1. Quinnipiac, Antonin Verreault 1 (Markus Vidicek, Aaron Schwartz) PP 6:44; 2. Quinnipiac, Mason Marcellus (Aaron Schwartz, Charlie Leddy) EV 14:31. Penalties: Quinnipiac 1-2, Notre Dame 4-8.

         Second Period—Scoring: 3. Quinnipiac, Markus Vidicek 1 (unassisted) EV 9:33; 4. Notre Dame, Sutter Muzzatti 1 (Brennan Ali, Paul Fischer) EV 10:48; 5. Quinnipiac, Chris Pelosi 2 (Mason Marcellus, Elliott Groenewold) EV-DP 15:52 Penalties: Quinnipiac 1-2 (2-4), Notre Dame 1-2 (5-10).

         Third Period—Scoring: 6. Quinnipiac, Ethan Wyttenbach 2 (Matthew Lansing, Anthony Cipollone) EV 2:17; 7. Quinnipiac, Aaron Schwartz 1 (William Gilson, Mason Marcellus) EV 4:41; 8. Notre Dame, Sutter Muzzatti 2 (Michael Mastrodomenico, Axel Kumlin) PP 17:15; 9. Quinnipiac, Antonin Verreault 2 (Ethan Wyttenbach) EV 19:53. Penalties: Quinnipiac 3-6 (5-10), Notre Dame 2-12 (7-22).

Shots on goal: Quinnipiac 38 (19-7-12), Notre Dame 25 (10-8-7).

•          Goalie saves: Quinnipiac, Matej Marinov 23 (10-7-6); Notre Dame, Nicholas Kempf 31 (17-5-9).
•          Faceoffs won: Quinnipiac 34 (11-12-11), Notre Dame 30 (12-12-6), 
•          Power-play opportunities: Quinnipiac 1 of 6, Notre Dame 1 of 5. 
•          Blocked shots: Quinnipiac 8 (3-1-4), Notre Dame 13 (8-4-1).
•          Referees: Nathan Wieler and Stan Szczurek. Linesmen: Mike Sarter and Chris Zorza. Attendance: 100.
•          Records: Quinnipiac 2-1-0, Notre Dame 0-2-0.
•  

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):

• (nr/nr) Notre Dame 0-0-0, 0 points (0-2-0 overall)
• (2/2) Michigan State 0-0-0, 0 points (1-1-0 overall)
• (4/4) Penn State 0-0-0, 0 points (3-1-0 overall)
• (9/7) Michigan 0-0-0, 0 points (4-0-0 overall)
• (12/12) Minnesota 0-0-0, 0 points (1-2-1 overall)
• (16/16T) Ohio State 0-0-0, 0 points (2-0-0 overall)
• (18/18) Wisconsin 0-0-0, 0 points (2-0-0 overall)

Thursday, Oct. 9 results

•          Clarkson 6, Penn State 4
•          New Hampshire 4, Michigan State 3
•          Boston College 3, Minnesota 1
•          Wisconsin 6, U.S. Under-18 Team 0 (exhibition)

Friday, Oct. 10 results

•          Arizona State 5, Notre Dame 3 (Ice Breaker Tournament at Tempe, Ariz.)
• Ohio State 5, Northern Michigan 2
•          Michigan 5, Providence 1
•          Penn State 5, Clarkson 2
•          Boston College 2, Minnesota 2 (OT)
•          Michigan State 2, New Hampshire 0

Saturday, Oct. 11 results

•          Quinnipiac 7, Notre Dame 2 (Ice Breaker consolation at Tempe, Ariz.)
• Ohio State 3, Northern Michigan 1
•          Michigan 3, Providence 1

Thursday, Oct. 16 games

•          St. Lawrence at Notre Dame, 7 p.m.
•          Robert Morris at Michigan, 7 p.m.
•          Michigan State at Boston University, 7 p.m.
•          Minnesota State at Wisconsin, 8 p.m.

Friday, Oct. 17 games

•          St. Lawrence at Notre Dame, 7 p.m.
•          Robert Morris at Michigan, 7 p.m.
•          Michigan State at Boston University, 7 p.m.
•          Ohio State at Connecticut, 7 p.m.
•          Long Island at Penn State, 7:30 p.m.
•          Minnesota at North Dakota, 8 p.m.
•          Minnesota State at Wisconsin, 8 p.m.

Saturday, Oct. 18 games

•          Ohio State at Connecticut, 4 p.m.
•          Long Island at Penn State, 6 p.m.
•          Minnesota at North Dakota, 7 p.m.

GAMES INVOLVING USCHO.com MEDIA POLL TEAMS THIS WEEK AND NEXT

1. Western Michigan(NCHC) (1-1-0) lost to Ferris State Thursday 3-2; won at Ferris State 6-4 Friday. Next: Oct. 17-18 at UMass Lowell.
2. Michigan State(Big Ten) (1-1-0) lost to New Hampshire Thursday 4-3; beat New Hampshire 2-0 Friday. Next: Oct. 17-18 at No. 3 Boston University.
3. Boston University(Hockey East) (2-0-1) beat Colgate 6-2 Friday; tied Colgate 2-2 (OT) Saturday. Next: Oct. 17-18 vs. No. 2 Michigan State.
4. Penn State(Big Ten) (3-1-0) lost to Clarkson 6-4 Thursday; beat Clarkson 5-2 Friday. Next: Oct. 17-18 vs. Long Island.
5. Denver (NCHC) (0-0-1) tied at Air Force 1-1 (OT) Friday; vs. Bentley Saturday, late. Next: Oct. 17-18 at Lindenwood.
6. Maine(Hockey East) (2-0-0) beat Holy Cross 5-2 Friday; beat Holy Cross 6-0 Saturday. Next: Oct. 17-18 at Quinnipiac.
7. Providence(Hockey East) (0-1-0) lost to No. 9 Michigan 5-1 Friday; lost to No. 9 Michigan 3-1 Saturday. Next: Oct. 18 at RPI.
8. Quinnipiac(ECAC) (2-1-0) lost to Alaska Fairbanks 2-1 Friday in Ice Breaker Tournament opener at Tempe, Ariz.; beat Notre Dame 7-2 Saturday in Ice Breaker Tournament consolation. Next: Oct. 17-18 vs. Maine.
9. Michigan(Big Ten) (4-0-0) won at No. 7 Providence 5-1 Friday; won at No. 7 Providence 3-1 Saturday. Next: Oct. 16-17 vs. Robert Morris.
10. North Dakota (NCHC) (1-0-0) beat No. 19 St. Thomas 6-2 Friday; at No. 19 St. Thomas Sunday. Next: Oct. 17-18 vs. Minnesota.
11. Boston College(Hockey East) (1-1-1) won at No. 12 Minnesota 3-1 Thursday; tied No. 12 Minnesota 2-2 (OT) Friday. Next: Oct. 17 at RPI.
12. Minnesota(Big Ten) (1-2-1) lost to No. 11 Boston College 3-1 Thursday; tied No. 11 Boston College 2-2 (OT) Friday. Next: Oct. 17-18 at North Dakota.
13. Connecticut(Hockey East) (1-1-0) was idle. Next: Oct. 17-18 vs. Ohio State.
14. Massachusetts(Hockey East) (3-0-0) won at Stonehill 4-1 Friday. Next: Oct. 17 vs. Northeastern; Oct. 18 vs. Bentley.
15. Arizona State (NCHC) (1-2-0) beat Notre Dame Friday 5-3 in Ice Breaker Tournament opener at Tempe, Ariz.; vs. Alaska Fairbanks late Saturday in Ice Breaker Tournament championship. Next: Oct. 17-18 at Augustana.
16. Ohio State(Big Ten) (2-0-0) beat Northern Michigan 5-2 Friday; beat Northern Michigan 3-1 Saturday. Next: Oct. 17-18 at Connecticut.
17. Cornell(ECAC) (0-0-0) was idle. Next: Oct. 17 vs. Czech University Selects (exhibition).
18. Wisconsin(Big Ten) (2-0-0) beat U.S. Under-18 team Thursday  6-0 (exhibition). Next: Oct. 16-17 vs. Minnesota State.
19. St. Thomas (CCHA)(1-1-0) lost at No. 10 North Dakota 6-2 Friday; vs. No. 10 North Dakota Sunday. Next: Oct. 17-18 at Air Force.
20. Minnesota State (CCHA) (1-1-0) lost at Omaha 6-2 Friday; won at Omaha 4-1 Saturday. Next: Oct. 16-17 at Wisconsin.