By JOHN FINERAN
Once again, an inability to generate enough offensive pressure led to the Notre Dame hockey team’s downfall Saturday at No. 15 Ohio State.
The Buckeyes held the Fighting Irish to two shots on goal in the first period – Notre Dame’s fewest in a 20-minute period this season – and 15 shots on goal for the game, a total the Buckeyes surpassed in the first period alone on way to a 3-1 victory before 4,363 fans watching at the Value City Arena at the Jerome Schottenstein Center in Columbus, Ohio.
It was Notre Dame’s ninth straight loss in the Big Ten Conference following their 3-2 overtime victory over Wisconsin on Nov. 1 in South Bend and sent coach Jeff Jackson’s Irish into the Christmas break mired with just four points from their 1-9-0 league mark and at 6-12-0 overall. Coach Steve Rohlik’s Buckeyes improved to 13-4-1 overall and 6-2 in the Big Ten for fourth place with 16 points.
Notre Dame, which was outshot 73-53 in Friday night’s 2-1 overtime loss, was outshot again Saturday 56-29 by Ohio State, including 37-15 in shots on goal. Junior Owen Say finished with 34 saves for Notre Dame while Ohio State sophomore Kristoffer Eberly hardly broke a sweat in turning away 14 Irish shots.
The only one that eluded the Buckeye goalie was Danny Nelson’s eighth goal of the season and second of the weekend. It came at 4:55 of the second period, off assists from Brennan Ali and Axel Kumlin, and it tied the game at 1-1. Brent Johnson, who scored the game-winner Friday night in overtime, had given the Buckeyes a 1-0 lead after his backhander beat Say 29 seconds before the intermission break between the first and second periods.
Patrick Guzzo scored the game-winner for Ohio State at 16:02 of the second period and the game remained 2-1 late into the third period before Jackson pulled Say with 2:19 remaining in regulation for a sixth attacker following an icing call against the Buckeyes.
Nelson won the resulting faceoff in the circle to Eberly’s right, but the Ohio State goalie made saves against Irish snipers Cole Knuble and Blake Biondi before the puck left the offensive zone. Notre Dame defenseman Paul Fischer then had to trip a Buckeye player to prevent a shot at the empty Irish goal. The resulting penalty gave the Buckeyes a power play at 18:25 and Gunnarwolfe Fontaine beat Say for the insurance marker 25 seconds later.
Both Nelson and Fischer left for Plymouth, Mich., afterward to try out for spots on the United States Junior Team which will defend its gold medal in the upcoming World Junior games in Ottawa, Canada after Dec. 26 through Jan. 5. The rest of the Irish flew back to South Bend after the game to complete semester exams and take a Christmas break before returning to prepare for the final 16 games of the regular season.
The first of the 14 remaining Big Ten games will be Friday, Jan. 3 when the Irish travel to Wrigley Field to play an outdoors game against Penn State at 8:30 p.m. The game follows an earlier league game between Ohio State and Michigan on the rink set up on the Wrigley outfield for the NHL Outdoors Classic game Dec. 31 between the Chicago Blackhawks and St. Louis Blues. On Saturday, Jan. 4, Michigan State will play Wisconsin in the nightcap following a women’s game between No. 1 Wisconsin and No. 2 Ohio State.
Notre Dame and Penn State will complete their two-game series Sunday, Jan. 5 at the Lefty Smith Rink in the Compton Family Ice Arena. Faceoff is set for 5 p.m.
OHIO STATE 3, NOTRE DAME 1
At Value City Arena/Jerome Schottenstein Center, Columbus, Ohio
Notre Dame             0         1         0—1
Ohio State                1         1         1—3
First Period—Scoring: 1. Ohio State, Brent Johnson 3 (James Hong, Ryan Gordon) EV 19:31. Penalties: Notre Dame 1-2, Ohio State 0-0.
Second Period—Scoring: 2. Notre Dame, Danny Nelson 8 (Brennan Ali, Axel Kumlin) EV 4:55; 3. Ohio State, Patrick Guzzo 4 (Joe Dunlap, Jake Rozzi) EV 16:02. Penalties: Notre Dame 0-0 (1-2), Ohio State 0-0 (0-0).
Third Period—Scoring: 4. Ohio State, Gunnarwolfe Fontaine 7 (Aiden Hansen-Bukata, Davis Burnside) PP 18:50. Penalties: Notre Dame 4-8 (5-10), Ohio State 2-4 (2-4).
Shots on goal: Notre Dame 15 (2-6-7), Ohio State 37 (16-13-8).
Goalie saves: Notre Dame, Owen Say 34 (15-12-7); Ohio State, Kristoffer Eberly 14 (2-5-7).
Faceoffs won: Notre Dame 30 (5-14-11), Ohio State 33 (11-13-9).
Power-play opportunities: Notre Dame 0 of 1, Ohio State 1 of 3.
Blocked shots: Notre Dame 12 (7-2-3), Ohio State 9 (3-4-2).
Referees: Tom DellaFranco and Jonathon Sitarski. Linesmen: Jake Davis and Tommy George. Attendance: 4,363.
Records: Notre Dame 6-12-0, 1-9-0 Big Ten for 4 points; Ohio State 13-4-1, 6-2-0 Big Ten for 16 points.
BIG TEN STANDINGS: (Numbers in parentheses are that school’s rankings in this week’s USCHO.com media poll / USA Hockey-The Rink Live coaches poll / Pairwise rating):
- (1/1/2) Minnesota 8-1-1, 24 points (15-3-2 overall)
2T. (3/2/4) Michigan State 6-1-1, 19 points (13-2-1 overall)
2T. (rv/nr/31) Wisconsin 5-7-0, 19 points (7-10-1 overall)
- (15/15/12) Ohio State 6-2-0, 16 points (13-4-1 overall)
- (8/8/9) Michigan 5-3-0, 13 points (11-6-1 overall)
- (rv/nr/36) Notre Dame 1-9-0, 4 points (6-12-0 overall)
- (nr/nr/35) Penn State 0-8-0, 1 point (7-9-0 overall)
Thursday, Dec. 12: Penn State 4, Army 1 (non-conference)
Friday, Dec. 13: Ohio State 2, Notre Dame 1 (OT); Wisconsin 4, Michigan 0; Michigan State 3, Minnesota 3 (OT) (Michigan State won shootout, 2-0).
Saturday, Dec. 14: Ohio State 3, Notre Dame 1; Michigan 3, Wisconsin 2 (OT); Michigan State 5, Minnesota 3.
SATURDAY’S RESULTS FOR TEAMS IN USCHO.com MEDIA POLL
- Minnesota (Big Ten) (15-3-2) lost to No. 3 Michigan State 5-3. Next: Jan. 3-4 Mercyhurst.
- Boston College (Hockey East) (12-3-1) did not play. Next: Jan. 10 vs. Merrimack; Jan. 11 at Merrimack.
- Michigan State (Big Ten) (13-2-1) beat No. 1 Minnesota 5-3. Next: Dec. 29 vs. Northern Michigan in Great Lakes Invitational at Grand Rapids, Mich. (Van Andel Arena).
- Denver (NCHC) (14-4-0) beat No. 10T Colorado College 2-1. Next: Dec. 28 vs. UNLV (exhibition).
- Maine (Hockey East) (12-2-2) did not play. Next: Dec. 29 vs. Bentley.
- Western Michigan (NCHC) (10-3-1) did not play. Next: Dec. 29 vs. Michigan Tech in Great Lakes Invitational at Grand Rapids, Mich. (Van Andel Arena).
- Providence (Hockey East) (12-3-2) did not play. Next: Dec. 28 vs. Northeastern in Ledyard Classic at Hanover, N.H. (Thompson Arena).
- Michigan (Big Ten) (11-6-1) beat Wisconsin 3-2 (OT). Next: Jan. 3 vs. Ohio State in Frozen Confines at Chicago (Wrigley Field).
- St. Cloud State (NCHC) (10-7-0) lost at No. 16 North Dakota 4-3 (OT). Next: Dec. 29 vs. St. Thomas.
10T. Colorado College (NCHC) (10-5-1) lost at No. 4 Denver 2-1. Next: Dec. 29 vs. UNLV (exhibition).
10T. UMass Lowell (Hockey East) (10-4-2) did not play. Next: Dec. 29 vs. Simon Fraser (exhibition).
- Minnesota State (CCHA) (14-4-2) beat Lake Superior State 3-2 (OT). Next: Dec. 30 vs. Manitoba (exhibition).
- Boston University (Hockey East) (9-6-1) did not play. Next: Dec. 29 at Yale.
- Cornell (ECAC) did not play. Next: Jan. 3 vs. Massachusetts in Desert Hockey Classic at Tempe, Ariz. (Mullett Arena).
- Ohio State (Big Ten) (13-4-1) beat Notre Dame 3-1. Next: Jan. 3 vs. Michigan in Frozen Confines at Chicago (Wrigley Field).
- North Dakota (NCHC) (11-7-1) beat No. 9 St. Cloud State 4-3 (OT). Next: Jan. 4 vs. Manitoba (exhibition).
- Dartmouth (ECAC) (6-3-2) did not play. Next: Dec. 29 vs. Alaska-Anchorage in Ledyard Classic at Hanover, N.H. (Thompson Arena).
- Quinnipiac (ECAC) (8-6-1) did not play. Next: Dec. 29 vs. American International.
- Arizona State (NCHC) (8-7-1) did not play. Next: Dec. 28 vs. U.S. Under-18 (exhibition).
- Clarkson (ECAC) (11-5-2) did not play. Next: Dec. 29 vs. Concordia (Que.) (exhibition).
Receiving votes
Massachusetts (Hockey East) (8-7-2) did not play. Next: Dec. 28 vs. Simon Fraser (exhibition).
New Hampshire (Hockey East) (7-4-3) beat U.S. Under-18 team 6-2 (exhibition). Next: Dec. 28 at Rensselaer.
Bentley (Atlantic Hockey) (10-5-2) did not play. Next: Dec. 29 at No. 5 Maine.
Colgate (ECAC) (8-8-2) did not play. Next: Jan. 4 vs. Concordia (Que.) (exhibition).
Notre Dame (Big Ten) (6-12-0) lost at No. 15 Ohio State 3-1. Next: Jan. 3 vs. Penn State in Frozen Confines at Chicago (Wrigley Field).
Princeton (ECAC) (5-4-1) did not play. Next: Dec. 28 at Army.
Bemidji State (CCHA) (8-8-3) lost to Michigan Tech 9-5. Next: Dec. 31 vs. Minnesota Duluth.
Connecticut (Hockey East) (7-7-1) did not play. Next: Dec. 28 vs. Alaska in Kwik Trip Holiday Face-Off at Milwaukee, Wis. (Fiserv Forum).
Harvard (ECAC) (3-5-2) did not play. Next: Jan. 1 vs. No. 18 Quinnipiac.
Michigan Tech (CCHA) (9-5-2) beat Bemidji State 9-5. Next: Dec. 29 vs. Western Michigan in Great Lakes Invitational at Grand Rapids, Mich. (Van Andel Arena).
Union (ECAC) (9-7-1) lost to Vermont 3-2. Next: Jan. 3 at Brown.
Wisconsin (Big Ten) (7-10-1) lost at No. 8 Michigan 3-2 (OT). Next: Dec. 28 vs. Ferris State in Kwik Trip Holiday Face-Off at Milwaukee, Wis. (Fiserv Forum).
Sacred Heart (Atlantic Hockey) (9-7-3) did not play. Next: Dec. 28 at American International.
Holy Cross (Atlantic Hockey) (8-8-1) did not play. Next: Dec. 31 at Long Island.
Others
Penn State (Big Ten) (7-9-0) did not play. Next: Jan. 3 vs. Notre Dame in Frozen Confines at Chicago (Wrigley Field).
Augustana (CCHA) (10-7-1) did not play Saturday (beat Alaska-Anchorage 3-2 (OT) late Friday). Next: Jan. 3-4 at No. 10T Colorado College.
Long Island (Independent) (9-6-1) beat Stonehill 6-1. Next: Dec. 29 at Brown.
Bowling Green (CCHA) (7-7-2) beat Northern Michigan 4-3. Next: Dec. 29 vs. RIT.
Omaha (7-9-0) (NCHC) beat Lindenwood 2-1. Next: Dec. 29 vs. Manitoba (exhibition).
Northeastern (Hockey East) (4-8-3) lost at Merrimack 4-1. Next: Dec. 28 vs. Providence in Ledyard National Bank Classic at Hanover, N.H. (Thompson Arena).
Robert Morris (Atlantic Hockey) (7-7-2) beat Canisius 5-2. Next: Sunday at Canisius (5-10-2).
Rensselaer (ECAC) (5-8-2) tied Mercyhurst (Hockey East) 3-3 (OT) (Rensselaer won shootout 1-0). Next: Sunday at Mercyhurst (2-14-3).