Scoring woes continue for Irish in 4-0 home loss to No. 7 Western Michigan
By John Fineran
SOUTH BEND – Notre Dame first-year hockey coach Brock Sheahan is never, ever going to accept a defeat.
But Sheahan did see some encouraging things he hopes his Fighting Irish can build on during their 4-0 non-conference loss to No. 7 Western Michigan Friday night before a sellout crowd of 5,166 at the Lefty Smith Rink in the Compton Family Ice Arena.
Playing without four of its top scorers and with starting goaltender Nicholas Kempf getting that duty Friday night for Team USA in the World Juniors Championship in St. Paul, Minn., Notre Dame’s patched-up lineup again had trouble putting shots on net and converting any of them. Broncos goaltender Hampton Slukynsky turned away 18 shots, half of them in the third period, to record his second shutout of the season for coach Ben Ferschweiler’s 13-6-0 defending NCAA champions, who have now won four straight games. The setback was the fourth straight for the 4-12-1 Irish.
“It’s never fun losing,” said Sheahan, whose lineup was minus juniors Danny Nelson and Cole Knuble, two members of the U.S. Collegiate Selects team which lost to host team Davos in the Spengler Cup in Switzerland on Wednesday, and also was minus left wings Brennan Ali and Cole Brown, who were sitting out games because of major penalties incurred in Notre Dame’s 9-2 loss to Wisconsin on Dec. 6.
Nelson and Knuble returned late Friday from their long trip home but without their equipment and were given the night off. They will be in the lineup as will Brown when the Irish and Broncos finish their home-and-home series Saturday night at Lawson Arena in Kalamazoo. Ali will miss it, serving his second game suspension for a hit from behind that injured Wisconsin defenseman Zach Schulz back in December.
“You go into a game feeling you have enough to win a game,” Sheahan continued. “The shots were what they were (Western outshot Notre Dame 30-18). I looked at our scoring chances – they were close; we were right there. We’re just not hitting the net, not finishing. The compete level was much more consistent than the last game we played, and guys showed that they cared and want to get things right.”
Indeed, Notre Dame, which entered the game with the nation’s top power-play unit but also as the fifth most penalized team among the 63 Division I teams, was whistled only once in the game – a tripping minor against freshman defenseman Drew Mackie just 2:58 into the contest.
Notre Dame killed off the penalty thanks to three big saves by senior goaltender Jack Williams, who was making the first collegiate start of his career. Williams got the start over grad-transfer (from Yale) Luke Pearson and turned aside 26 of the 30 shots he faced.
Western got single goals in the first (by Iiro Hakkarainen at 5:22) and second periods (Owen Michaels at 3:45) and two goals in the third (by defenseman Colby Woogk at 4:04 and Zach Nehring at 10:53) and couldn’t be faulted on any of them.
“Jack played great,” Sheahan said about Williams, who has backed up All-American Ryan Bischel, Owen Say (now playing for the Calgary Wranglers of the AHL) and Kempf during his time in South Bend. “He’s been a great teammate his entire time here. He has gotten a lot of playing time, but he’s always worked on his game.”
Williams’ four-year roommate, Irish senior defenseman and co-captain Michael Mastrodomenico, couldn’t praise the St. Louis-native goaltender’s effort enough Friday night.
“Jack has been my best friend since day one,” said Mastrodomenico, who hails from Kirkland, Que. “I’ve been rooting for him a long time and he showed what he can do out there. I’m glad he got the chance to perform.”
The 6-foot-3, 190-pound Williams has been preparing for his first start since Kempf was named to Team USA just before Christmas. Kempf, by the way, stopped 21 of 25 shots in Friday’s 4-3 overtime loss to Finland in the World Juniors quarterfinals that eliminated the Americans from the tournament which concludes Monday.
“It’s something coach (Jeff) Jackson instilled in me my first weekend here – be prepared for anything,” Williams recalled of what Sheahan’s predecessor told him in the fall of 2022. “I’ve been keeping that same mindset over the past four years, being consistent in how I prepare, and I think that helped me out tonight.”
Williams’ best save of the evening came at 17:34 of the first period when he denied Nehring’s solo effort with his glove hand.
The Irish, meanwhile, couldn’t get much of anything going offensively. They managed just four shots on goal in the first period and none over the last 10:32. In the second period, the Irish had three shots on goal in the first 2:34 but then went 14 minutes without another. And despite having nine shots on goal in the third period, they had a 6:32 stretch between their fourth and fifth shots.
“I thought (freshman right wing) Dashel Oliver playing up in the lineup had a pretty good game,” continued Sheahan, who also complimented sophomore Jack Larrigan. “A lot of guys showed well. But we have to find a way to be more consistent in our process. We cannot worry about our individual stats and that kind of stuff. We have to worry about playing our game consistently enough. When we do that, we do good things. We’re not an all-the-time team yet. We have 19 games to keep working toward that. I’m hopeful we can push our game in the right direction.”
WESTERN MICHIGAN 4, NOTRE DAME 0
At Lefty Smith Rink in Compton Family Ice Arena, South Bend, Ind.
Western Michigan 1 1 2—4
Notre Dame 0 0 0—0
First Period—Scoring: 1. Western Michigan, Iiro Hakkarainen 3 (Grady Gallatin, Zaccharya Wisdom) EV 5:22. Penalties: Western Michigan 0-0, Notre Dame 1-2.
Second Period—Scoring: 2. Western Michigan, Owen Michaels 4 (William Whitelaw, Ty Henricks) EV 3:45. Penalties: Western Michigan 0-0 (0-0), Notre Dame 0-0 (1-2).
Third Period—Scoring: 3. Western Michigan, Colby Woogk 1 (Theo Wallberg, Zach Nehring) EV 4:04; 4. Western Michigan, Zach Nehring 5 (Liam Valente) EV 10:53. Penalties: Western Michigan 1-2 (1-2), Notre Dame 0-0 (1-2).
Shots on goal: Western Michigan 30 (10-11-9), Notre Dame 18 (4-5-9).
Goalie saves: Western Michigan, Hampton Slukynsky 18 (4-5-9); Notre Dame, Jack Williams 26 (9-10-7).
Power-play opportunities: Western Michigan 0 of 1, Notre Dame 0 of 1.
Faceoffs won: Western Michigan 26 (7-9-10), Notre Dame 33 (13-9-11).
Blocked shots: Western Michigan 8 (4-3-1), Notre Dame 7 (2-4-1).
Referees: Brian Hankes and Anthony Vikhter. Linesmen: Christopher Williams and Logan Bellgraph.
Attendance: 5,166c (4,852).
Records: Western Michigan 13-6-0, Notre Dame 4-12-1.
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-SW-OW-OL GF-GA W-L-T GF-GA
(2/2) Wisconsin 10 22 8-2-0-0-2-0 49-31 13-3-2 75-46
(1/1) Michigan 10 20 7-3-0-0-1-0 41-25 16-4-0 96-41
(3/3) Michigan St. 8 15 5-3-0-0-1-1 22-14 14-4-0 63-31
(8/9) Penn State 8 13 4-4-0-0-0-1 17-25 11-5-0 51-46
(nr/nr) Minnesota 8 13 4-4-0-0-0-1 24-23 8-10-1 58-63
(nr/nr) Ohio State 8 6 2-6-0-0-1-1 27-38 6-10-1 52-57
(nr/nr) Notre Dame 8 1 0-8-0-0-0-1 13-37 4-12-1 45-69
FRIDAY’S RESULTS
Non-conference
Western Michigan 4, Notre Dame 0
Ohio State 2, Bowling Green 2 (OT) (Ohio State wins shootout, 1-0)
Bemidji State 3, Minnesota 3 (OT) (Bemidji State wins shootout, 1-0) (exhibition)
Maine 5, Denver 2
Cornell 6, Omaha 4
Providence 5, Alaska Fairbanks 2
Stonehill 6, St. Lawrence 2
Army 5, Northeastern 2
North Dakota 2, Mercyhurst 0
Augustana 3, Colorado College 2
Lindenwood 5, Canisius 2
Massachusetts 7, Simon Fraser 0 (exhibition)
Atlantic Hockey America
Bentley 2, Holy Cross 2 (OT) (Bentley wins shootout, 1-0)
ECAC
Princeton 5, Dartmouth 4
Quinnipiac 9, Harvard 1
CCHA
St. Thomas 5, Ferris State 3
TOURNAMENTS
Cactus Cup opening round (Thousand Palms, Calif.)
UMass Lowell 3, Minnesota State 1
St. Cloud State 6, Yale 2
Desert Hockey Classic opening round (Tempe, Ariz.)
Air Force 8, Michigan Tech 2
Arizona State 7, Alaska Anchorage 2
SATURDAY’S GAMES
Non-conference
Notre Dame at Western Michigan, 6 p.m.
Ohio State at Bowling Green, 6 p.m.
U.S. Under-18 Team at Michigan, 7 p.m. (exhibition)
Penn State at RIT, 7:05 p.m.
Connecticut at Long Island, 2 p.m.
Canisius at Lindenwood, 4:30 p.m.
Alaska Fairbanks at Providence, 5 p.m.
Stonehill at St. Lawrence, 5 p.m.
Simon Fraser at Boston University, 5 p.m. (exhibition)
Royal Military at Union, 5 p.m. (exhibition)
Clarkson at Niagara, 6 p.m.
RPI at Vermont, 6 p.m.
Merrimack at Brown, 7 p.m.
Omaha at Cornell, 7 p.m.
Colgate at New Hampshire, 7 p.m.
Mercyhurst at North Dakota, 7:07 p.m.
Colorado College at Augustana, 7:07 p.m.
Maine at Denver, 8 p.m.
Atlantic Hockey America
Sacred Heart at Robert Morris, 4 p.m.
Bentley at Holy Cross, 7 p.m.
CCHA
Northern Michigan at Lake Superior State, 6:07 p.m.
Ferris State at St. Thomas, 7:07 p.m.
ECAC
Harvard at Princeton, 7 p.m.
Dartmouth at Quinnipiac, 7 p.m.
TOURNAMENTS
Cactus Cup (Thousand Palms, Calif.)
Minnesota State vs. Yale, 6:30 p.m. (consolation)
UMass Lowell vs. St. Cloud State, 10 p.m. (championship)
Desert Hockey Classic (Tempe, Ariz.)
Michigan Tech vs. Alaska Anchorage, 5 p.m. (consolation)
Air Force vs. Arizona State. 9 p.m. (championship)
SUNDAY’S GAMES
Non-conference
U.S. Under-18 Team at Michigan State, 4 p.m. (exhibition)
RIT at Penn State, 5 p.m.
Colgate at New Hampshire, 7 p.m.
CCHA
Northern Michigan at Lake Superior State, 4:07 p.m.
EARLIER THIS WEEK
Sunday, Dec. 28
Great Lakes Invitational/Grand Rapids, Mich. (Van Andel Arena)
Michigan State 5, Ferris State 2
Michigan Tech 5, Miami 2
Kwik Trip Holiday Face-Off/Milwaukee, Wis. (Fiserv Forum)
Wisconsin 3, Lake Superior State 2
Western Michigan 5, Boston College 3
Monday, Dec. 29
Great Lakes Invitational/Grand Rapids, Mich. (Van Andel Arena)
Michigan State 4, Michigan Tech 1 (championship)
Miami 4, Ferris State 2 (consolation)
Kwik Trip Holiday Face-Off/Milwaukee, Wis. (Fiserv Forum)
Western Michigan 4, Wisconsin 1 (championship)
Boston College 4, Lake Superior State 3 (consolation)
SCHEDULES FOR THE USCHO.COM MEDIA POLL TOP 20 TEAMS AND OTHERS
1. Michigan (Big Ten) (16-4-0) was idle Friday. Next: Saturday vs. U.S. Under-18 Team (exhibition); Jan. 9 vs. Notre Dame; Jan. 10 vs. Notre Dame.
2. Wisconsin (Big Ten) (13-3-2) was idle Friday. Next: Jan. 9 vs. Alaska-Anchorage; Jan. 10 vs. Alaska-Anchorage.
3. Michigan State (Big Ten) (14-4-0) was idle Friday. Next: Sunday vs. U.S. Under-18 Team (exhibition); Jan. 9 at Ohio State; Jan. 10 at Ohio State.
4. North Dakota (NCHC) (15-4-0) beat Mercyhurst Friday, 2-0. Next: Saturday vs. Mercyhurst; Jan. 9 at Colorado College; Jan. 10 at Colorado College.
5. Minnesota Duluth (NCHC) (14-6-0) was idle Friday. Next: Jan. 9 vs. Lindenwood; Jan. 10 vs. Lindenwood.
6. Denver (NCHC) (12-7-1) lost to No. 15 Maine Friday, 5-2. Next: Saturday vs. No. 15 Maine; Jan. 9 vs. No. 7 Western Michigan; Jan. 10 vs. No. 7 Western Michigan.
7. Western Michigan (NCHC) (13-6-0) won at Notre Dame Friday, 4-0. Next: Saturday vs. Notre Dame; Jan. 9 at No. 6 Denver; Jan. 10 at No. 6 Denver.
8. Penn State (Big Ten) (11-5-0) was idle Friday. Next: Saturday at RIT; Sunday vs. RIT; Jan. 9 vs. Minnesota; Jan. 10 vs. Minnesota.
9. Dartmouth (ECAC) (12-3-0) lost at Princeton Friday, 5-4. Next: Saturday at No. 10 Quinnipiac; Jan. 9 vs. No. 18 Harvard.
10. Quinnipiac (ECAC) (13-4-2) beat No. 18 Harvard Friday, 9-1. Next: Saturday vs. No. 9 Dartmouth; Jan. 9 vs. No. 20 Union; Jan. 10 vs. RPI.
11. Connecticut (Hockey East) (10-5-3) was idle Friday. Next: Saturday at Long Island; Jan. 9 vs. UMass Lowell; Jan. 10 at UMass Lowell.
12. Northeastern (Hockey East) (10-7-0) lost at Army Friday, 5-2. Next: Jan. 9 at Vermont; Jan. 10 at Vermont.
13. Boston College (Hockey East) (11-6-1) was idle Friday. Next: Jan. 9 vs. Stonehill (exhibition).
14. Minnesota State (CCHA) (11-5-5) lost to UMass Lowell Friday, 3-1, in Cactus Cup at Palm Springs, Calif. Next: Saturday vs. Yale in Cactus Cup consolation; Jan. 10 vs. St. Thomas.
15. Maine (Hockey East) (12-7-1) won at No. 6 Denver Friday, 5-2. Next: Saturday at No. 6 Denver; Jan. 9 at No. 16 Providence; Jan. 10 at No. 16 Providence.
16. Providence (Hockey East) (9-6-2) beat Alaska Fairbanks Friday, 5-2. Next: Saturday vs. Alaska Fairbanks; Jan. 9 vs. No. 15 Maine; Jan. 10 vs. No. 15 Maine.
17. Cornell (ECAC) (8-4-0) beat Omaha Friday, 6-4. Next: Saturday vs. Omaha; Jan. 9 vs. Alaska Fairbanks; Jan. 10 vs. Alaska Fairbanks.
18. Harvard (ECAC) (7-4-1) lost at No. 10 Quinnipiac Friday, 9-1. Next: Saturday at Princeton; Jan. 9 at No. 9 Dartmouth; Jan. 12 vs. No. 19 Boston University.
19. Boston University (Hockey East) (9-8-1) was idle Friday. Next: Saturday vs. Simon Fraser (exhibition); Jan. 9 at Massachusetts, Jan. 10 vs. Massachusetts.
20. Union (ECAC) (12-5-2) was idle Friday. Next: Saturday vs. Royal Military (exhibition); Jan. 9 at No. 10 Quinnipiac, Jan. 10 at Princeton.
Others
Augustana (CCHA) (11-6-3) beat Colorado College Friday, 3-2. Next: Saturday vs. Colorado College; Jan. 9 at Northern Michigan; Jan. 10 at Northern Michigan.
New Hampshire (Hockey East) (10-7-0) was idle Friday. Next: Saturday vs. Colgate; Sunday vs. Colgate.
Colorado College (NCHC) (8-8-3) lost at Augustana Friday, 3-2. Next: Saturday at Augustana; Jan. 9 vs. No. 4 North Dakota; Jan. 10 vs. No. 4 North Dakota.
Holy Cross (Atlantic Hockey) (10-6-2) tied at Bentley Friday, 2-2 (OT) (Bentley won shootout, 1-0). Next: Saturday vs. Bentley; Jan. 10 vs. Merrimack.
Arizona State (NCHC) (10-10-1) beat Alaska-Anchorage Friday, 7-2, in Desert Hockey Classic at Tempe, Ariz.. Next: Saturday vs. Air Force in Desert Hockey Classic championship; Jan. 9 vs. Miami; Jan. 10 vs. Miami.
Michigan Tech (CCHA) (11-8-2) lost to Air Force Friday, 8-2, in Desert Hockey Classic at Tempe, Ariz. Next: Saturday vs. Alaska-Anchorage in Desert Hockey Classic consolation; Jan. 9 at Bemidji State; Jan. 10 at Bemidji State.
Massachusetts (Hockey East) (9-9-0) was idle Friday. Next: Jan. 9 vs. No. 19 Boston University; Jan. 10 at No. 19 Boston University.
Bemidji State (CCHA) (9-8-3) tied Minnesota Friday, 3-3 (OT) (Bemidji State won shootout, 1-0) (exhibition). Next: Jan. 9 vs. Michigan Tech; Jan. 10 vs. Michigan Tech.
Princeton (ECAC) (9-4-0) beat No. 9 Dartmouth Friday, 5-4. Next: Saturday vs. No. 18 Harvard; Jan. 9 vs. RPI; Jan. 10 vs. No. 20 Union.
St. Cloud State (NCHC) (9-10-0) beat Yale Friday, 6-2, in Cactus Cup at Palm Springs, Calif. Next: Saturday vs. UMass Lowell in Cactus Cup championship; Jan. 9 at Omaha; Jan. 10 at Omaha.
St. Thomas (CCHA) (10-7-3) beat Ferris State Friday, 5-3. Next: Saturday vs. Ferris State; Jan. 10 at No. 14 Minnesota State.
Miami (NCHC) (11-7-2) was idle Friday.. Next: Jan. 9 at Arizona State; Jan. 10 at Arizona State.
Minnesota (Big Ten) (8-10-1) tied at Bemidji State Friday, 3-3 (OT) (Bemidji State won shootout, 1-0) (exhibition). Next: Jan. 9 at No. 8 Penn State, Jan. 10 at No. 8 Penn State.
Ohio State (Big Ten) (6-10-1) tied Bowling Green Friday, 2-2 (OT) (Ohio State won shootout, 1-0). Next: Saturday at Bowling Green, Jan. 9 vs. No. 3 Michigan State, Jan. 10 vs. No. 3 Michigan State.
Notre Dame (Big Ten) (4-12-1) lost to No. 7 Western Michigan Friday, 4-0. Next: Saturday at No. 7 Western Michigan; Jan. 9 at No. 1 Michigan; Jan. 10 at No. 1 Michigan.
Bowling Green (CCHA) (8-5-4) tied Ohio State Friday, 2-2 (OT) (Ohio State won shootout, 1-0). Next: Saturday vs. Ohio State; Jan. 9 at Ferris State; Jan. 10 at Ferris State.
RIT (Atlantic Hockey) (10-8-0) was idle Friday. Next: Saturday vs. No. 8 Penn State; Jan. 4 at No. 8 Penn State; Jan. 9 vs. Robert Morris; Jan. 10 vs. Robert Morris.
Bentley (Atlantic Hockey) (9-6-2) tied Holy Cross Friday, 2-2 (OT) (Bentley won shootout, 1-0). Next: Saturday at Holy Cross; Jan. 9 at Air Force; Jan. 10 at Air Force.
Lindenwood (Independent) (9-8-0) beat Canisius Friday, 5-2. Next: Saturday vs. Canisius; Jan. 9 at No. 5 Minnesota Duluth; Jan. 10 at No. 5 Minnesota Duluth.