Although the jerseys were something new, the stellar goaltending was not.
Sporting a new gold third jersey, Notre Dame used 28 saves from freshman goaltender David Brown and goals from four different players to take care of the U.S. National Team Development Program's Under-18 team in an exhibition match Friday by a score of 4-0.
The Under-18 team, based in Ann Arbor, Mich., features the top under-18 prospects in the nation and has helped supply eight current Notre Dame players.
Notwithstanding the fact the results of the exhibition do not count toward their final season record, the Irish still came out hard and aggressive against the younger U.S. team.
"This would have been an off week for us," Irish head coach Dave Poulin said, "but instead it was a chance for us to play a pretty talented team and try out some players in different roles."
Despite the large number of youngsters on the ice for both teams, Poulin said it was senior forward Rob Globke - who assisted on the first goal of the game - who really helped keep the team focused.
"I thought that Rob played outstanding tonight," Poulin said. "He really set the tone for the game and played it simple and smart. I was pleased with the way he set the tempo early."
The Irish took the early lead with less than a minute left in the first period when Globke sent a crisp pass to forward Michael Bartlett, but Bartlett was unable to handle it. The deflection off Barlett's stick went right to forward Tom Galvin, who put a shot past the Under-18 team netminder Jordan Pearce.
After scoring in the final minute of the first, the Irish came back to score in the first minute of the second as defenseman Brett Lebda took a cross-ice feed from forward Matt Amado and took advantage of a defensive breakdown to slip it past Pearce.
Brown, while still picking up the shutout, may have gotten a little lucky in the second period. Following a turnover in the neutral zone, the Under-18 team came in on a two-on-one, forcing Brown to move to his right to guard the shooter.
The Under-18 team's Jack Johnson received a cross from his teammate and had a wide open net, but hit the post as he tried to slip it in. Brown was able to get back in time to keep Johnson from getting another chance at the puck.
Notre Dame added goals from Tim Wallace and Mike Walsh later in the game to put it away, and outshot the Under-18 team by a count of 39-28.
Notre Dame returns to regular season action next weekend at home when the Irish play host to Lake Superior at the Joyce Center. Game time on Friday is 7:35 p.m.
