OXFORD, Ohio - Notre Dame really came out at the end of Saturday night's game and showed why they're known as the Fighting Irish.
With frustrations boiling as the team skated toward its second loss against No. 7 Miami this weekend, two Irish players and two Miami players received game misconducts for fighting. All told, a total of nine penalties encompassing 50 penalty minutes (including the four 10-minute misconducts) were given out at 18:25 of the third period Saturday night.
It was an anomaly for an Irish team that came into this weekend as the second-least penalized team in the CCHA, but if there was a series this season that could have caused tempers to erupt, it was this one.
During the weekend, Notre Dame had a goal by Tim Wallace waved off, saw a Miami goal scored that should have been waved off, hit a goalpost, saw a blocked shot lead to a goal, and saw numerous chances either stifled by Miami goalie Brandon Crawford-West or the fickle hockey gods.
Early in Friday's game, Crawford-West tried to make a glove save, but dropped the puck. It slid just centimeters wide of the left post and caused the Goggin Arena crowd to let out a collective gasp.
Later in that game, the Miami goalie tried to catch a hard Irish slap shot, but lost the handle and had the puck roll down his backside - and harmlessly over the back of the net.
Just minutes later, Miami forward and Hobey Baker-candidate Derek Edwardson showed a sudden burst of speed, beating Cey with a quick wraparound shot. Only it shouldn't have counted.
"The real close call on film was that wraparound, because the net was clearly off [its moorings]," Irish coach Dave Poulin said. "In the ref's judgment the puck was in before the net came off. You take that and Tim [Wallace]'s goal, and that's two different goals that ended up pretty crucial plays."
Wallace's goal came at 11:42 of the third period Friday, with Notre Dame down 5-2. The Irish forward moved into the crease and poked a puck past Crawford-West with players swarming around the goal.
After a delay, the red goal light came on, but the referee ruled that there was no goal.
"[The referee] thought that our guy had stayed in the crease and made no effort to leave," Poulin said. "With all the contact that was going on down there, I thought it was a really tough call."
Perhaps the most telling sign of just how unlucky the Irish were this weekend came in the third period of Saturday's game. With the score only 1-0, and the Irish leading in shots on goal, Notre Dame was pressing for a goal to tie.
Notre Dame came out in the third period buzzing, spending almost the entire six minutes getting chance after chance against Crawford-West. Finally, the puck squirted free and was picked up by Miami forward Greg Hogeboom.
Hogeboom skated down the left side as Mike Kompon filled the right side of the ice, setting up in front of the net. Hogeboom did what any smart forward would do, and tried to pass the puck across the ice.
Meanwhile, Irish defenseman Wes O'Neill did what any smart defensive player would do and went down to block the shot. The only problem was that he blocked it right back to Hogeboom, who put it in the net and stuck a nail in the hearts of the Irish.
"We had been in their end I don't know how many minutes, and then they come out and try to make a pass; we block it; and they still end up getting a goal," Poulin said. "There's no question the team is feeling a little frustrated."
At the end of the weekend, Notre Dame perhaps had a similar feeling to what Irish opponents have felt this year after goalies David Brown or Morgan Cey pitch one of their trademark shutouts.
This weekend, that skate was on the other foot.
The opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer. Contact Justin Schuver at jschuver@nd.edu.
Dame really came out at the end of Saturday night's game and showed why they're known as the Fighting Irish.
With frustrations boiling as the team skated toward its second loss against No. 7 Miami this weekend, two Irish players and two Miami players received game misconducts for fighting. All told, a total of nine penalties encompassing 50 penalty minutes (including the four 10-minute misconducts) were given out at 18:25 of the third period Saturday night.
It was an anomaly for an Irish team that came into this weekend as the second-least penalized team in the CCHA, but if there was a series this season that could have caused tempers to erupt, it was this one.
During the weekend, Notre Dame had a goal by Tim Wallace waved off, saw a Miami goal scored that should have been waved off, hit a goalpost, saw a blocked shot lead to a goal, and saw numerous chances either stifled by Miami goalie Brandon Crawford-West or the fickle hockey gods.
Early in Friday's game, Crawford-West tried to make a glove save, but ended up dropping the puck. It slid just centimeters wide of the left post and caused the Goggin Arena crowd to let out a collective gasp.
Later in that same game, the Miami goalie tried to catch a hard Irish slap shot, but lost the handle and had the puck roll down his backside - and harmlessly over the back of the net.
Just minutes later, Miami forward and Hobey Baker-candidate Derek Edwardson showed a sudden burst of speed, beating Cey with a quick wraparound shot. Only it shouldn't have counted.
"The real close call on film was that wraparound, because the net was clearly off [its moorings]," Poulin said. "In the ref's judgment the puck was in before the net came off. You take that and Tim [Wallace]'s goal, and that's two different goals that ended up pretty crucial plays."
Wallace's goal came at 11:42 of the third period Friday, with Notre Dame down 5-2. The Irish forward moved into the crease and poked a puck past Crawford-West with players swarming around the Miami goalie.
After a slight delay, the red goal light came on, but the referee ruled that there was no goal. Poulin was not entirely pleased with the explanation for why the score was waved off.
"[The referee] thought that our guy had stayed in the crease and made no effort to leave," he said. "With all the contact that was going on down there, I thought it was a really tough call."
Perhaps the most telling sign of just how unlucky the Irish were this weekend came in the third period of Saturday's game. With the score only 1-0, and the Irish leading in shots on goal, Notre Dame was pressing for a tally to either send the game into overtime or to gain momentum for a miraculous comeback.
Notre Dame came out in the third period buzzing, spending almost the entire six minutes getting chance after chance against Crawford-West. Finally, the puck squirted free and was picked up by Miami forward Greg Hogeboom.
Hogeboom skated down the left side as Mike Kompon filled the right side of the ice, setting up in front of the net. Hogeboom did what any smart forward would do, and tried to pass the puck across the ice.
Meanwhile, Irish defenseman Wes O'Neill did what any smart defensive player would do and went down to block the shot. The only problem was that he blocked it right back to Hogeboom, who put it in the net and stuck a nail in the hearts of the Irish.
"We had been in their end I don't know how many minutes, and then they come out and try to make a pass; we block it; and they still end up getting a goal," Poulin said. "There's no question the team is feeling a little frustrated after this series."
Saturday, twice Crawford-West stopped Irish breakaways, and numerous other times he snuffed out solid scoring chances. At the end of the weekend, Notre Dame perhaps had a similar feeling to what Irish opponents have felt this year after goalies David Brown or Morgan Cey pitch one of their trademark shutouts.
This weekend, that skate was on the other foot.
The opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer. Contact Justin Schuver at jschuver@nd.edu.
