Irish open regular season with North Country sweep

With a six-game homestand awaiting in the second half of October, Notre Dame hockey had plenty to gain this past weekend in terms of building momentum. The Irish took full advantage of the opportunity, going on the road to New York's North Country and defeating St. Lawrence (4-1) and Clarkson (5-2) to begin the 2024-25 regular season. They’ll face Alaska in this coming weekend’s home-opening series with a 2-0 record, their first since the 2021-22 campaign.

Knuble returns with two-goal game at St. Lawrence

Back on Oct. 4, as Notre Dame hosted the United States National Team Development Program (USNTDP) for an exhibition, one notable name did not appear on the Irish line chart. Sophomore center Cole Knuble, held out for precautionary reasons in that game, rejoined the Irish on Friday and appeared not to have missed a beat, scoring twice. His performance led the Irish to a 4-1 victory in their first visit to Appleton Arena and first overall matchup with St. Lawrence since 2000.

With junior Mercyhurst transfer Owen Say in goal for the first time (officially) in an Irish uniform, Notre Dame jumped out to a 1-0 lead thanks to another transfer addition seven minutes into the first period. Graduate forward Blake Biondi, who had already scored twice against the USNTDP, struck again for his first official goal at Notre Dame. The former Minnesota Duluth Bulldog won the race to a blocked shot from the point that settled in the low slot, went down to his knees and elevated a backhander over St. Lawrence netminder Mason Kucenski for the season’s first goal.

Less than two minutes later, St. Lawrence responded to Biondi’s 31st career tally. A power-play shot pass from Philippe Chapleau traveled down from the high slot to the top of the goal crease, where Tyler Cristall waited with his stick down. With a quick sweeping motion, Cristall redirected the puck through the body of Say, tying the score at 1-1. Notre Dame easily could have carried a lead into the first intermission, but both Biondi and sophomore forward Brennan Ali hit posts, so the Saints and Irish remained level after 20 minutes.

Through the second period’s opening half, momentum remained balanced and the 1-1 score held up. However, with eight minutes to go in the frame, a poor St. Lawrence turnover tilted the ice irreversibly in Notre Dame’s favor. Knuble intercepted the dangerous outlet pass in the deep slot, gliding down to the hash marks before releasing a glove-side wrister that put the Irish ahead. Five minutes later, as Notre Dame went to the power play, Knuble won a puck battle at the half wall and set the Irish offense in motion. After observing a few exchanges on the right side of the zone, sophomore defenseman Paul Fischer walked the puck right to left along the blue line and sent a shot that sophomore forward Danny Nelson tipped in. The top-line center’s first goal of the season had Notre Dame in a 3-1 lead at the end of two periods.

The final frame belonged to Say, who made 18 of his 32 saves to keep St. Lawrence at bay and clinch his first win at Notre Dame. Knuble helped him and the Irish get there with a putaway goal late in the third, invading the slot with a give-and-go through senior forward Justin Janicke. The latter’s return feed ramped off Knuble’s blade at the top of the blue paint, kissed the inside of the right post and banked in for Notre Dame’s fourth and final goal.

Irish use explosive rally to bring down Clarkson

In last week’s 5-2 exhibition victory against the USNTDP, the Irish used a four-goal third period to overcome a deficit. On Saturday night at Clarkson, they went back to the well in a meaningful game for another 5-2 triumph.

Notre Dame came out a bit unorganized on night two and went down 2-0 at the end of one period on Clarkson goals by Jared Mangan and Tristan Sarsland. The Irish couldn’t muster much offensively, going 14 minutes without a shot on goal largely due to the Golden Knights’ seven blocked shots.

However, as Notre Dame freshman goalie Nicholas Kempf settled into his 30-save collegiate debut, the Irish skaters followed suit. With exactly two minutes to play in the second period, they embarked on a power play and jumpstarted their comeback. Knuble again worked a give-and-go with Janicke upon zone entry, chipping home Notre Dame’s opening goal from the low slot with 21 seconds remaining.

With the outcome of the game largely riding on Notre Dame’s ability to perpetuate its second-period momentum, the Irish delivered. Knuble again pulled free from a 50-50 battle in the corner and skated to the high slot, where he threaded the needle on a pass to the right dot. There, junior blueliner Michael Mastrodomenico moved down from his point and fired off the game-tying shot. Mastrodomenico’s second career goal and first since Dec. 31, 2023, came in front of numerous supporters who had made the short trip from his home province of Quebec.

Just before the third period’s halfway marker, Notre Dame returned to the power play and took the lead. A dot-to-dot feed from sophomore forward found senior forward Hunter Strand in the right circle, where he loaded a shot and ripped it under the bar on the glove side. Not long after, an Ali forecheck and pinpoint centering pass set up Danny Nelson to slap a one-timer home for Notre Dame’s fourth tally.

Closing in on a weekend sweep, Notre Dame sealed the deal in the final moments with one of the most preposterous goals imaginable. Only seconds after Clarkson had pulled its netminder, Janicke blocked a shot that ricocheted off his shin pad and 170 feet in the other direction for an empty-net goal. The ultra-efficient display of defense-to-offense hockey sent Clarkson fans packing with the Irish up by three for a second straight night.

Notre Dame’s upcoming puck drop times for the Alaska series are set for 7 p.m. on Friday and 6 p.m. on Saturday at Compton Family Ice Arena.