Bowling Green State University Athletics
Bowling Green State University
Notre Dame
BG Hockey Swept At Notre Dame
February 10, 2001 | Ice Hockey
Feb. 10, 2001
Notre Dame, Indiana - Bowling Green's hockey team dropped a 5-3 decision to the Notre Dame Fighting Irish Saturday night at Joyce Arena. Bowling Green is now tied with Notre Dame and Lake Superior State for the 10th and final playoff spot in the CCHA with 14 league points.
After Notre Dame jumped out to an early 2-0 lead, BG was able to post a late goal to end the first period. Greg Day pushed a cross-ice feed to Curtis Valentine, who was able to make a perfect shot and pick the corner over ND netminder Tony Zasowski. D'Arcy McConvey also assisted on Valentine's eighth of the year.
Austin de Luis tied the game early into the second with his fourth lamplighter this season. McConvey corralled a loose puck after Notre Dame's defense was unable to clear and slid the puck to de Luis, who wristed it through Zasowski's legs at 1:36.
Midway through the middle stanza Ryan Dolder reclaimed the lead for Notre Dame. Aaron Gill and Evan Nielsen helped set up Dolder's 14th of the year.
The Falcons fought back to tie the game again six minutes later. While Dan Globke served a tripping penalty for the Fighting Irish, BG's power play struck for its second tally of the night. Valentine recorded his second goal of the contest on the man-advantage when he knocked a centering feed from Roger Leonard past Zasowski. McConvey's helper on Valentine's 9th of the season was his third point on the night, a career high.
Bowling Green and Notre Dame waged a defensive battle during the third that remained scoreless until the final minute of regulation. ND's Evan Nielsen broke the 3-3 tie with a breakaway goal, his first of the season. Neil Komadoski added an empty netter with one second remaining to sew up the win for Notre Dame.
Tyler Masters stopped 33 Fighting Irish shots, including 20 in the third period, while Tony Zasowski made 23 saves. BG's penalty kill went 4-4 on the night, while their power-play unit was successful in two of five chances. Bowling Green's record stands at 10-16-4 (5-13-4 CCHA), as Notre Dame improved to 8-21-5 (5-14-4 CCHA).
Bowling Green heads to Big Rapids, Michigan, next weekend to tangle with the Bulldogs of Ferris State. Faceoff is slated for 7:05 p.m. each night.
