SSM forward commits, Murdock chooses Lake St.

According to Chris Heisenberg's college-hockey recruiting website, Shattuck-St. Mary's forward Teddy Blueger has committed for Minnesota State for 2012 or 2013. This looks like a tremendous get for the Mavericks. Blueger, a native of Riga, Latvia, had 24 goals and 42 assists in 54 games for Shattuck's prep team this past season, ranking third on the team in scoring as a junior.

If he's part of the 2012 recruiting class, that's a group that already has six players committed, including five forwards and a goalie.

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Staying on the subject of those recruits, Dan Carlson helped the U.S. Under 18 National Team win the world championship on Sunday. The United States defeated Sweden 4-3 in overtime. The picture at right, taken from the USA Hockey website is of Carlson kissing the championship trophy.

Carlson had one goal and one assist in the tournament but was used primarily on a checking line. It sounds like he'll be one to move up to a more skilled role in the future as some pretty good teammates move on to college next year.

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Remember Kevin Murdock? Well, the ex-MSU goaltender, who returned to junior hockey last year, is heading back to college in the fall but not to Minnesota State. Murdock committed to play for Lake Superior State. This season with the Lincoln Stars, the lefty went 29-15-4 with five shutouts. He had a .907 save percentage and a 2.91 GAA.

A hot prospect when arriving in Mankato, Murdock eventually fell out of favor with the coaches, playing in just five games. He went 1-3-1 with a .895 SV% and a 3.46 GAA. Falling behind Phil Cook and Austin Lee, he didn't play after mid-November and opted to return to the USHL after the season.

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Four teams remain in the USHL playoffs, and there is Minnesota State interest in those two semifinal series. In the East, the Green Bay Gamblers take on the Cedar Rapids Rough Riders. Green Bay has MSU recruits Jean-Paul LaFontaine and Brett Stern on the team. In the West, the Dubuque Fighting Saints will take on the Sioux Falls Stampede. Sioux Falls has future MSU goalie Stephon Williams leading the way.

Initial thoughts on the schedule

Here's a quick rundown of the MSU season, which is still more than five months away:

Oct. 3, BRITISH COLUMBIA (exhibition) ... Official practice will begin on Saturday, Oct. 1, and the Mavs will get a quick practice game in four days before the regular season starts.

Oct. 7-8, @ Rensselaer ... This will be good test to start the season. RPI was an NCAA tournament team in '10-11 (they lost 6-0 to North Dakota in the first round).

Oct. 14-15, UMASS-LOWELL ... MSU scored a sweep last year at Lowell, but the Redhawks will have a new coach, having recently hired Norm Bazin.

                            

Oct. 21-22, @ Denver ... A tough spot to open the WCHA schedule — and same place last season ended. The Pios will be one of the favorites to win the conference.

Nov. 4-5, @ Michigan Tech ... Another team with a new coach (still waiting on that hire). Mavs need to get points in Houghton; they left with just one last year.

Nov. 11-12, ST. CLOUD STATE ... This series has been extremely close of late; five of the last eight games between the Mavs and the Huskies have gone into OT.

Nov. 18-19, @ Minnesota Duluth ... MSU will get its first look at the new Amsoil Arena and a shot at the defending national champs.

Nov. 25-26, ALASKA ANCHORAGE ... Last season's home schedule ended with a thud as the Mavs got swept by the Seawolves. This will be a chance to erase that bad memory.

Dec. 2-3, @ Minnesota ... Minnesota State will look to extend its advantage of late in this series. The Mavericks have won five of their last six against the Gophers.

Dec. 9-10, ALABAMA HUNTSVILLE ... MSU will host Division I's lone independent, playing the Chargers for the first time since 2007-08.

Dec. 16-17, COLORADO COLLEGE ... The Tigers have a chance to be pretty good next season. The Mavericks have played close games in this series, splitting twice with CC last year. 

Dec. 30,  TEAM USA (exhibition game) ... No two-week break this year; the Mavericks will get a home exhibition game instead of extra vacation. 

Jan. 6-7, @ St. Lawrence ... After opening the season with a pair of ties at MSU last year, the Saints finished the season 13-22-5.                      

Jan. 13-14, WISCONSIN ... The Badgers have already lost some pretty good players to early pro signings, but stud defenseman Justin Schultz says he'll be back.

Jan. 21-22, NEBRASKA-OMAHA ... The Spirit of the Maverick series returns to Mankato. MSU hopes to give a better performance than it did in Omaha last year.

Jan. 27-28, @ Bemidji State ... The Mavericks will make their first trip to Bemidij since BSU joined the WCHA and get their first look at the Sanford Center.

Feb. 3-4, MICHIGAN TECH ... The second go-round with the new-look Huskies and the end of a stretch that includes five home series over seven weekends.

Feb. 10-11, @ Alaska Anchorage ... Another road series from which the Mavericks have to come home with points.

Feb. 17-18, MINNESOTA DULUTH ... What will the champs look like when they get to Mankato for this second meeting and late-season series?

March 2-3, @ North Dakota ... A rough place to close out the season, especially if the Mavericks need points for home ice or a good matchup in the playoffs.

What do you think of the schedule?

Mavericks release '11-12 schedule

Minnesota State released its 2011-12 men's hockey schedule on Tuesday morning, and the Mavericks will play 20 games (including exhibitions) at the Verizon Wireless Center. Here's the schedule, but check back for an update later with some thoughts on next season's matchups:

Oct. 3 — BRITISH COLUMBIA (exhibition)
Oct. 7-8 — @ Rensselaer
Oct. 14-15 — UMASS-LOWELL
Oct. 21-22 — @ Denver
Nov. 4-5 — @ Michigan Tech
Nov. 11-12 — ST. CLOUD STATE
Nov. 18-19 — @ Minnesota Duluth
Nov. 25-26 — ALASKA ANCHORAGE
Dec. 2-3 — @ Minnesota
Dec. 9-10 — ALABAMA HUNTSVILLE
Dec. 16-17 — COLORADO COLLEGE
Dec. 30 — USNTDP U18 (exhibition)
Jan. 6-7 — @ St. Lawrence
Jan. 13-14 — WISCONSIN
Jan. 20-21 — NEBRASKA OMAHA
Jan. 27-28 — @ Bemidji State
Feb. 3-4 — MICHIGAN TECH
Feb. 10-11 — @Alaska Anchorage
Feb. 17-18 — MINNESOTA DULUTH
March 2-3 — @ North Dakota

Wagner's hat trick

Ex-Minnesota State defenseman Steve Wagner scored 12 goals in his three-year college career. As a professional, goal-scoring hasn't been his forte either. But Saturday night Wagner did something even some pure goal scores haven't done: He had a natural hat trick. Wagner scored three goals in the first period of the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins' 6-3 win over the Norfolk Admirals in the American Hockey League playoffs. The game closed out the series, and Wagner's team advanced to the East Division Finals.

Wagner said it was his first hat trick since high school in Grand Rapids.

"I was thinking when I got to the bench, 'Man, I only had five goals all year and I have three in one period,'" he told the Scranton Times-Tribune. "It definitely wasn't what I was looking for, but I'll take it." Read more of that story here.

Wagner left MSU after the 2006-07 season. Since then, he has played five professional seasons, including 46 NHL games in 2007-08 and '08-09 in St. Louis. He was traded midway through the 2009-10 season and has spent all of this season with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, the top AHL affiliate of the Pittsburgh Penguins. During the regular season, Wagner had five goals and 23 assists and was +16 during the regular season this year.

Coaching dominoes continue to fall

Penn State made its big announcement on Sunday, hiring Princeton coach Guy Gadowsky as its first men's hockey coach. He will be introduced during a press conference Monday afternoon. Two other candidates with WCHA ties interviewed for the job: Minnesota Duluth's Scott Sandelin and Wisconsin women's coach Mark Johnson. Sandelin said he's thrilled that he's not leaving Duluth but was intrigued by the Penn State job. Undoubtedly a contract extension at UMD is in the works since had had just one year remaining on his deal.

Gadowsky has been coaching for 12 years, the last seven at Princeton where he took the Tigers to two NCAA tournaments. Before that, he spent five years at Alaska (Fairbanks) where he had two winning seasons, including a 22-win season in 2001-02. The Colorado College graduate has a career record of 173-198-37 (.469).

By the way, Sandelin's career record is 192-200-52 (.491) with three NCAA appearances (and the national title) in 11 seasons at UMD. By comparison, Minnesota State's Troy Jutting has a record of 172-200-53 (.467) with one NCAA tournament in 11 seasons.

Gadowsky's hiring creates another opening in the college coaching ranks, as Princeton will be looking to replace him. Union quickly filled its open position after Providence hired away Nate Leaman, the national coach of the year. He was replaced by one of his assistants Rick Bennett.

Other jobs that are still open include Michigan Tech and Clarkson.

Western Michigan, meanwhile, has locked up its coach-of-the-year candidate, Jeff Blashill, giving him an extension through 2016. The deal reportedly will pay him $175,000 per year with up to $100,000 more in supplemental income (media, etc.)!

Around the rinks

Earlier this week I checked in with North Mankato native Tyler Bruggeman, who just wrapped up his third season of junior hockey. The goaltender played for the Des Moines Buccaneers of the USHL and saw his playing time drop a bit from last season when he was with the NAHL's St. Louis Bandits. Bruggeman, 20, says he plans to return to the Bucs for a final season of junior hockey in hopes of landing a college opportunity somewhere. You can see Bruggeman's career numbers here.

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Unfortunately, this was kept on the downlow and was publicized after the fact, but before country-music star Dierks Bentley's show in Mankato Thursday night, he skated over at All Seasons Arena with members of the MSU men's and women's hockey teams and a few others. Bentley, who plays rec-league hockey in Nashville, told Paul Allan that he keeps his hockey gear on his tour bus just in case he gets a chance to skate during his tour.

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This has been one of the busiest offseasons in terms of coaching changes. So far, six teams are in the process of making changes, and that could grow depending on how those jobs get filled.

A few weeks ago, Michigan State hired CCHA commissioner Tom Anastos as its new coach, and this week, UMass-Lowell hired alum and former Colorado College assistant Norm Bazin to take the reins. That leaves Michigan Tech, Providence, Clarkson and Penn State still open.

Tech is an interesting, as it appeared to be was close to hiring alum and longtime Michigan assistant Mel Pearson, only to have Pearson turn down the job. Now, some reports are coming out that Nebraska-Omaha assistant Mike Hastings might be interviewing in Houghton.

Penn State, which is looking to make a big splash with its first coach, has/is in the process of interviewing Minnesota Duluth's Scott Sandelin. Sandelin has a career record of 192-200-52 in 11 seasons at UMD, but this month's national championship certainly makes him a hot prospect. Adding intrigue to the story is the fact that Sandelin's wife is a Penn State graduate.

Meanwhile, Providence might be in the process of poaching national coach of the year Nate Leaman away from Union.

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Even the women's hockey world is seeking coaches, as Ohio State's Jackie Barto announced that she is stepping down after 12 seasons with the Buckeyes and 27 years overall.

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The Minnesota Wild have been busy signing some college starts, inking North Dakota's Chay Genoway and Minnesota Duluth's Justin Fontaine. Both players' seasons ended at the Xcel Energy Center a couple of weeks ago, with Fontaine winning the national title, and Genoway making it to the national semifinals.

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The Minnesota State women's hockey team announced its postseason awards this week. They were:

• Most Valuable Player — Lauren Smith, so. F
• Most Improved Player — Kari Lundberg, fr. F
• Rookie of the Year — Kathleen Rogan, fr. F
• Tiffany Searles Award (all-around student-athlete) — Jenna Peterson, jr. F/D
• Maverick Pride Award — Ariel Mackley, jr. D
• Daniel Mundahl Service Award — Emmi Leinonen, jr. F

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News broke Friday morning that Kurt Davis' dad, MSU alum Carl Davis, has stepped down as Wayzata High School coach. In 16 years, Davis had a record of 247-146-24, five conference titles and two state-tournament appearances.

Jutting talks recruits

Minnesota State made it official this week, announcing the signing of defenseman Mat Knoll to its recruiting class for 2012. Knoll is playing for the Spruce Grove Saints of the Alberta Junior Hockey League. After winning the AJHL title, the Knoll and the Saints are taking on the BCHL-champion Vernon Vipers for the Doyle Cup — Canada's Junior A national championship the winner of which moves on to the Canadian Junior A national championship tournament (Thanks for the clarification, PA!). Spruce Grove leads the best-of-seven series 2-1.

Mavericks coach Troy Jutting called Knoll one of the best defensemen on the best junior team in Canada. He said that Spruce Grove rotated six defensemen pretty equally during the regular season but that Knoll got more responsibility in the playoffs, including time on the top power play. Knoll had 10 assists in 13 playoff games. He also has on assist in the Doyle Cup so far.

"He's a 20-year-old who's played a ton of games," Jutting said. "He's in his third year in the Alberta league and was the best defenseman on the team in Lloydminster last year. He's been around the block and understands the game. He's been a very good player. He's very experienced and a leader."

Sounds like a good recruit to bring in considering the loss of Kurt Davis, Ben Youds and Channing Boe.

Knoll will join the four players who signed during the early period in November and Matt Leitner as part of a six-player rookie class (Leitner will be a sophomore).

Here's what Jutting had to say about the other recruits coming in next fall:

On forward Jean-Paul LaFontaine: "He's second (on the Green Bay Gamblers) in scoring in his first year of juniors. He's had a great year there."

On defenseman Zach Palmquist: "The team (Waterloo) was not as good this year, and his numbers were down a little offensively. But his shots were up and his (playing) time was up. ... He's had a great junior career, and we're really excited about him. We hope Zach can pick up some of the slack with what we lose with (Davis) graduating."

On defenseman Brett Stern: "He's on one of the best team in the USHL (Green Bay). ... He's had to sit behind some veteran defensemen, but he's a good hockey player. He doesn't get as much get as much playing time but when he has he's played well."

On forward Max Gaede: "He's had a good year. He's got some thing to learn. But he's a big, raw, talented kid. We're very excited about him."

On Leitner: "He's on track (to play). Obviously, he's an extremely talented kid. He has potential to be a first-line center in the WCHA."

Oilers ink Pitlick

Ex-Minnesota State player Tyler Pitlick signed a three-year contract with the Edmonton Oilers, the Oilers announced last week.

Pitlick played one season with the Mavericks (2009-10) before leaving to play major junior hockey with the Medicine Hat Tigers of the Western Hockey League. This season in The Hat, the 19-year-old center had 27 goals and 35 assists for 62 points in 56 games.

With the Mavericks, he showed tremendous college potential, scoring 11 goals and eight assists for 19 points in 38 games. Pitlick seemed poised to have a breakout sophomore year (how bad did the Mavs need him this past season?!?!) but decided that school wasn't his thing and headed to Canada.

During last summer's NHL draft, Edmonton selected Pitlick with the first pick of the second round (31st overall), making him the highest draft pick with MSU ties.

According to capgeek.com, Pitlick's deal will pay him $2.665 million over three years if he plays the entire time with the big club ($67,500 annually if he's in the AHL).

MSU award winners, captains

Minnesota State announced its 2011-12 captains as well as its '10-11 award winners on Sunday.

Tyler Elbrecht and Michael Dorr will be next season's captains, with the alternate captains rotating monthly throughout the season. Cameron Cooper will be the October alternate captain. Elbrecht, a defenseman, will be a junior next season. Dorr, a forward, will be a senior. Cooper, a defenseman, will be a senior.

As for the awards ...

Most Valuable Player: Kurt Davis, sr. D
Unsung Hero and Star of the Year: Ben Youds, sr. D
Most Improved Player: Cameron Cooper, jr. D
Hustle Award (hardest worker): Tyler Elbrecht, so., D
Don Brose Leadership Award: Rylan Galiardi, sr. F

To see player bios, read the entire MSU release on the awards here.

News & Notes

A few ramblings from around MSU and college hockey ...

• The national signing period began Wednesday but we're still waiting on anything official out of Minnesota State yet. Expect the Mavericks to officially announce the signing of defenseman Mat Knoll from the AJHL's Spruce Grove Saints, but that's probably it. The Mavericks have four other recruits coming who inked their names during the November early signing period.

• MSU is also counting on Matt Leitner to join the team after sitting out last year for academic reasons. On Thursday, I saw Leitner skating with teammates during a spring workout, so that's good news for the Mavs. Leitner was in school all last year but did not practice with the team.

• Back to Knoll, he had tremendous postseason, assisting on 10 goals in 13 games during the Saints' run to the AJHL championship. Spruce Grove is currently playing the BCHL-champion Vernon Vipers for the Doyle Cup, essentially Canada's Junior A national championship, the winner of which moves on to the Canadian Junior A national championship tournament.

• 2012 recruit Dan Carlson is playing for the U.S. National Team in the Under-18 World Championships in Germany. The U.S. is 2-0 so far, and Carlson has a goal and an assist. The Americans' next game is Sunday against Russia.

• The NHL's final Central Scouting Service rankings were released recently, and Carlson was No. 143 out of the North American skaters. MSU '12 goalie recruit Stephon Williams was ranked 27th among North American goalies.

• We're still waiting for the MSU women's recruits for next year, too (expect five players), however, the Mavericks already have a big name coming in 2013. Mankato East/Loyola sophomore Savannah Quandt revealed that she has already verbally committed to play for the Mavericks.

• Channing Boe's hockey season is still going, as he is playing in the ECHL playoffs with the Wheeling Nailers. Boe played in eight regular-season games and has played in six playoff games so far.

• College hockey's early departures have started, and six WCHA players have decided to turn pro rather than complete their eligibility. The national champs, Minnesota Duluth, have already lost two players — forward Mike Connolly and defenseman Justin Faulk. Others include a slew of other defensemen: Minnesota D Aaron Ness, Denver D Matt Donovan, St. Cloud State D Oliver Lauridsen and Wisconsin D Jake Gardiner.

Duluth wins national title (updated)

Senior forward and Hermantown native Kyle Schmidt scored the game-winning goal at 3:22 of overtime to give Minnesota Duluth a 3-2 win over Michigan and its first national championship Saturday night at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul.

Two of the Bulldogs' goals came from local guys, Duluth native Max Tardy, a fourth-line freshman, scored his first career goal. Travis Oleksuk had the other UMD goal and assisted on Schmidt's game-winner. Oleksuk's and Schmidt's linemate, freshman J.T. Brown was named the tournament's most outstanding player.

Freddy's Three Thoughts of the Game:

1. The best team: When Michigan knocked out North Dakota on Thursday, Wolverines coach Red Berenson said that sometimes the best team doesn't win the title and made the comparison to 1997 when his team was upset in the semifinals and UND won the championship. But Saturday, UMD coach Scott Sandelin said, "The best team wins. I believe that. Maybe not (the best team) talent-wise." With all of the focus on the lawfirm line of Connolly, Connolly & Fontaine, the Bulldogs got contributions from other areas: the second line of Schmidt, Brown and Oleksuk; Tardy on the second power-play unit; and a pretty hot goalie in Kenny Reiter (22 saves).

2. Marrying man: Most of the Bulldogs bleached their hair for the postseason, giving themselves a blonde (and sometimes orange) look this weekend. One player who didn't was Schmidt, the hero of the game. The reason he stayed away from the peroxide? He's getting married this summer. When asked if he thought his natural-brown hair was the reason he got the game-winner, he said, "Yep," and got a roar of laughter from the assembled media. But then he added, "I think it was more the other guys on my line than me. I was just in the right spot at the right time. So blonde hair, just the tips, either way, I think I would have buried that one, and luckily I did."

3. Minnesota nice: The last time the Frozen Four was held in St. Paul, Minnesota defeated Maine 4-3 in overtime. It was home for Minnesota Duluth and its 17 Minnesotans (12 in uniform Saturday). "It's great for the players, the coaches, everyone," Schmidt said. "It's been way too long a time coming for everyone in Duluth, the Twin Ports, Up North." It was the first national title for Duluth. "Wow. Pretty special," Sandelin said. "I am so extremely proud of these guys. ... But to do something the school's never done, as I said a couple of days ago, it would mean everything. And not just for these players, but for the alumni, the program and city."

OT: A few more notes ... It was the 15th overtime game of the season for UMD, who had a 7-2-6 record OT games. ... Berenson didn't, uh, appreciate the fact that Duluth had nine power plays (it scored one PPG) and his team had four: "I can't tell you what I really think. I mean, you can't talk about refereeing and penalties, but when one team gets nine and the other four, it doesn't add up." Later: "Every time a player falls down it shouldn't be a penalty, not in NCAA championship hockey." ... Next year's Frozen Four will take place in Tampa, Fla. When that was announced during the game, most of the crowd of 19,222 booed. "This is one of the best venues you could have in this tournament, if not the best," Sandelin said of St. Paul. "It's a hockey city. It's a great building and a great atmosphere."

So that's it for the 2010-11 college hockey season. See you around the blog.

It's national-title day!

Minnesota Duluth will go for its first national championship and the WCHA's first since 2006 when it plays Michigan at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul at 6 p.m. tonight. The game will be broadcast on ESPN.

Duluth undoubtedly will get the support of a lot of the "home" crowd, although Michigan will have plenty of fans there, too. The Wolverines are going for their NCAA-leading 10th national title.

The Bulldogs are carrying the banner for the WCHA and will be playing not just a CCHA team, but a Big Ten team that will be breaking away, along with Minnesota and Wisconsin, in a couple of years. Michigan, which has the hottest goalie (a former walk-on, no less) in the tournament, has defeated three WCHA teams to get to the title game — Nebraska-Omaha, Colorado College and North Dakota — to get to tonight's game against a fourth from the conference.

On Friday, Miami's Andy Meile won the Hobey Baker Award as the nation's best player. He led the country in scoring and was the highest point-producing player (71 points) since the 2002-03 season. I was a Hobey voter for three years (2002-2004) and probably would have voted for North Dakota's Matt Frattin if I had a vote this year. However, I don't think a voter could go wrong with either pick. (Actually, voters list their top five of the top 10 finalists in order of preference. It was a top-three list when I voted, if memory serves.)

UPDATE: All-American teams were also announced on Friday, and seven WCHA players earned first- and second-team honors. Here's the list:

AHCA All-Americans
West first team
F — Matt Frattin, North Dakota
F — Andy Miele, Miami
F — Jack Connolly, Duluth
D — Chay Genoway, North Dakota
D — Justin Schultz, Wisconsin
G — Pat Nagle, Ferris State

West second team
F — Mike Connolly, Duluth
F — Carter Camper, Miami
F — Carl Hagelin, Michigan
D — Jake Gardiner, Wisconsin
D — Zach Redmond, Ferris State
G — Aaron Dell, North Dakota

East first team
F — Cam Atkinson, Boston College
F — Paul Thompson, New Hampshire
F — Chase Polacek, RPI
D — Blake Kessel, New Hampshire
D — Brian Dumoulin, Boston College
G — Keith Kinkaid, Union

East second team
F — Stephane Da Costa, Merrimack
F — Gustav Nyquist, Maine
F — Paul Zanette, Niagara
D — Taylor Fedun, Princeton
D — Nick Bailen, RPI
G — John Muse, Boston College

So who do you like in tonight's game? The best line in the country? The hottest goalie? The home-state 'Dogs? The mighty Wolverines?

Michigan stuns the X

Is it an upset when Michigan wins in the Frozen Four? Usually not; it has nine of them. But it certainly seemed like an upset on Thursday night at the Xcel Energy Center when the Wolverines knocked off North Dakota 2-0 in the Frozen Four semifinals.

Michigan goalie Shawn Hunwick stopped 40 shots, as UND outshot Michigan 40-20. Michigan got a first-period goal from Ben Winnett and was pretty much content on playing defense the rest of the way until Scooter Vaughan's empty-net goal in the final minute clinched the win.

Hunwick had to make two huge saves on Evan Trupp in the final minute before the empty-netter. However, Michigan's defense seemed to have North Dakota frustrated and discombobulated throughout the night. The Sioux simply had trouble making good, clean plays when they needed them most. Their power play, at times, looked more like MSU's this season than UND's.

That sets up a Michigan-Minnesota Duluth championship game on Saturday night. Michigan will be going for its 10th national title, while UMD will be going for its first.

Duluth is in the national title game

Minnesota Duluth got three power-play goals and overcame an early deficit to defeat Notre Dame 4-3 in the first semifinal of the Frozen Four at the Xcel Energy Center Thursday afternoon.

The Bulldogs are in the title game for the first time since 1984 when they lost the championship to Bowling Green in four overtimes.

The Duluth power play was fantastic, as J.T. Brown, Mike Connolly and Jack Connolly had goals with the man advantage. Defenseman Justin Faulk had three assists, and Kyle Schmidt added an even-strength goal.

UMD goalie Kenny Reiter overcame a shaky start and stopped 31 shots, including 14 in the third period. The Irish outshot the Bulldogs 34-21, including a 15-2 advantage in the third period.

Notre Dame did not score on five power-play chances but did have a short-handed goal early in the third period to make it a one-goal game the rest of the way.