Jan. 11, 2009
Box Score
South Bend, IN – For the first time this year, the Nanooks failed to gain any points in a CCHA series as they were swept at the hands of the number one ranked team in the country, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.
It must have seemed like déjà vu for fans at the Joyce Center on Saturday night as they would have to wait until the third period to see a goal just like on Friday night. The Nanooks and the Fighting Irish would play the first two periods scoreless, but Notre Dame would net the game winner in the third stanza, again.
Notre Dame out shot Alaska in the first 20 minutes 10-7, but the top two goalies in the CCHA, Chad Johnson and Jordan Pearce would keep a clean sheet.
The Nanooks and Irish skated evenly in the second period with both teams creating scoring opportunities but failing to tickle the twine. Play was physical as the two teams combined for five penalties, but the score remained 0-0.
Yet again, like the previous night, the top ranked Irish would claim the third period and capture a 3-0 victory to extend the longest unbeaten streak in the country to 18 games (16-0-2).
The Blue and Gold suffered a bad bounce to begin period number three as the puck got past Johnson off a ricochet from the stick of assistant captain Derek Klassen at 5:53 for the Irish’s first goal. The CCHA’s second leading scorer, Christian Hanson netted his 14th goal of the season for the game winner.
The Irish would tally their second goal on Alaska’s inability to clear the zone, which resulted in a shot from the point that Johnson saved but gave up the rebound to Ben Ryan who added the insurance goal for Notre Dame at 12:28.
Notre Dame would add a final goal on an empty net at 19:05 for their third and final goal.
The Blue and Gold’s struggles on offense continue as they failed to score a goal this weekend, the first time in their history they have been shutout in a CCHA series. Alaska ranks last in the CCHA on the power play and they are 0-for-26 with a man advantage in their past four games.
Alaska (10-8-4, 8-7-3-2 CCHA) is now tied with their rivalry partner Nebraska-Omaha for third place in the CCHA. Alaska will have the opportunity to re-claim sole possession of third next weekend as they host the UNO Mavericks at the Carlson Center on Friday and Saturday night. The puck is scheduled to drop at 7:05 p.m. each night.
