Another Day and Another Final Four Buzzer Beater for Notre Dame
Notre Dame is quickly turning into ‘Buzzer Beater U’ as the Irish have hit three buzzer beaters in Final Four games in the last week.
It might have been hard to top Arike Ogunbowale’s game winners from the Women’s Final Four last week, but Jake Evans did his best on Thursday night.
The senior forward scored with 5.2 seconds left to push the Irish past Michigan 4-3 and secure a shot at a National Championship on Saturday evening.
“I don't really remember how it actually started, but I know Jenkins was in a battle with another forward,” recalled Evans. “He did a really good job of winning that battle and getting it to squirt out for me.
“I just saw Cam flying on the wing, and he's got such great speed, and he's a strong guy. I thought he'd have a chance at getting a shot or just going hard to the net. I knew there was a little bit of time left, so I thought I'd give it one last rush, and Cam just did a really good job of putting it out there for me.”
The goal that sent the Irish to the national title was a beaut.
— Notre Dame Hockey (@NDHockey) April 6, 2018
We'll you Saturday when we take the ice for the chance to bring home the natty.#GoIrishpic.twitter.com/oO5FuzpKzW
It was the second goal of the game for Evans, and he even admitted he had some luck on his side.
“That play could have been killed pretty quickly if Cam didn't have a lot of grit and a lot of strength,” explained Evans. “And I got lucky, it was into the defender's skates, and I just poked at it. But Cam did a really good job with that play.”
It was the fifth dramatic ending for the Irish, but also the fifth win and Notre Dame head coach Jeff Jackson is going with the flow, which will likely include a checkup for his heart after the season.
“He told us again tonight that he's getting scar tissue or something on his heart,” laughed Andrew Oglevie. “But, no, I'm not going to apologize. I don't know about you, Jake?”
Evans agreed, “We keep winning. He can't complain.”
The win on Thursday would not have been possible without another stellar effort from goaltender Cale Morris, who have 25 saves (25-for-29).
“He's been our rock all year, and this team and this staff know him so well that even if he lets in one goal, that just builds our confidence, because we know he's not going to let in any more or one more,” stated Evans. “It definitely helps our confidence and we know we're one goal back and they're probably not going to get many more. He's been our rock all year. He's definitely is leading this team to success.”
Jackson complimented Morris’ demeanor, which has inspired confidence in everyone in the program.
“The best attribute about Cale is he's in control,” explained Jackson. “He's emotionally, mentally and physically in control. And he reminds me a lot of the kid we had last year, a great goaltender in Cal Petersen. He has a lot of similarities to him.
“He's very calm, doesn't get rattled, gives up a goal, like Jake said, they have the confidence to know that there's not another one right away, that he's going to be able to stand in there and play the same way even if he gives up a goal off a fluky bounce or whatever it may be. It's just about his poise and his ability to stay in control.”
Things weren’t always looking good for the Irish as Michigan held a 15-2 advantage on faceoffs after the first quarter. Jackson knew his team had to be better and that started in practice earlier in the week.
“It was a point of emphasis, frankly it was a point of emphasis going into the week at practice, believe it or not because Michigan did that to us when we played them earlier in the year,” stated Jackson. “We've been a pretty good faceoff team, but when Jake Evans gets dominated that's cause for concern because he's one of the best ones I've ever had.
“But again you give them credit.
I mean they probably had tutelage from one of the great centers in the National Hockey League for the last three years, a couple of those guys in Red Berenson and they do a good job. Norris is extremely good, so is Marody, all the centers. Their third and fourth line centers both too were successful.
"So we knew we had to do a better job. Face-Office isn't just on the center. It's collective. It's all three forwards or all five guys in the defensive zone, making sure you get body position. It's like basketball rebounds. It's about competing for those pucks.”
Notre Dame will battle Minnesota Duluth on Saturday for a National Title, and it will mean a lot for the Irish program and the Big 10 conference.
“The Big Ten has been an awesome home this year,” said Jackson. “I mean, you've seen some great teams tonight and the compete and battle out of Ohio State and Michigan, it was like that playing even at the end of the year against Michigan State.
“There are no weak links in this conference. Our first priority is to win for our university and win for these kids, these boys that have battled here all year long. “It's nice to be able to represent the Big Ten in a positive way, and hopefully we'll be the first team to be able to win a national title as a Big Ten member.”