Notre Dame Falls 2-1 In National Championship
NCAA Championship
Notre Dame Fighting Irish: 28-9-2, First Seed in East Region
Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs: 24-16-3, Third Seed in West Region
Irish Lineup
Forwards
Morrison-Evans-Theisen
Malmquist-Oglevie-Burke
Cook-O’Leary-Jenkins
Wegwerth-Brauer
Defense
Gilbert-Wade
Gross-Peeke
Hellickson-Nardella
Dello
Goalies
Morris
Sanford
Bulldogs Lineup
Forwards
Tufte-Krieger-Joey Anderson
Kuhlman-Thomas-Swaney
Young-Richards-MacKay
Roth-Miller-Exell
Defense
Wolff-Perunovich
Samberg-Mikey Anderson
Matt Anderson-Roehl
Goalies
Shepard
Deery
First Period
Cale Morris made a big-time stop in the opening minute as both teams looked to have early game jitters. Both teams had chances on net-mouth scrambles, but the game remained scoreless about five minutes in.
Justin Wade got himself involved with a huge hit on the Bulldogs’ Kobe Roth that left the freshman forward shaken up. Roth had to be helped to the locker room with 13 and a half minutes left in the period.
Morris made a big save on Nick Swaney in the high slot as Morris continued his good start to the game. Bulldogs captain Karson Kuhlman changed that with a goal to get the crowd going with 9:06 gone in the opening period. Kuhlman scored his 14th of the season from the left circle to Morris’ glove side.
Hunter Shepard made a nice save on Irish defenseman Justin Wade to keep it a one-goal game as the Irish were still looking to establish an attacking rhythm. The next few minutes, the Irish got just that but were unable to tie the game as the period wound down.
With 1:21 to go in the period, Jared Thomas buried a bad angle shot to put the Bulldogs up 2-0. The senior scored his 11th of the season. With 17 seconds to go in the period, the Irish went to the penalty box as Mike O’Leary took a hooking call.
The period ended with the Bulldogs still on the powerplay who led in shots 10-7.
Score: 2-0 Minnesota-Duluth
Second Period
Immediately after killing off the penalty, the Irish went to the box again. Jordan Gross went off for tripping as the Bulldogs went on the man advantage once again.
Thanks to Morris, the Irish killed off the Gross penalty. Immediately after, the Bulldogs went to the penalty box, giving the Irish a chance to get back in the game. Louie Roehl took the penalty as he went off for interference with 15:25 to go in the period.
The Irish were unable to capitalize as they failed to get any offensive rhythm and the score remained 2-0. The Irish got another chance on the powerplay as Scott Perunovich took an interference penalty. Andrew Ogelvie cut the lead in half after a beautiful passing sequence led to a powerplay strike with 13:20 to go in the period.
The Irish again went to the box as Colin Theisen went off for a kneeing penalty midway through the period. The Irish killed off the penalty as Morris made some big saves to keep the game close.
The Irish began to tilt the ice as they got more and more offensive chances as the period came to a close. Shepard made a huge pad save on a shot by Ogelvie who nearly scored his second goal of the game.
The period ended with the Bulldogs again leading in shots, 28-15 but the Irish still very much alive.
Score: 2-1 Minnesota-Duluth
Third Period
Morris made a couple of crucial saves to open the period as he continued to rebound from his tough start in the first period. The Irish had a tough time getting their offense going in the early parts of the third as they looked to even the score.
Midway through the period the Irish were still chasing the game but seemed to be getting closer.
A wild scramble in front of the Bulldogs net nearly led to a tying goal, but the Irish couldn’t find the back of the net. Morris made an unbelievable stop on an odd-man rush to keep it a one-goal game with about four minutes to go as Kuhlman nearly had his second goal of the night.
With 1:30 to play, Morris went to the Irish bench as they got the extra attacker on the ice. The Irish were unable to get near the net, and the Bulldogs took home their first national title since 2011.
Final Score: 2-1 Minnesota-Duluth