Sunday, December 6, 2009

12/5 Recap: Knapp puts Irish to sleep

Connor Knapp made 18 saves on Saturday to earn his second shutout of the season and fourth of his career as #1 Miami tamed #14 Notre Dame, 4-0. The 6'5 sophomore was rarely tested, but was poised when he needed to be to up his season mark to 2-1-3. The RedHawks posted back-to-back shutouts of a weekend opponent for the first time in their varsity history.

In Marquette, Corey Tropp scored his 12th goal of the year as #11 Michigan State lost in overtime to Northern Michigan, 3-2. With the Spartans playing catch-up throughout, Tropp's marker with 6:21 left in regulation tied the game 2-2 and forced the overtime. Tropp has a dozen goals through 18 games after entering the year with just nine in his first 63 NCAA contests. The loss drops Michigan State to 10-6-2 on the year.

Brad Eidsness made 25 saves as #3 North Dakota lost a controversial decision to #12 Duluth in overtime, 3-2. The Sioux sqaundered a two-goal lead in the third period, with the tying goal coming in the final minute after a puck bounced into the netting behind the North Dakota net. The play should have been whistled dead, but instead Edisness was beaten as the play continued. The Bulldogs proceded to score just :12 into OT to hand the Sioux their fifth defeat of the year. Corey Fienhage was even while skating on the Sioux's third pair.

In CCHA play, Nick Eno stopped 16 of 19 shots in 29:04 of action before giving way to freshman Andrew Hammond as Bowling Green lost to Lake Superior, 5-2.

Justin Jokinen was even with a shot on goal as Minnesota State got throttled by Minnesota, 6-2. Freshman Josh Birkholz (FLA) led the Gophers by scoring the first two goals of his collegiate career.

In the OHL, Nick Crawford added two more assists to his impressive first half of the season as Barrie dominated Niagara, 6-1. The fight-filled contest was the 17th straight victory for the Colts (25-4-1).

Zack Kassian finished +1 with an assist as Peterborough was shelled by Windsor, 9-5. The Petes' captain also earned a second period misconduct on what turned into a frustrating evening for his club.

In the QMJHL, Jordon Southorn was +1 with a fighting major as PEI skated past Bathurst, 5-3. The 6'2 defenseman, who now has more fights (4) than goals (3) this season, took on 17-year old Jérémie Malouin just :17 into the second period. Three seconds later, Malouin's brother Danick dropped the gloves with PEI's Eric Bouchard. The Rocket (18-10-1-2) improve to 8-2 in their last ten games.

In the USHL, Mark Adams did not play as Chicago lost to Youngstown, 3-1.