Notre Dame Outlasts And Ousts UMass-Lowell In Grinding Game

In a game very similar to the Duluth/Boston game a day earlier, Notre Dame and Lowell played a grinder of a game yesterday.  Notre Dame scored first on a Lowell turnover twelve minutes into the first period when a pass found Cam Morrison in the slot which he converted to a shot/rebound shot for the goal and the 1-0 Notre Dame lead.  But with only a minute left in the period, Ryan Collins scored and the game was tied at one apiece.  The next thirty-two minutes was grinding , defensively dominated, close play yielding no scoring.

Then, twelve minutes into the third period, John Edwardh redirected a shot for a goal and the 2-1 UMass-Lowell lead.  Notre Dame stepped up the attack and Cam Morrison scored again with only five minutes left in the third, and the game ended in regulation a 2-2 tie.  Three minutes into overtime a pass found Andrew Ogelvie in the slot and he converted it to a goal for the 3-2 Notre Dame OT win.  Notre Dame advanced to the Frozen Four in Chicago to play the winner of the game between Denver and Penn State.

This outcome of this game was quite a huge upset in our pool as only one participant picked Notre Dame to win, while thirteen picked UMass-Lowell, twenty-five picked Minnesota, and seven picked Cornell.

Big Second Period Advances Denver Past Penn State To Frozen Four

In the last game of regional play in the NCAA Tournament last night, Jarid Lukosevicius scored three minutes into the first, and Adam Plant followed four minutes later, to put Denver up on Penn State, 2-0.  With five minutes remaining in the period, Nikita Pavlychev caught a break and scored a short handed goal for to tighten the score at 2-1.  Two minutes into the second a Denis Smirnov goal tied it at two apiece.  But a power play goal by Troy Terry, another goal by Jarid Lukosevicius, and then another goal by Troy Terry, seven minutes into the period, sixteen minutes into the period, and with a minute remaining in the period, put Denver up 5-2.  In the first Penn State out-shot Denver nine to five, but in the second it was Denver 16 to Penn State’s 11 shots.

In the third period James Gobetz scored for Penn State to tighten the score to 5-3.  With three minutes remaining, Penn State added an extra attacker, but Troy Terry found the empty net for the final 6-3 score, and his hat trick on the night.  Denver advanced to the Frozen Four in Chicago on Thursday, April 6th, where they will face Notre Dame at 6:30PM Pacific Time on ESPN2.

The outcome of this game was not remotely an upset in our pool, as 39 of 46 participants picked Denver to win it, while only two picked Penn State, and five picked Union College.

That’s all for now.  Stay tuned, and Go Terriers!

— Tom