TROY, N.Y. – Sophomore goaltender Cale Morris made 38 saves to lead the fourth-ranked University of Notre Dame men’s hockey team to a 4-1 victory over Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) on Friday night at the Houston Field House. With the win, the Fighting Irish improve to 9-3-1 overall, while the Engineers drop to 2-6-3.
Morris (Larkspur, MI/Waterloo Black Hawks) stopped all 16 shots he faced in the first period and the visitors netted a pair at the other end to take an early 2-0 lead. Senior captain Jake Evans (Toronto, ON/St. Michael’s Buzzers) opened the scoring at 10:49, when finished off a loose puck on the goal line that snuck through RPI freshman netminder Linden Marshall (Victoria, BC/Trail Smoke Eaters).
Sophmore Cal Burke (Boxborough, MA/Cedar Rapids) made 2-0 at 11:36, snapping home a shot from between the circles, into the top left corner of the net. Junior Andrew Oglevie (Fullerton, CA/Cedar Rapids) picked up the lone helper on Burke’s fifth of the season.
After RPI out-shot the Fighting Irish, 16-10, in the opening frame, Notre Dame flipped those totals in the second, thanks in part to a five-minute major penalty on the Engineers early in the frame. Rensselaer was able to kill off the penalty to keep the deficit at two after two periods.
Notre Dame junior blueliner Bobby Nardella (Rosemont, IL/Tri-City) made it a 3-0 lead at 12:05 of the third, potting the game’s only power play goal. His shot from the bottom of the right circle deflected off the right post and in off the backside of Marshall. Assists went to Oglevie and Evans.
RPI sophomore Todd Burgess (Phoenix, AZ/Fairbanks Ice Dogs) struck back at 14:18, netting his first collegiate tally, just under the crossbar, from senior Mike Prapavessis (Oakville, ON/Toronto Patriots) and sophomore Jacob Hayhurst (Missassauga, ON/Cedar Rapids RoughRiders).
Senior Jordan Gross (Maple Grove, MN/Green Bay) sealed the win with a length-of-the-ice empty net goal at 19:07 for a 4-1 advantage. Morris drew the lone assist on Gross’ fifth goal of the campaign, which was also shorthanded.
Notre Dame finished 1 for 4 on the power play, while the Engineers were 0 for 8. RPI sophomore defenseman Will Reilly (Toronto, ON/Nanaimo Clippers) registered a team-high seven shots, while Marshall (1-1-1) finished with 27 saves.
The two teams are back at it tomorrow night for game two of the weekend series. Puck drop is scheduled for 7pm.
