{"id":88355,"date":"2018-10-13T22:09:13","date_gmt":"2018-10-14T03:09:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.uscho.com\/?p=88355"},"modified":"2020-08-24T14:20:07","modified_gmt":"2020-08-24T19:20:07","slug":"behind-a-morris-shutout-no-2-notre-dame-takes-ice-breaker-title-over-providence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uscho.com\/2018\/10\/13\/behind-a-morris-shutout-no-2-notre-dame-takes-ice-breaker-title-over-providence\/","title":{"rendered":"USCHO Game of the Week: Behind a Morris shutout, No. 2 Notre Dame takes Ice Breaker title over No. 4 Providence"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Notre<\/a>
No. 2 Notre Dame captured the Ice Breaker tournament with a 3-0 victory over No. 4 Providence, a night after surviving an overtime tie and shootout to advance (Omar Phillips)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

ERIE, Pa. \u2013 Lucky for the Irish, they still had some goals left in them.<\/p>\n

Second-ranked Notre Dame bounced back from defensive disaster the previous night and defeated fourth-ranked Providence, 3-0, on Saturday to win the annual Ice Breaker Tournament at Erie Insurance Arena.<\/p>\n

Joe Wegwerth, Colin Theisen and Bobby Nardella scored for Notre Dame \u2013 ranked second in the latest USCHO poll. Goaltender Cale Morris, who led the nation in victories last season, recorded 22 saves to get the shutout.<\/p>\n

Photo Gallery: Notre Dame wins Ice Breaker<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cIt is a good start to our season, especially after last night, we thought we could be a lot better,\u201d said Wegwerth, whose team tied host Mercyhurst, 6-6, on Friday before advancing in a shootout. \u201cObviously, Providence [had] kind of become our rival in Hockey East. We executed, our freshmen stepped up and played well. Just everybody seemed to be clicking and pulling in the right direction.\u201d<\/p>\n

Providence coach Nate Leaman admitted his young club has some growing to do.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a good game,\u201d he said. \u201cThere were some momentum swings. I thought overall, they did a better job on their power play than we did. I thought they executed a little bit better. I thought they won the net fronts. We had a lot of shot opportunities that got blocked. That is a credit to them.<\/p>\n

\u201cI like our team because there is a lot of room for growth right now. We have to get our top guys going, and I think we have to get guys around the net.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wegwerth gave Notre Dame a 1-0 lead at 17:36 of the second when he tipped Andrew Peeke\u2019s shot past Providence goaltender Hawkey Hayden.<\/p>\n

The Fighting Irish took a 2-0 lead when Colin Theisen cruised to the right corner of the slot and redirected Jack Jenkin\u2019s slick pass from deep in the left corner past Hawkey at 3:59.<\/p>\n

Seven minutes later, Notre Dame iced the victory when Peeke\u2019s shot from the point was stopped by Hawkey. But the puck squirted loose and lay inches in front of the goal line before defenseman Bobby Nardella, whose shootout goal on Friday placed Notre Dame in the final, pounced in and banged it home.<\/p>\n

In the end, Notre Dame took the championship trophy home, a good way to start a long season.<\/p>\n

\u201cEarly in the season, you are always trying to work on your game and get better, especially with the young group we have,\u201d said Notre Dame coach Jeff Jackson. \u201cI was excited to see how we played tonight. Last night…that is not how we play the game. We played much smarter tonight, and did a much better job with the puck.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe got timely goals and good goaltending. That\u2019s how we win. For us to get our act together in time to beat a very good team, is important.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bottom line \u2013 an Ontario Hockey League city, certainly not your typical college hockey town – placed another feather in its cap this weekend.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt’s been fantastic,\u201d said Mark Jeanneret, Executive Director of the Erie Sports Commission on the tourney. \u201cWe were fortunate to get No. 2 Notre Dame and No. 4 Providence. We started planning this three years ago, and had teams in place 18 months ago, so we were fortunate. And the fact that Mercyhurst gave Notre Dame everything they could handle last night, is fantastic.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jeanneret talked about Erie possibly hosting a NCAA Regional Tournament down the road.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are looking at everything,\u201d he said. \u201cWe had the women\u2019s Frozen Four here in 2011 and will host it in 2021. We look at all of those opportunities. And as we get more comfortable working with the staff here at the arena, and obviously Mercyhurst would have to be a big player as well. When those opportunities come along, we will do our due diligence, take a look at what the opportunities are, and see what the requirements are.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Notre Dame – Icebreaker Champions! pic.twitter.com\/tn7FxqFq9c<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 NCAA Ice Hockey (@NCAAIceHockey) October 14, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n