Late Marker Spoils Solid Effort by Hammond

Friday, February 11

South Bend, Ind.

7:35 p.m.

Bowling Green State University

Notre Dame

Andrew Hammond (So., G) had his third straight 30+ save game on his 23rd birthday, Friday night.

February 12, 2011 | Ice Hockey

Andrew Hammond's third straigh 30+ save effort was spoiled in the Falcons' 2-1 loss to UND.

By: by Ryan Gasser, Athletic Communications Graduate Assistant

NOTRE DAME, Ind. -- Despite a third straight thirty-plus save effort from sophomore goaltender Andrew Hammond, the Falcons suffered their fourth one-goal defeat in a 2-1 decision in favor of the No. 10/10 Notre Dame Fighting Irish, Friday night. The effort was ruined after a UND goal was scored in the final four minutes by one of its standout freshmen and the Falcons failed to mount a comeback in the final minutes of the contest.

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Bowling Green (8-20-3, 3-17-3-1 CCHA) continues its struggles offensively having put only 22 shots on goal against the Irish. It marked the 14th times this season they have scored only one goal in a game and the sixth times in eight games the occurrence has happened.

Andrew Hammond (Surrey, British Columbia) and the Falcons put together their third time in four games they have allowed two or fewer goals in a contest. Notre Dame threw 38 shots between the pipes with Hammond stopped 36 of those successfully. Bowling Green also shut out the hosts on their three power play chances on the evening, now limited their opponents to two power play goals in the last 19 chances (.890) over their last four games.

Bowling Green committed only three penalties for six penalty minutes on Friday night, the lowest total in either category since Dec. 4 when the Falcons and Lake Superior State Lakers combined for three penalties, BGSU committing two of those. In their previous six games since the turn of the New Year, the Falcons have averaged more than six penalties per game for nearly 15 PIM per game.

Notre Dame scored the first goal of the game at 12:39 of the first period when Bryan Rust put home a loose puck just outside of the far post. T.J. Tynan skated the puck close to the net and put a shot on net. Hammond knocked the shot aside but not far enough out of the reach of Rust, who backhanded his fifth goal of the season to give the Irish a 1-0 lead. Tynan (22) and freshman standout Anders Lee (16) were credited with assists.

The Falcons tied the game up at the eight minute mark of the second period while on the power play. After UND's Kevin Lind was whistled for an elbowing penalty at 7:16, Bowling Green started its wave of assaults on the Irish net. After three trips down the ice, all looking for senior captain David Solway (Green Bay, Wisc.) streaking through the slot, the Falcons switched it up on their next approach and sent freshman Mike Fink (Minnetonka, Minn.) into to the slot with Solway serving as the winger coming down the near side. Solway brought the puck in up past the blue line and fed a pass into the slot where Fink had sneaked into allowing for an easy strike for the goal. The goal was Fink's third of the season, his first career goal in conference play and his first marker since Oct. 23 when the Falcons hosted Alabama-Huntsville. Assists were awarded to Solway (10) and Brett Mohler (Yorba Linda, Calif.), his sixth of the season.

The game-winner was struck by Irish freshman standout, Anders Lee at 16:46 of the third period. Lee scored his 19th goal of the season with a shot taken from inside the blue line coming down the near side of the ice. Zipping through traffic, the shot snuck by Hammond glove-side and put UND up, 2-1.
Notre Dame took the next minute-plus of time off the clock by keeping the pressure on the Falcons.

Bowling Green's late swing of possession resulted in only one shot on goal, one shot off the mark and a shot blocked down before it got to the net. Friday night's final ended in a 2-1 result in Notre Dame's favor.

Bowling Green and Notre Dame (17-9-5, 14-6-3-2 CCHA) will return to the Joyce Center for the last meeting between the two teams at the field house. The Falcons are now 12-28-5 all-time in the Joyce Center and not won in the arena in their 11 meetings. Saturday night's game will begin at 7:05 p.m. ET.