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O Captain, My Captain

By Paul Evans, 10/07/17, 8:45AM EDT

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Jake Evans embraces leadership role as Irish win season opener


Cale Morris faces down relentless pressure from the Chargers attack

October 6, 2017 / Box Score

The Fighting Irish took to the ice in their season opener, squaring off against the Alabama-Huntsville Chargers at the Compton Family Ice Arena.  It came as a surprise to no one to see the heavily-favored Irish skate off with a 5-3 victory.  This weekend was supposed to be an easy tune-up before the defending champion Denver Pioneers hit town.  Apparently, the visitors never received the memo.

The Irish worked to control the tempo right from the first whistle, but both teams seemed to suffer from a touch of the first-game jitters.  Passes were just off their mark, and the bouncing puck made it difficult to sustain any sort of rush.  The hosts were able to get some good looks early on, outshooting UAH 16-9 in the opening period, but goaltender Jordan Uhelski was up for the task.  As the horn sounded the end of the first frame, the Chargers headed to the locker room with a little confidence knowing they had kept the Irish from opening an early lead.  Notre Dame Head Coach Jeff Jackson likely had a different message for his club.


Captain Jake Evans exerts his influence with a relentless backcheck

After feeling each other out for the first 20 minutes, both teams went to work in the second.  Junior defenseman Bobby Nardella guided the feed from Cam Morrison into the back of the Charger net to put the Irish up just twelve second into the period.  UAH would answer back quickly, as Tyler Poulsen would slip the puck past Irish net minder Cale Morris a half-minute later.  Rookie Colin Theisen would score his first collegiate goal at the 3:01 mark to give the hosts another short-lived lead.  Josh Kestner would pull the Chargers back even at just under five minutes in, then pick up the assist on Poulsen’s second goal of the night to put Alabama-Huntsville ahead 3-2.

The surprisingly quick Chargers would ratchet up the pressure on Morris, hoping to add to their lead and keep the Irish on their heels.  Evans would have none of it though.  The captain made his presence known with several warning shots to any Charger with designs on crashing Morris’ crease.  His tenacious backcheck would spur new life in his teammates, encouraging them to pick up the pace and the intensity.  The effort would eventually pay off, as Junior defenseman Dennis Gilbert would rip a one-timer past Uhelski to tie the game at 3-3 going into the second intermission.  Jordan Gross would get his first of his three assists on the night, and freshman Max Eisenmenger would register his first career point with the second helper.


Colin Theisen was one of three freshman to debut for the Irish

Evans would take over in the third, capitalizing on Connor James’ penalty for high-sticking for his first goal of the season at 5:50.  The tip-in would come off a blast from Gross at the top of the circle, his second apple of the game.  The Chargers would renew their assault on the Irish net, pulling Uhelski for an additional skater with 1:24 to play.  A slashing call on Gilbert would give the Chargers a 6-on-4 with just over a minute remaining, but Evans would launch the feed from Gross into the empty net to put the game on ice.  Morris bounced back from his shaky second period to stop all eleven shots he faced in the third to pick up the win.

 The Irish and the Chargers are back at Compton Ice Arena to wrap up their non-conference series on Saturday.  Puck drops at 7:05.

Box score provided courtesy of Notre Dame Sports Information Department. 

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