March
20, 2003
Unlikely hero lifts Ohio State past Notre Dame
Northern Michigan also advances into CCHA semifinals
|
Ohio
State 3,
Notre Dame 2 |
| Team |
Goal |
Str |
| Time |
Assists |
| First
Period |
| No
Scoring |
| Second
Period |
| 1-OS |
T.J.
Latorre (1) |
EV |
| 2:44 |
C.
Olsgard, D. Steckel |
| 1-ND |
Brad
Wanchulak (2) |
EV |
| 8:59 |
Unassisted |
| 2-ND |
Rob
Globke (21) |
EV |
| 13:58 |
C.
Dunlop |
| 2-OS |
Ryan
Kesler (11) |
EV |
| 17:54 |
P.
Caponigri, E. Skaug |
| Third
Period |
| 3-OS |
Nate
Guenin (2) |
PP |
| 6:09 |
P.
Caponigri, D. Andress |
| Goaltending |
| ND:
Morgan Cey, 59:02, 22 saves, 3 GA |
| OS:
Mike Betz, 60:00, 20 saves, 2 GA |
| Penalties:
ND 5/10; OS 4/8 |
| Power
Plays: ND 0-2; OS 0-3 |
| Attendance:
6,374 |
By
Mike Eidelbes
T.J. Latorre
scored the first goal for Ohio State in the Buckeyes' CCHA quarterfinal
game against Notre Dame Thursday at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit.
It was the first goal of the season for the forward.
A nice time to pick
up your first marker of the year, for sure. But it's even better
when you consider the circumstances surrounding Latorre's career.
The senior from Naperville,
Ill., decided to hang up the skates at the beginning of the season
after he sustained a shoulder injury. Latorre, who had scored
three goals and eight assists in 69 career games with the Buckeyes,
was termed a "character player" by OSU bench boss John
Markell and described by the coaching staff as a "good, hard-working
young man."
Ohio State
was stung by a rash of injuries midway through the season and
the team was lacking depth. The Buckeye coaches contacted Latorre
and asked him if he'd consider a return. He accepted and played
in his first game January 25, a 3-1 loss at Nebraska-Omaha. He
appeared in seven other contests, earning one assist and a respectable
+2 plus-minus rating.
It would have made
for a nice story had it ended there. Clearly, no one could have
predicted the events of Thursday's game.
After a scoreless
first period, the Buckeyes generated a chance when forward Dave
Steckel sprung linemate Chris Olsgard with a long outlet pass
from his own end. Olsgard carried the puck into the Notre Dame
zone to the right of netminder Morgan Cey, warded off an Irish
rearguard and found Latorre with a centering pass. Latorre, who
had shaken his defender, skated in unmolested and easily scored
past an out-of-position Cey.
"To score a goal
is a really unbelievable feeling," Latorre said following
the game. "This is really a dream come true to be able to
come back this year."
The dream
continues, T.J. You get to come back against Michigan Friday.
|
Northern
Michigan 7,
Michigan State 5 |
| Team |
Goal |
Str |
| Time |
Assists |
| First
Period |
| 1-NM |
Bryce
Cockburn (16) |
PP |
| 10:17 |
J.
Jackson |
| 2-NM |
Mike
Stutzel (26) |
EV |
| 11:30 |
B.
Cockburn |
| 1-MS |
Brian
Maloney (17) |
EV |
| 12:03 |
Unassisted |
| 2-MS |
Brian
Maloney (18) |
PP |
| 19:25 |
J-M
Liles, B. Fast |
| Second
Period |
| 3-MS |
Brock
Radunske (11) |
PP |
| 2:53 |
J-M
Liles, B. Fast |
| 3-NM |
Terry
Harrison (17) |
EV |
| 8:20 |
N.
Oystrick, A. Contois |
| Third
Period |
| 4-MS |
Kevin
Estrada (7) |
EV |
| 8:19 |
B.
Fast, N. Gajic |
| 4-NM |
Chris
Gobert (13) |
PP |
| 10:32 |
Unassisted |
| 5-NM |
Dirk
Southern (10) |
EV |
| 12:16 |
B.
Cockburn, J. Jackson |
| 5-MS |
Brian
Maloney (19) |
EV |
| 13:58 |
J.
Slater |
| 6-NM |
Nathan
Oystrick (2) |
EV |
| 16:11 |
A.
Swanson |
| 7-NM |
Chris
Gobert (14) |
EN |
| 19:40 |
Unassisted |
| Goaltending |
| NM:
Craig Kowalski, 60:00, 41 saves, 5 GA |
| MS:
Matt Migliaccio, 59:16, 22 saves, 6 GA |
| Penalties:
NM 7/14; MS 7/14 |
| Power
Plays: NM 2-4; MS 2-4 |
| Attendance:
6,374 |
NORTHERN
MICHIGAN 7, MICHIGAN STATE 5
Northern Michigan
scored four times in the third period to close out a wild, 7-5
win over Michigan State and advance to the CCHA semifinals.
Spartan head
coach Rick Comley saw his season first season at Michigan State
likely come to an end at the hands of the program he led for the
past 26 years.
"Certainly
we’re happy with the win,” said Northern Michigan
head coach Walt Kyle, who played for and was an assistant coach
under Comley. “We came down here to try and compete for
a championship and we have a difficult task ahead with the teams
remaining. Right now we’re going to take it day-by-day and
game-by-game. Year to year teams are different. Michigan State
year-in and year-out are a perennial power and you have to deal
with them every time you are going to compete for a championship.
The whole game was wild, both teams showed a lot of resiliency.
I give our guys a lot of credit.”
The game saw
five lead changes, four power-play goals and a hat trick from
Michigan State's Brian Maloney. The two teams combined for 74
shots on goal, with the Spartans holding a 46-28 advantage.
WHAT'S
NEXT
Ohio State
meets archrival Michigan tomorrow night, just two weeks removed
from the teams' pair of ties in Columbus, Ohio, to close out the
regular season.
Northern Michigan
faces Ferris State in tomorrow's 4 p.m. game, and with a win the
Wildcats could climb back into contention for an NCAA Tournament
at-large bid.
Notre Dame's
disappointing season comes to an end, as does, almost certainly,
Michigan State's roller-coaster first campaign under Comley.