Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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50 OCT. 9, 2017 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED ND SPORTS BY DAVID MCKINNEY N otre Dame hockey is gearing up for its first season in the Big Ten and looking to return to the Frozen Four for the second straight year. Neither will be an easy task for the Irish, which must replace stand- out goaltender Cal Petersen, who left school for the NHL after his junior year, and points leader Anders Bjork, who also turned pro early. Head coach Jeff Jackson said he hopes the whole team will pitch in to help replace the offense Bjork pro- duced (21 goals and 31 assists for 52 points). "I don't think one guy is going to be able to fill that void offensively," Jack- son said. "I think of the movie 'Mon- eyball' when I say the word aggregate. "We're going to have to make up those 50 points with everybody, and I think there are certainly guys from last year's team that can be more pro- ductive offensively." In Jackson's mind, the goaltender competition is much more important. "I think we can make up those points," Jackson said. "For me, it's going to be more about who ends up making up for Cal Petersen. That's the bigger question going in, although I have confidence in the goaltenders we currently have. "It's just a matter of who steps up to be that guy, or if we go with two guys for a while." Petersen was tabbed as a first-team Hockey East All-Star after compiling a 23-12-5 record, 2.22 goals-against average, .926 save percentage and six shutouts last season. He tied for the NCAA lead in shutouts and ranked 11th nationally in save percentage. Two players — freshman Dylan St. Cyr and sophomore Cale Mor- ris — are vying to step in and fill Petersen's massive skates and pads. St. Cyr spent the 2016-17 season playing in the USA Hockey Na- tional Team Development Program. He appeared in 47 games and tal- lied a 33-11-0 record with a .900 save percentage. Morris played in the United States Hockey League from 2013-16, post- ing a 20-12 record in 2015 with a save percentage of .906. Jackson said the competition is go- ing to come down to which player shows the most consistency in actual game action. "We've got a real battle going on," Jackson said. "Both goaltenders are capable, and it's going to be a matter of who performs at this point. The one thing we have to understand is both of them don't have a lot of ex- perience at the college level. "It's going to be a matter of who grows into that position sooner." Jackson said while he'd prefer to give the starting nod to one player, he may end up having to play both Morris and St. Cyr if both perform at the level he wants. "They've both got pretty good pedi- grees, and I expect both of them to compete for that starting job," Jackson said. "If we have a situation where they both are doing equally well, then maybe one guy plays each night." Notre Dame was slated to begin the season with an exhibition against the U.S. National Team Development Program Oct. 1. The Irish then start the year with eight consecutive home games before traveling to Columbus, Ohio, to open Big Ten play against Ohio State Nov. 3-4. ✦ MEN'S GOLF The Irish finished in sixth place out of 12 teams competing in the Shoal Creek Invitational Sept. 25-26 in Birmingham, Ala. The top individual finisher for Notre Dame was junior Miguel Delgado, who carded a three-round score of 216 to finish in a tie for 16th place. Notre Dame will host the Fighting Irish Classic at the Warren Golf Course Oct. 8-9. WOMEN'S GOLF Notre Dame placed sixth in the Schooner Fall Classic Sept. 23-25 in Nor- man, Okla. Junior Maddie Rose Hamilton led the way for the Irish with three- round score of 210, including a second-round score of 65 followed up with a third-round score of 69. The Irish are slated to take part in the Bettie Lou Evans Invitational Oct. 6-8 at Lexington, Ky. MEN'S SOCCER (6-2-0, 2-1-0 ACC) After opening the season with a six-game win streak and ascending to No. 1, the Irish dropped to No. 7 in the rankings after suffering two straight road losses. Notre Dame was edged by Virginia Tech 2-1 Sept. 22 in Blacks- burg, Va., and then fell 1-0 to No. 1 Indiana Sept. 26 in Bloomington, Ind. After home games against No. 10 Virginia Sept. 29 and Northwestern Oct. 3, Notre Dame will play at Clemson Oct. 6. WOMEN'S SOCCER (6-3-2, 2-1-0 ACC) Notre Dame was blanked 3-0 by No. 4 Duke at home Sept. 21, but bounced back to defeat North Carolina State 4-0 in another home contest Sept. 24. The Irish hosted Wake Forest Sept. 29 and were then scheduled to travel to Virginia Oct. 5. VOLLEYBALL (10-3, 0-2 ACC) The Irish opened conference play by dropping 3-2 decisions at Louisville Sept. 22 and at North Carolina State Sept. 24. Notre Dame looked to get back in the win column with home matches against Miami Sept. 29 and No. 21 Florida State Oct. 1. — David McKinney Sophomore Cale Morris (above) is one of two players vying to replace departed standout goal- tender Cal Petersen. PHOTO COURTESY NOTRE DAME MEDIA RELATIONS No. 8 Irish Hockey Must Replace Key Players In 2017-18 Irish Roundup