Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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52 NOV. 20, 2017 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED ND SPORTS BY DAVID MCKINNEY T he No. 6-ranked Notre Dame hockey team is playing its first season as a member of the Big Ten Conference in 2017-18, and started league play on a positive note the first weekend in November. In two games at then-No. 16 Ohio State Nov. 3-4, the Irish posted 4-1 and 3-2 victories to improve to 6-3-1 overall and 2-0-0 in the Big Ten. The standout of the weekend for Notre Dame was sophomore goaltender Cale Morris, who stopped all 24 shots sent his way in game one and 39 more in game two (22 in the third period alone). Head coach Jeff Jackson said Mor- ris' elevated level of play, along with the strong defense around him, made the difference for the Irish. "I thought Cale Morris certainly stood tall this weekend, and our de- fense played the way we expected them to when we started the year," Jackson said. "We played smarter, only giving up a couple odd-man rushes." Game one's offensive catalyst was freshman forward Colin Theisen, who scored a goal and had an as- sist. Senior captain Jake Evans spear- headed the offense in game two, pro- viding a goal and two assists. Jackson said when the offense and defense are meshing as they did at Ohio State, Notre Dame can be as dangerous as any team in the country. "We try to encourage our defense- men to get in on the rush," the coach said. "I think part of the problem is when sometimes our forwards don't protect the puck in critical areas, but tonight we were much better in that area. "When our defensemen were jumping in the rush, the forwards weren't turning it over." Coming away with a series sweep on the road against anyone is im- pressive, but Jackson said doing it against a top-25 team should help his team going forward. This is espe- cially true with Morris' performance after replacing three-year mainstay Cal Petersen between the pipes. "They are a good hockey team," Jackson said. "For us to come in and win is a big step for our confidence because we have been a little incon- sistent for the first month." Overall, the weekend was a perfect start to the team's new Big Ten era. "I can't be any more pleased with the outcome of the weekend," Jack- son said. "Not just winning on the road, but winning our first confer- ence games against a good hockey team. I'm proud of the way the guys played." Notre Dame's next two Big Ten se- ries will be at home, against No. 19 Penn State Nov. 10-11 and No. 4 Min- nesota Nov. 24-25. In between, the Irish will step out of conference to play at RPI Nov. 17-18. ✦ Irish Roundup MEN'S SOCCER (11-6-2 OVERALL, 3-3-2 ACC) The No. 13 Irish upset then-No. 3 North Carolina 2-1 in the quarterfinals of the ACC Tournament Nov. 5, but were eliminated by No. 17 Virginia by an identical 2-1 score in the semifinals Nov. 8. Notre Dame is expected to receive a bid to the NCAA Tournament for the 16th time in the last 17 seasons. First-round games will be played Nov. 16. WOMEN'S SOCCER (9-6-4 OVERALL, 5-3-2 ACC) No. 14 Notre Dame received its 25th straight bid to the NCAA Tournament. The Irish will host Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis in the first round Nov. 11. The game will mark the second time the Irish have faced IUPUI in the first round of the NCAA Tourna- ment. Notre Dame won the first matchup 5-0 in 2009. WOMEN'S TENNIS Maeve Koscielski, the No. 1 player in Indiana and No. 37 player in the United States according to the Tennis Recruiting Network, signed her National Letter of Intent with Notre Dame Nov. 8, the first day of the early signing period. VOLLEYBALL (17-8 OVERALL, 7-7 ACC) The Irish suffered a 3-1 setback at Duke Nov. 3, but rebounded to edge Wake Forest 3-2 Nov. 5 in Winston-Salem, N.C. Notre Dame will host its next four matches, starting with Virginia Tech Nov. 10 and Virginia Nov. 12. — David McKinney Senior forward and team captain Jake Evans tallied a goal and two assists in Notre Dame's 3-2 victory over the Buckeyes Nov. 4. PHOTO BY RICK RUSZYNSKI/COURTESY FIGHTING IRISH MEDIA Hockey Opens Big Ten Play With Sweep Of Ohio State