Notre Dame hockey: Fogarty adds to Irish offense

SOUTH BEND -- It had been three months to the day since Notre Dame sophomore center Steven Fogarty scored his last, and only, goal of the season.

Fogarty emphatically ended that frustrating streak Saturday night when he scored two goals within 36 seconds in the middle of the second period to help Notre Dame to a second straight come-from-behind win, 4-2 over Lake Superior State.

After blowing up for four goals in the third period on Friday, the Irish went off a little earlier Saturday, scoring three goals in a span of 3:21 in the second period to take a 3-1 lead.

“Any time you’re not scoring, it’s frustrating,” Fogarty said. “Hopefully, there’s more to come.”

Fogarty’s linemate, Peter Schneider, added a goal and an assist and Steven Summerhays made 17 saves for the win, the fourth straight for Notre Dame (14-8-1) and second consecutive non-conference sweep.

Kevin Murdock stopped 41 shots for the Lakers (11-12-11), who have lost five in a row and six of their last seven.

The Irish started the game in similar fashion to how they finished Friday’s 6-3 comeback win over the Lakers — buzzing around and generating plenty of good opportunities — but with one key difference. The puck never found its way behind Murdock, despite 14 shots on goal and at least that many choice scoring chances.

Murdock was sharp early and made a number of big saves, including two close-in stops of Fogarty and T.J. Tynan during an Irish power play halfway through the first period.

“He’s a good goaltender,” Notre Dame coach Jeff Jackson said. “We had a couple chances to finish where he beared down.”

Despite all the good looks, it was the Lakers who went into the first intermission with a lead. Alex Globke, younger brother of former Irish forward Rob Globke, snuck in from the right corner and rifled his ninth goal of the season through traffic with one minute left in the period.

Fogarty finally managed to get one through for Notre Dame, 11 minutes into the second period. As the Irish broke out of their zone, a Lake State defender stumbled and fell down, giving the Irish a 2-on-1 breakaway. Fogarty kept it himself all the way down the ice and fired a shot under Murdock’s pads for his first goal since the third game of the season on Oct. 18.

“He’s a more talented player than what his stats show,” Jackson said of Fogarty. “When you see guys get it going, it helps their confidence and gives us more depth offensively.”

On the very next shift, Schneider raced up the left side and fired a hard shot that deflected off Murdock’s left pad, right out to Fogarty who banged it in just 36 seconds after his first goal.

“One of our objectives is momentum goals,” Fogarty said. “The shift after, whether it’s a goal for or a goal against, is a big focus for us. Especially on a goal for, you want to keep it on them.”

Mario Lucia made it 3-1 to increase his point-scoring streak to seven games with a power play goal less than three minutes later.

Matt Johnson got the Lakers within a goal at 9:17 of the third period with a steep-angle goal that snuck between Summerhays and the near post, but the Irish responded 32 seconds later when Schneider scored to make it 4-2.

Notre Dame finished with 45 shots on goal Saturday, and 94 total for the weekend set. Murdock finished with a whopping 84 saves in the two games, but still gave up 10 goals to a Notre Dame squad that is 4-1 since the Christmas break and has averaged 5 goals per game in that span.

FIRST PERIOD

LSSU - Alex Globke, 9 (Dan Radke, Garret Clemment) 19:02. Shots on goal: ND 14, LSSU 8; Penalties: ND 2-4, LSSU 2-4.

SECOND PERIOD

ND - Steven Fogarty, 2 (unassisted) 11:00; ND - Fogarty, 3 (Peter Schneider) 11:36; ND - Mario Lucia, 12 (Vinnie Hinostroza, Jeff Costello) PP, 14:21. Shots: ND 15, LSSU 5; Penalties: LSSU 2-4, ND 1-2.

THIRD PERIOD

LSSU - Matt Johnson, 4 (Clemment, Stephen Perfetto) 9:17; ND - Schneider, 4 (Shayne Taker, Stephen Johns) 9:49. Shots: ND 16, LSSU 6; Penalties: LSSU 2-4, ND 2-4.

LSSU 1 0 1 - 2; ND 0 3 1 - 4

Shots: ND 45, LSSU 19; Saves: LSSU 41 (Kevin Murdock), ND 17 (Steven Summerhays); Power plays: ND 1-5, LSSU 0-4; Penalties: LSSU 6-12, ND 5-10; Records: ND 14-8-1, LSSU 11-12-1; Attendance: 5,022.