Notre Dame hockey team rallies to tie Friars

SOUTH BEND — Notre Dame's Cam Morrison scored on assists from Tory Dello and Dennis Gilbert at 8:40 in the third period and the No. 15 Irish forged a 3-3 tie against 10th-ranked Providence in Hockey East action, Saturday night in South Bend.

With the win, Notre Dame (18-9-5, 11-5-4) remains in position for a bye in the first round of the Hockey East Tournament. The Irish are alone in third place with 26 points, ahead of Massachusetts-Lowell by a point and Providence by two and Vermont by four going into next weekend's season-finale series at second-place Boston University.

The Friars (18-9-5, 10-7-3) struck first on a goal by Shane Kavanagh at 11:13 in the first, but the Irish tied it up when Bobby Nardella beat Providence keeper Hayden Hawkey just over four minutes later. The Friars reclaimed the lead before the end of the first, when Niko Rufo put the puck past Cal Petersen two minutes before the intermission.

With less than a minute left in the second period, Jake Evans tied the game at 2-2 off passes from Anders Bjork and Gilbert. The Friars again claimed a one-goal advantage on an Erik Foley goal at 5:35, before Morrison tied the game for the final time. Petersen finished with 39 saves for Notre Dame and Hawkey stopped 32 shots for Providence.