For the second consecutive game, Notre Dame has managed to score just one goal, and for the second consecutive game, that’s all Irish goaltender Morgan Cey needed as he turned aside 27 shots by Findlay in a 1-0 shutout victory in front of a sellout crowd of 2,763 at the Joyce Center on Saturday night.
Senior forward Rob Globke gave Cey the only goal he would need with a power-play blast at 6:32 of the first period and that would be it for the scoring as Cey and his defense did the rest.
The shutout, Cey’s second of the season and sixth of his career, gives him a shutout streak of 129:20 dating back to his lone loss on Nov. 7 at Michigan State. After missing five games to start the season due to knee surgery and then seven more when he aggravated the injury and had to have surgery, Cey has given up just four goals in his four starts this season for a 1.01 goals-against average.
“You really have to have a lot of things going your way to get a shutout. Sometimes the rebounds go in, sometimes they don’t. The defense did a great job tonight, tying guys up in front and clearing rebounds,” said Cey. “I was fortunate to get a shutout tonight. All the credit really goes to the defense.”
The win gives the Irish a two-game winning streak and improves their record to 10-6-2 overall as they will return to CCHA conference play next weekend with a home-and-home series with Bowling Green. The Oilers drop to 4-13-3 on the season.
Findlay came out of the gates flying as they out shot the Irish 9-2 over the first six minutes of the game until Globke capitalized on the power play.
“Morgan really made some big saves early. That’s where he won the game,” said head coach Dave Poulin. “They (Findlay) came out with a lot of jump early. We expected that. It just shows how hard it is to win at any level. I was not surprised by the way they played. They’ve knocked off some good teams this year and have really been in every game.”
Globke notched his 11th goal of the season when he rifled a shot from the top of the left wing circle over Will Hooper’s glove and under the crossbar. Neil Komadoski and Tom Galvin picked up the assists for the Irish.
“It’s a set play that we run on the power play,” explained Globke. “Komo (Neil Komadoski) and Tommy (Galvin) did all the work to set me up for a good shot on goal.”
From there it was the defense and Cey who took over for the Irish. Findlay out shot Notre Dame, 15-12 in the first period and would get just 12 shots the rest of the game.
Cey’s biggest save came late in the third period when Findlay’s Mike Batovanja intercepted and Irish clearing attempt in the high slot and broke in on the junior goaltender who got a pad on the shot with the rebound going to the left wing corner.
“He broke in and had two guys coming on the left side. I saw him looking that way and got a good push to get over there to get a pad on it,” said Cey.
Cey’s shutout marks the second time this season that the Irish have recorded back-to-back shutouts as freshman David Brown had three in a row in October. The five shutouts for Notre Dame are also a team record with the previous record being three in a season.
The Irish finished the night out shooting the Oilers, 29-27 in the game. Hooper made 28 saves for the Oilers. Notre Dame was 1-for-5 on the power play while Findlay was 0-for-4.
While scoring just two goals in the last three games is a bit of a concern for Poulin, he will take the two 1-0 wins.
“We have to find a way to start scoring goals. It’s all about confidence and it was good to see Rob (Globke) get one tonight,” said Poulin. “I’ll take two 1-0 shutouts though. Defense is the key down the stretch. I’ll definitely take the W.”
