With Christmas break closing in and classes wrapping up, the hockey team gets ready to play its last games of the semester this weekend against Notre Dame.
The Fighting Irish are coming off two weekend wins against Lake Superior State, while the Falcons tied Nebraska-Ohama 2-2 Friday and lost 2-1 Saturday.
Junior goaltender Tyler Masters had 73 saves in those two games to move into a fourth-place tie on the Falcons career saves list with 2,204.
“I feel comfortable in the net and that is key,” Masters said. “It’s like I have a brand new energy. I’m seeing the puck well and if I keep that up we can be successful.”
However, Masters can’t do it alone. He needs the help of the offense in order for the Falcons to be successful.
“Our guys are playing hard, but we’re struggling to score,” said head coach Buddy Powers. “Last week the defense was good, but you need to be consistent game in and game out at a high level. You can’t fault the effort, but we have to find chemistry to the point where we are scoring goals.”
This weekend goals are going to be important because the Falcons need these four points to move up in the conference. Notre Dame is tied for sixth place in the CCHA with 11 points on the year, just three points ahead of BG.
“Notre Dame has a lot of skill,” senior captain Greg Day said. “They’re on a bit of a streak right now. We’re facing a tough team yet again. It seems like it’s that way every week. It just shows the parity of the CCHA.”
Last year Notre Dame took both games against the Falcons, 3-2 and 5-3, but the Falcons lead the overall series between the two teams 28-23-4 and have an 18-9-1 advantage at home.
“We’ve got to keep swinging until we hit something,” Powers said. “We’re playing hard, but we’re not playing good enough to win.” Four of the last six games were decided by one goal, while the other two games ended up in a tie.
Day scored his 50th career goal Friday followed by his 51st Saturday. He currently leads the team with eight goals this season, scoring five of them in the Falcons last eight games.
Day is tied with Notre Dame’s David Inman for second in the CCHA with four power play goals this season, but the Falcons have been struggling on power plays scoring only 13 goals in 90 chances.
“We have to do something to jump start the offense and get the scoring touch back,” said senior forward Scott Hewson. “Juggling the lines will hopefully work.”
The Falcons currently have a 4-8-4 overall record and a 3-7-2 record in the CCHA, while Notre Dame is 4-6-4 overall and 4-3-3 in the CCHA.
