When your school models itself after the University of Notre Dame it is hard to top playing a game on its campus. The Notre Dame Prep Varsity Hockey team made a trip down to Indiana this past weekend to take on South Bend St. Joseph and Lakeshore-St. Joseph. The Irish played at the Compton Family Ice Arena on the campus of the University of Notre Dame on Saturday before playing at the John and Dede Howard outdoor ice arena on Sunday.
Notre Dame earned a 2-0 shutout win over South Bend St. Joseph High School in the first game on the road trip. Toby Roth gave the Irish a 1-0 lead in the first period, following up a Ryan Genord shot and burying the rebound for his first-career high school goal. Luke Newman extended the lead to 2-0 in the second period, finding the inside of the far post on a 2-on-1 opportunity. Goaltenders Robert Kowalczyk, Michael Conroy, and Grant Williams combined to stop all 13 St. Joseph shots in the win to share the shutout.
The Irish had a difficult time getting used to the outdoor conditions on Sunday, falling behind early before coming back to pick up a 3-2 win over the Lakeshore-St. Joseph. The Warriors led 2-0 after one period of play, out shooting the Irish 11-2. Genord scored on a deflection late in the second period to cut the deficit to one and Danny Caton scored a powerplay goal off of a feed from Matt Knill to tie the game in the third period. With just 48 seconds remaining Ross Patterson came down the right side of the ice and beat the LSJ goaltender on the far side for the game-deciding goal. Kowalczyk finished with 24 saves in goal, going the distance to earn the win.
“What an outstanding experience for all of our players” said head coach Aaron Crouse. “Having the opportunity to play at two great facilities and coming out of the weekend with two wins is something we hope we can build on as we enter into the final month of the season”.
In addition to the two games the Irish also had the opportunity to tour the campus of Notre Dame and attend a team mass at the Basilica of the Sacred Heart.