Right now, it doesn't seem to matter who is in net for the Irish.
Both junior Morgan Cey and freshman David Brown recorded at least one shutout over the break as Notre Dame went 3-2, including a 1-0 win over then-No. 3 ranked Maine on Dec. 28. Cey collected consecutive shutouts versus Maine and Findlay, a 1-0 victory on on Jan. 3 at the Joyce Center.
Brown collected Notre Dame's most recent win, a 3-0 home shutout of CCHA opponent Bowling Green on Jan. 9. It was a nice change of pace for the freshman, who had allowed a combined 15 goals in his last three starts, all losses.
"[Those losses] were very frustrating to me," Brown said after the 3-0 win over Bowling Green. "They were a real test to my character. I was dropping the puck in front and there were some fluky shots that went in. I just tried to focus on one shot at a time tonight and keep things simple."
Fellow freshmen Josh Sciba and Jason Paige, along with senior defenseman Brett Lebda, provided all the offense Brown would need as he stopped 32 Falcon shots. The shutout was Brown's fourth of the season, a school record.
With the win, the Irish are now 11-7-2 overall and 8-6-2 in the CCHA, good enough for third in the conference and just one point behind Michigan and Miami (Ohio) for first place.
Notre Dame travels on the road to face No. 3 Wisconsin this weekend in a two game non-conference series.
No. 14 Cornell 4, Notre Dame 0
The Irish were blanked by Cornell in the opening round game of the Everblades Hockey Classic on Dec. 27, stymied by Big Red freshman goaltender David McKee, who stopped all 27 Notre Dame shots.
Brown made 18 saves in the loss as the Irish fell despite outshooting Cornell 27-22.
Notre Dame 1, No. 3 Maine 0
The Irish shocked No. 3 Maine at the Everblades College Hockey Classic on Dec. 28, defeating the Black Bears to take third place in the tournament. The win snapped a three game losing streak for the Irish
Sophomore Mike Walsh scored the game-winning goal and Cey made 32 saves to pick up the shutout.
Notre Dame 1, Findlay 0
Cey recorded his second consecutive shutout and senior forward Rob Globke scored the only goal to give the Irish a win over non-conference opponent Findlay on Jan. 3.
The junior stopped 27 shots in the win over the Oilers.
Bowling Green 5, Notre Dame 4 (OT)
The Falcons' James Unger scored the game-winning goal with 28 seconds remaining in overtime to give his team the victory Jan. 8. Lebda, Sciba, Paige and senior Aaron Gill each scored for the Irish in the road loss.
Notes:
For his efforts in Notre Dame's recent 3-0 win over Bowling Green, Brown was named the CCHA Defensive Player of the Week for the week ending Jan. 11.
It is the first such honor for the freshman, who has been named rookie of the week three times this season. Brown and teammate Cey have combined for six Irish shutouts this season, already doubling the school's previous record for shutouts in a year.
