It wasn’t pretty, but Notre Dame did just enough to get away with a 2-1 win over cellar-dwelling Bowling Green on a sleepy night at the Compton Family Ice Arena.

Irish sophomore T.J. Tynan scores his 12th goal of the season against Bowling Green in the first period Friday night.

Sloppy ice conditions slowed down what turned out to be a sloppy game. Bowling Green’s non-stop work ethic and aggressive, pesky style of defense threw the Irish off even more than the playing surface, but they managed to grit out a low-scoring game thanks to their lowest-scoring, gritty line. Junior Nick Larson broke a 1-1 tie six minutes into the third period with his fifth goal of the season, and Notre Dame (16-10-3, 11-7-3-0) hung on from there.

Larson redirected a low, hard shot from center David Gerths at the point, which found its way over the shoulder of Bowling Green goalie Andrew Hammond. The assist was the first point of any kind for Gerths this season.

“I don’t want to jinx him at all, but as soon as Gerths gets going it’s hard to stop him,” Larson said. “We’re not necessarily relied upon to score a lot of points, but you never want to have goose eggs for that long.”

Hammond turned away several more Irish chances during the final 15 minutes of play, finishing with 25 saves on the night. Notre Dame left some goals on the ice, but the Falcons (8-16-5, 3-14-4-3) were unable to close the gap a second time.

Bowling Green tied the game once during the closing minutes of a listless second period. Freshman Ted Pletsch picked up a loose puck behind the Irish goal line and stuffed it into the back of the net before Johnson saw him pop into the crease. Eight minutes earlier the Falcons had narrowly missed another scoring opportunity on a scrum in front of the net, but Johnson gloved the puck just before it crossed the line.

On a night when the puck was full of bounces, Notre Dame had enough of them fall in its favor to get a win. Sophomore T.J. Tynan took advantage of a fortuitous hop late in the first period to get the Irish on the board. Tynan picked up a loose puck after it ricocheted through a pair of Bowling Green defensemen and found himself one-on-one with Hammond. He made one move to draw the goalie out of his net and buried his 12th goal of the season.

Bowling Green had a great chance to tie the game early in the third period with a point blank one-timer at Johnson’s doorstep, but the junior goaltender playing with a renewed sense of confidence smothered the shot immediately. Johnson has allowed five goals while playing the last eight period between the pipes for Notre Dame. He appears to have pulled himself out of a midseason slump.

“I’ve been practicing a lot better, and I’m not fighting the puck. I think a lot of it just has to do with confidence right now,” Johnson said. “It’s been pretty exciting to get two wins in a row so we’re going to try to build off that.”

No. 8 Notre Dame will take wins anyway they can get them at this point in the season. The Irish picked up three points Friday night and jumped from sixth place into a three-way tie for third in the CCHA standings with Miami and Ohio State. Irish coach Jeff Jackson said he is trying to keep his team from watching the daily flip-flopping in the conference and focus one winning each game as it presents itself.

“It’s that time of the year when every game is going to be gritty and tough,” he said. “We have to stay focused on the game as it is. Bowling Green is a team that can beat you if you’re not ready to play.”

The Irish will host Bowling Green again Saturday night at the Compton Family Ice Arena at 7:05 p.m. for the second game of a crucial three-game homestand.

Notes
All seven of former Irish coach Lefty Smith’s living children were on hand to watch tonight’s game. Smith, who died on Jan. 3, was the program’s first varsity coach and worked in the Notre Dame athletic department for 43 years before retiring at the end of 2011. Notre Dame’s new rink is named the Lefty Smith Rink in honor of him.