Last weekend sent ripples through the Division-I rankings. With Syracuse sitting atop in first, Notre Dame is in third while DU slumped down to fifth. Notre Dame is 3-0 with wins over Georgetown, Michigan and Dartmouth. The Pioneers are 3-1 after losing to UNC by two points. With a win from DU this weekend, they could rise back up to at least fourth place. If Notre Dame wins and Syracuse loses, they could take a leap.
FIGHTING IRISH
Notre Dame comes in swinging with a not-so-bad shot percentage of .372 after scoring on 51 of 137 shots. Over half the Irish goals were assisted, the perfect balance of teamwork and personal initiative; a double threat for defenses.
Matt Kavanagh in his Junior season leads the roster with sixteen points on the 2015 season. He’s found the cage himself six times, but has an uncanny ability to feed others with ten assists. Mikey Wynne is right behind Kavanagh with 14 points and, in turn, is closely followed by Sergio Perkovic who has ten points.
The attack group of this Notre Dame team is menacing as is the depth of the team’s roster. At least fifteen guys have multiple goals this season.
P.J. Finley is a faceoff machine having won 23 of 30 draws, giving him a percentage of .767, but Nick Ossello has been taking the reigns with 45 face offs, yet only winning 21 giving him a percentage of .467.
Protecting the cage for the Irish is Shane Doss who’s doing solid work, saving 22 goals and a .595 percentage.
PIONEERS
DU has a smaller shot percentage coming in at .327 but have 53 goals on 162 shots, which outperforms the Irish offense. Of those 53 scores, 38 were assisted. Denver has the discipline it will take to pull through in this contest.
Sophomore attack standout Connor Cannizzaro is booming into the spotlight leading the squad with 24 points this season on 12 and 12 (goals and assists). Zach Miller is the next player who falls anywhere near Cannizzaro with 12 points on three goals and nine assists. Wesley Berg and Tyler Pace have been tremendous compliments to the offensive systems with their ability to direct and flow in-and-out of formation.
Having taken 95 draws this season for DU is Trevor Baptiste; he’s won 64 of them to grant him a percentage of approximately .660.
Ryan LaPlante has been a steady force in goal for DU having saved .553 percent of shots on him.
GAME TIME
DU is in an odd spot here where everything is working well but their outcomes are not reflecting said efforts. DU Defense needs to step up and create even more turnovers and everyone all around needs to protect the ball better.
Notre Dame will most certainly need a defensive presence this weekend to overcome the Pioneers’ offensive onslaught. This game should turn out to be a defensive battle.
