Notre Dame seems to be peaking at the right time, scoring goals in bunches in post-season play, sending them to a Sunday final against a team they've played close three times this season, but came up a goal short each time.
On Thursday at RIT, the Fighting Irish flicked in three goals in under two minutes to start the second period and lock down a playoff victory against Aquinas, 8-1.
All four of Notre Dame's lines scored at least one goal for the second straight game.
"This is a good sign at the right time of year," said Head Coach Marc Staley.
The game was scoreless for the first six minutes and Staley said some of his team's lack of offense can be blamed on nervousness. Aquinas had beaten Brockport earlier in the year, and one of Notre Dame's four defeats was a lopsided loss to Brockport.
There was also a "feeling out" period to start the game.
"I thought we came out a little nervous tonight, which is to be expected, but we rotate four lines and they rotate two lines, so we knew if we kept shifts short and made good line changes that eventually they were going to tire and that's exactly what happened," Staley said.
The three quick goals in the second were a boost of confidence and the 5-1 lead was deflating for Aquinas, Staley said.
"We don't give up a lot goals," Staley said. "There were only three games all year where we've given up four goals or more, so when we get up four, five to one, we can shut it down and teams know that."
The sectional title game against Geneseo is at 1 p.m., Sunday, at RIT. Geneseo has beaten Batavia three times this season, by scores of 6-4, 3-2 and 2-1. Staley said his team is eager to rise to the challenge of meeting a season-long nemesis in a title game.
"It's going to come down in the belief you have in yourself in the locker room, and I believe we've got that right now," Staley said.
Here's the scoring table for the game:
0 - 1 1 1 5:58 B.Moscicki R.Webster 0 - 2 2 1 6:49 P.Madafferi M.Keeler 1 - 2 3 1 9:51 T.KELLY E.CLEMMONS 1 - 3 4 2 0:30 R.Antinore H.Toiviainen 1 - 4 5 2 0:50 B.Misiak E.Hutchins 1 - 5 6 2 2:10 H.Toiviainen R.Antinore 1 - 6 7 2 9:52 R.Antinore D.DAlba 1 - 7 8 3 4:01 C.Clark R.Webster H.Toiviainen 1 - 8 9 3 9:25 D.Grimshaw R.Antinore
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