Irish cruise, continue to ‘utilize’ loss to NIU
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Heather Dinich, ESPN Senior Writer
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman said he occasionally shows his players clips of their embarrassing Sept. 7 home loss to Northern Illinois — a motivational tactic that appears to be working.
The Irish have now won six straight games, the longest streak under Freeman, including Saturday’s 51-14 drubbing of Navy in MetLife Stadium.
“We can’t lose the pain,” Freeman said following another critical win that helped repair their hopes for a spot in the 12-team College Football Playoff. “That’s what I want to make sure our guys understand. I don’t want to lose the pain from that game because at times we are motivated by fear. We don’t want this to repeat itself. We’ve got to use that.
“We’re going to be grateful for it if we utilize it and we learn from the lessons it’s taught us. When you have success sometimes, you forget about that pain of what NIU left in all of our hearts and our guts. There’s moments I want to reflect on that and I don’t want them to lose it.”
If it’s possible for a team’s turning point to come just two weeks into the season, that might have been it for the Irish. Since the loss to Northern Illinois, Notre Dame has been under pressure to win out and look good doing it, as the only path to the playoff as an independent is through one of seven at-large bids. The rest of the spots are reserved for the five highest-ranked conference champions — a bid Navy was hoping to get but was fumbled away on Saturday.
What began as a highly anticipated matchup between two ranked programs desperately in need of a statement win to boost their respective résumés quickly spiraled into a snoozer.
Previously undefeated Navy, which had been one of the season’s feel-good stories along with undefeated rival Army, came crashing back to reality with a series of first-half blunders that were too costly to overcome against a more talented team on a sunny Saturday in the home of the New York Jets and New York Giants.
Navy gifted the Irish with five fumbles — something the Midshipmen hadn’t done once all season — and six total turnovers, their most since 2002. Notre Dame scored 27 points off turnovers, and most of them — save for Navy quarterback Blake Horvath‘s first red zone interception of his career — were unforced errors, with ball security a bigger issue than a standout defensive play.
The strengths that had propelled Navy to its first 6-0 start since 1979 — winning the turnover battle and perfection in the red zone — were some of the Midshipmen’s biggest weaknesses against Notre Dame. Navy was 1-of-3 in the red zone against Notre Dame, which also held the nation’s No. 4 scoring offense (44.8 points per game) scoreless for two quarters. Meanwhile, it was the most points Navy’s defense had allowed all season.
“You have to put in the work, otherwise you leave the outcome to chance,” Notre Dame linebacker Jack Kiser said. “Every day we come in knowing what can happen if we don’t try to live up to our potential or live up to the standard. We use that as motivation.”
Notre Dame quarterback Riley Leonard was 3-of-3 for 105 yards and a touchdown on passes with at least 20 air yards, an area of the passing game that had been sorely lacking entering the day. His three such pass completions are his most with the Irish, according to ESPN Research.
Leonard, who transferred from Duke this past offseason, said he’s still figuring the offense out under first-year offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock, and continuing to build a cohesiveness with the players around him.
“Do I feel 100% confident yet? No, but some things are starting to become second nature in our checks,” he said. “It’s been a work in progress, obviously, but I think we’re getting better every week.”
Leonard accounted for three touchdowns (2 passing, 1 rushing), and no interceptions against Navy. In the loss to NIU, Leonard threw two interceptions and no touchdowns. Freeman reiterated that part of the problem against NIU was the team wasn’t mentally prepared to handle success, but after six straight wins, that mindset will continue to be tested — including his own.
“You better understand that if you don’t prepare the right way, you can lose to anybody you play,” he said, “and I don’t want to ever forget that.”
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Kristen Shilton
The NHL fined the Ottawa Senators $25,000 and forward Nick Cousins $2,083.33 for an incident of “unsportsmanlike conduct” in warmups ahead of Game 3 of the team’s first-round Stanley Cup playoff series against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday.
Cousins’ fine is the maximum allowed to a player under the NHL/NHLPA collective bargaining agreement.
With warmups underway, Cousins was spotted flipping a puck across the center ice line at Maple Leafs goaltender Anthony Stolarz as he went through his pregame routine.
The two players have history as teammates with Philadelphia Flyers from 2016-17 and with the Stanley Cup-winning Florida Panthers last season. Senators coach Travis Green emphasized that familiarity when asked about the NHL’s investigation Friday, while otherwise keeping his answer lighthearted.
“It’s an active investigation. I don’t know if I should be commenting,” said Green, drawing laughter from the gathered media. “I have people that have advised me maybe not to comment on it.
“I’m kidding. I saw the video. Stolarz and Cousins have played together. [Cousins] is probably trying to laugh at him or make a joke or get him off his game. It is what it is.”
Green went on to confirm he had spoken to Cousins about the puck flip.
“[He just said] I know him,” Green said of Cousins’ reasoning. “Game within the game. Happens probably a lot more than you think.”
Toronto took a commanding 3-0 lead in the best-of-seven series with a 3-2 overtime victory. Ottawa will try to stave off elimination in Game 4 on Saturday.
MONTREAL — Montreal‘s Patrik Laine is out for Friday’s Game 3 of the Canadiens’ first-round playoff series against Washington because of an upper-body injury.
Laine missed the team’s morning skate, and the Canadiens said he will be evaluated daily.
Laine, 27, was benched for the third period of Wednesday’s 3-1 loss in Game 2 after a difficult first two periods. Kasperi Kapanen replaced Laine, while defenseman Arber Xhekaj was inserted into the lineup for Jayden Struble.
The Capitals lead the best-of-seven series 2-0.
Laine, known for his dangerous shot, hasn’t scored in his past seven games.
The Canadiens acquired Laine and a second-round draft pick from the Columbus Blue Jackets last summer for defenseman Jordan Harris.
Laine had 20 goals, including 15 on the power play, and 13 assists in 52 games this season after missing the first two months with a knee injury.
“We have some guys battling things, so we’ll see what we start with tonight,” Canadiens coach Martin St. Louis said earlier Friday. “Obviously in a series, during games, you make adjustments. That’s part of a best-of-seven.”
Montreal is hosting its first playoff game in front of a sold-out crowd since 2017. The Canadiens played in an empty, or reduced-capacity, Bell Centre during their run to the Stanley Cup Final in 2021.
The Edmonton Oilers are making a goaltender change, putting Calvin Pickard in the crease for Game 3 of their Western Conference first-round series against the visiting Los Angeles Kings.
Looking to avoid being pushed to the brink of elimination, the Oilers are turning to Pickard after Stuart Skinner yielded 11 goals on 58 shots as the Kings captured a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven series.
Pickard relieved Skinner midway through the third period of Game 2 on Wednesday, allowing one goal on three shots.
The journeyman goaltender was asked Friday afternoon how he plans to approach Game 3.
“The same way I’ve approached every game as an Oiler: go out and do my job and give our team a chance to win,” Pickard said. “Obviously the last two games didn’t go as planned in all facets, but we know we have a better effort in this locker room and we know we’re going to do that tonight.”
Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch said after Game 2 that he would get together with his coaching staff and decide on a starting goaltender. But Knoblauch added that he believed Skinner was not at fault for the team’s defensive troubles in this series.
“I don’t think there’s been any bad goals. There’s been a lot of goals, but the chances that we’re giving up are Grade A’s,” Knoblauch said. “I’m not sure that are many, ‘Geez, where’s the save there?’ It’s been very difficult for a goaltender playing. More structure and the less we’re giving up those opportunities, it’s a lot easier for Stuart Skinner or Calvin Pickard playing.”
Pickard, 33, posted a 22-10-1 record with a 2.71 goals-against average and .900 save percentage in 36 games (31 starts) during the regular season. Skinner, 26, was 26-18-4 with a 2.81 GAA and a .896 save percentage over 51 games (50 starts) during the regular season.
Information from ESPN’s Ryan S. Clark and Field Level Media was used in this report.
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