<div>Knuble (goal, assist) and Say (25 saves) stay hot for unbeaten No. 18 Irish in 4-1 hockey victory over AlaskaSOUTH BEND – Sophomore center Cole Knuble is having a dream start to the No. 18 Notre Dame hockey team’s season while junior goaltender Owen Say is re-living his own dream from 11 years ago.Knuble, the Big Ten’s reigning First Star of the Week after a three-goal, one-assist start to the 2024-25 season last weekend in victories at St. Lawrence and Clarkson, scored Notre Dame’s opening goal and assisted on senior left wing Justin Janicke’s third-period insurance tally.Meanwhile, Say, who impressed Notre Dame head coach Jeff Jackson 357 days ago with his 50-save performance for Mercyhurst in a 4-3 overtime loss to the Irish, made 25 saves for his second victory in an Irish uniform as Notre Dame beat visiting Alaska 4-1 before 4,866 fans watching at the Lefty Smith Rink in the Compton Family Ice Arena.The triumph lifted the Irish to 3-0 for the season. Knuble was one of five Irish players who enjoyed two-point nights. Sophomore Henry Nelson, the brother of Irish center Danny, scored his first collegiate goal and also had an assist on Grant Silianoff’s final goal of the game. Janicke also had a goal and assist, while sophomore defenseman Paul Fischer and senior center Hunter Strand each had a pair of assists. Graduate left wing Grant Silianoff had the other goal.“Tomorrow is another day,” Jackson said afterward. “We just have to keep working to get better.”Right now, Jackson likes the steps his younger players – sophomores Knuble and Henry Nelson and junior Say – are making as the Irish, who have missed the NCAA tournament the last two seasons, try to end that skid in Jackson’s final season behind the Irish bench.“That’s what you hope happens for the younger guys – that they take another step,” said the 69-year-old Jackson, who has two NCAA titles at Lake Superior State and has taken Notre Dame to four Frozen Fours in 19 previous seasons. “Cole wants to be a player. He’s worked hard at his game. He’s got additional strength. He’s in that dirty area of the ice a lot and that’s where you score goals. He’s never been afraid to get there. He’s more confident and playing with a lot of swagger.”Knuble, who had one goal in Notre Dame’s first half last season before finishing with nine goals and 11 assists on the season, now has four goals and two assists in three games. Over the summer, he worked on his shot.“I shot a lot of pucks in my backyard,” the 20-year-old Knuble, a Grand Rapids, Mich., native, said. “It’s kind of nice seeing that pay off. I wanted more of an attack mindset, to be more of a shooter, more of a threat offensively.”Say, meanwhile, finds himself sharing netminding duties with freshman Nicholas Kempf, who backstopped the U.S. Under-18 team last year. Kempf is expected to get the starting nod tonight when Notre Dame and Alaska (0-5-0) face off at 6 p.m. to complete the season.Almost a year ago, the London, Ont., native was a part of the Mercyhurst team that was preparing for its upcoming Atlantic Hockey season when it came to Notre Dame for a non-conference series last Oct. 26-27.The 6-foot-2 netminder was impressive, making 50 saves, including 19 in the first period, in a 4-3 overtime loss to the Irish on Oct. 26, 2023. When his name popped up in the transfer portal after the 2023-24 season ended, Jackson couldn’t wait to get in touch.“I remember him saying he remembered me playing against them last season,” said the 23-year-old Say who fell in love with Notre Dame the first time he saw it as a 12-year-old youth goalie playing in a tournament at Compton. “It was the first college school I had been to, and I thought if there was ever going to be a place I wanted to play, it would be this place. So this is almost like a full-circle moment. I can’t say enough good things about (Notre Dame).”Say has turned out to be everything Jackson thought he would be. “He’s been solid,” said the Irish coach, who was a backup goalie for coach Ron Mason at Michigan State in the mid-1970s. “He controlled the game, and that’s what I’ve been talking to him about, like (former Irish All-American Ryan) Bischel used to do. He (Say) is starting to do that a little more.”For the most part Friday, Say’s teammates took the play to Alaska’s graduate goaltender, Nicholas Grabko, who played for Bentley in the Atlantic Hockey League. Grabko kept coach Erik Largen’s Nanooks in the game for the first two periods, making 27 of his 34 saves.Alaska enjoyed a 4-3 edge in shots early before the Irish got untracked in the first period, finishing with a 14-8 edge in shots and a 1-0 lead on Knuble’s fourth goal of the season at 12:48. Janicke and Fischer got assists on the goal, but it was the hard work of graduate right wing Ian Murphy who kept the puck in the Alaska zone, and actually it was Murphy who got the puck to Knuble for the goal-scoring shot.The Irish dominated the second period, outshooting the Nanooks 15-5 and but managed just one goal against Grabko. It came with Alaska being called for a delayed penalty for hooking Strand. Notre Dame managed to get three shots off while controlling the puck in the Alaska zone, and Grabko stopped Maddox Fleming once and Tyler Carpenter twice.Strand and defenseman Michael Mastrodomenico eventual got the puck over to the mid-boards to Henry Nelson, whose slapshot from the faceoff circle went between Grabko’s legs and into the net at 5:41 for the 2-0 Notre Dame lead. It was Nelson’s first career goal and fittingly his brother Danny, who was one of the six attackers, was the first to congratulate him.Alaska, which outshot Notre Dame 13-9 in the third period, cut the lead to one at 5:01 of the third period when defenseman Broten Sabo managed to get a shot through a bunch of his fallen teammates past a partially screened Say.But the Irish responded quickly when Alaska’s Braden Birnie went off for charging at 6:15. Notre Dame’s No. 1 power-play unit of Danny Nelson, Blake Biondi, Janicke, Knuble and Fischer pushed the puck into the Alaska zone, and Janicke and Knuble played give-and-go around an Alaska defender. Janicke took Knuble’s pass and knocked it past Grabko at 6:52 for a 3-1 lead with Fischer also assisting.Then 91 seconds later, Henry Nelson got the puck to Strand who skated into the corner and behind the net before finding graduate left wing Silianoff skating across the mid-slot. Silianoff’s shot found the net at 8:23 for the final goal of the night that made it 4-1. Say then maintained that three-goal lead when he made six saves while the Irish killed off a holding penalty against defenseman Ryan Helliwell at 8:57.“There were a few times when we broke down that (Say) stood up strong,” Jackson said. “That’s three times now in the four games we’ve played (counting the 5-2 exhibition victory over the U.S. Under-18 team on Oct. 4) that we responded when the other team scored. That’s really good to see.”NOTRE DAME 4, ALASKA 1At Lefty Smith Rink/Compton Family Ice Arena, South BendAlaska 0 0 1—1Notre Dame 1 1 2—4First Period—Scoring: 1. Notre Dame, Cole Knuble 4 (Justin Janicke, Paul Fischer) EV 12:48. Penalties: Alaska 1-2, Notre Dame 0-0.Second Period—Scoring: 2. Notre Dame, Henry Nelson 1 (Michael Mastrodomenico, Hunter Strand) EA 5:41. Penalties: Alaska 1-2 (2-4), Notre Dame 1-2 (1-2).Third Period—Scoring: 3. Alaska, Broten Sabo 1 (William Lawson-Body, Will Hilfiker) EV 5:01; 4. Notre Dame, Justin Janicke 2 (Cole Knuble, Paul Fischer) PP 6:15; 5. Notre Dame, Grant Silianoff 1 (Hunter Strand, Henry Nelson) EV 8:23. Penalties: Alaska 1-2 (3-6), Notre Dame 1-2 (2-4).Shots on goal: Alaska 26 (8-5-13), Notre Dame 38 (14-15-9). Goalie saves: Alaska, Nicholas Grabko 34 (13-14-7), Notre Dame, Owen Say 25 (8-5-12).Power-play opportunities: Alaska 0 of 2, Notre Dame 1 of 3. Faceoffs won: Alaska 16 (6-2-8), Notre Dame 32 (12-12-8). Blocked shots: Alaska 12 (3-5-4), Notre Dame 7 (2-1-4).Referees: Jake Rekucki and Nicholas Bet. Linesmen: Jonathan Sladek and Pat Richardson. Records: Alaska 0-5-0, Notre Dame 3-0-0. Attendance: 4,866 (4,852).Big Ten standings: 1. Ohio State 1-0-0, 2 points (2-0-1 overall); 2. Wisconsin 0-1-0, 1 point (1-2-0 overall); 3. TIE, Notre Dame 0-0-0, 0 points (3-0-0 overall); Michigan State (0-0-0, 0 points (3-1-0 overall); Michigan 0-0-0, 0 points (3-1-1 overall); Minnesota 0-0-0, 0 points (2-1-0); Penn State 0-0-0, 0 points (2-1-0 overall).Friday’s schedule: Notre Dame 4, Alaska 1; Ohio State 2, Wisconsin 1 (OT); Michigan 3, St. Cloud State 0; Minnesota 7, Minnesota-Duluth 5; Michigan State 5, Windsor 0 (exhibition).Saturday’s schedule: Alaska at Notre Dame, 6 p.m.; St. Cloud State at Michigan, 7 p.m.; Minnesota at Minnesota-Duluth, 7 p.m.; Ohio State at Wisconsin, 7 p.m.HOW USCHO.com MEDIA POLL TEAMS HAVE FARED THIS WEEKTeam (league) This weekend1. Denver (NCHC) 3-0-0 W 5-2 vs. No. 19 Northeastern Friday; Sat. vs. Northeastern2. Boston College (HEA) 2-1-0 W 5-0 vs. American Intl. Fri.; Sat. vs. US-Under 18 (exh.)3. Boston University (HEA) 3-0-0 W 4-2 Friday vs. Connecticut; Sat. vs. Harvard (exhibition)4. Michigan State (B10) 3-1-0 W 5-0 Friday vs. Windsor (exhibition)5. North Dakota (NCHC) 2-0-0 W 3-2 Friday at No. 20 Minn. State; Sat. at No. 10 Minn. State6. Minnesota (B10) 2-1-0 W 7-5 at Minnesota-Duluth Friday; Sat. at Minnesota-Duluth7. Quinnipiac (ECAC) 1-1-0 L 2-1 at No. 9 Maine Friday; Saturday at No. 9 Maine8. Cornell (ECAC) (1) 0-0-0 Idle9. Maine (HEA) 2-0-0 W 2-1 vs. No. 7 Quinnipiac Friday; Saturday vs. No. 7 Quinnipiac10. Michigan (B10) 3-1-1 W 3-0 vs. No. 13 St. Cloud State; Saturday vs. St. Cloud State11. Colorado College (NCHC) 2-0-0 Idle12. Omaha (NCHC) 2-1-0 L 2-1 vs. Augustana Friday; Saturday vs. Augustana13. St. Cloud State (NCHC) 3-1-0 L 3-0 at No. 10 Michigan Friday; Saturday at No. 10 Michigan14. Providence (HEA) 1-1-0 W 4-1 vs. Arizona State Friday; Saturday vs. Arizona State15. Massachusetts (HEA) 2-2-0 L 4-3 vs. Sacred Heart Friday; Saturday at Sacred Heart16. Wisconsin (B10) 1-2-0 L 2-1 (OT) vs. Ohio State Friday; Saturday vs. Ohio State17. Western Michigan (NCHC) 2-0-0 Thursday vs. Bowling Green; Saturday vs. York (exh.)18. Notre Dame (B10) 3-0-0 W 4-1 vs. Alaska Friday; Saturday vs. Alaska19. Northeastern (HEA) 1-1-0 L 5-2 at No. 1 Denver Friday; Saturday at No. 1 Denver20. Minnesota State (CCHA) 2-3-0 L 3-2 vs. No. 5 North Dakota Friday; Sat. vs. No. 5 North DakotaAlso receiving votesArizona State (NCHC) 1-3-1 L 4-1 at No. 14 Providence Friday; Sat. at No. 14 ProvidencePenn State (B10) 2-1-0 IdleConnecticut (HEA) 3-2-0 Lost 4-2 Friday at No. 3 Boston UniversityMinnesota-Duluth (NCHC) 1-3-0 L 7-5 to No. 6 Minnesota Friday; Saturday vs. No. 6 MinnesotaMichigan Tech (CCHA) 2-0-0 IdleNew Hampshire (HEA) 1-0-1 Tied 0-0 (OT) at Merrimack (Merrimack won shootout 1-0)Harvard (ECAC) 0-0-0 W 5-2 vs. U.S. Under-18 (exh.); Sat. at Boston U. (exhibition)Dartmouth (ECAC) 0-0-0 IdleHoly Cross (Atlantic) 1-2-0 Saturday-Sunday vs. ArmyOhio State (B10) 2-0-1 W 2-1 (OT) at No. 16 Wisconsin; Saturday at No. 16 WisconsinUMass Lowell (HEA) 2-1-0 W 5-2 vs. Colgate Friday; Saturday vs. ColgateBemidji State (CCHA) 1-2-0 IdleRensselaer (ECAC) 2-0-1 T 3-3 vs. Niagara (Niagara wins shootout, 2-0); Sat. vs. NiagaraSt. Lawrence (ECAC) 3-2-0 L 1-0 vs. Ferris State Friday; Saturday vs. Ferris StateSt. Thomas (CCHA) 1-1-1 IdleRIT (Atlantic Hockey) 1-1-0 Saturday vs. Bowling GreenSacred Heart (Atlantic) 1-1-1 W 4-3 at No. 15 UMass Friday; Sat. vs. No. 15 MassachusettsBrown (ECAC) 0-0-0 IdleOTHER NOTRE DAME OPPONENTSFriday’s scoresLong Island 1, Bentley 1 (OT) (Long Island won shootout 1-0)Air Force 3, Lindenwood 2</div>

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Knuble (goal, assist) and Say (25 saves) stay hot for unbeaten No. 18 Irish in 4-1 hockey victory over Alaska

SOUTH BEND – Sophomore center Cole Knuble is having a dream start to the No. 18 Notre Dame hockey team’s season while junior goaltender Owen Say is re-living his own dream from 11 years ago. Knuble, the Big Ten’s reigning First Star of the Week after a three-goal,...