The Notre Dame Hawks pushed one of the SEMHL’s top teams to the limit Friday night but ultimately fell 3-2 to the Springfield Winterhawks in a close, back-and-forth matchup.
Notre Dame struck first late in the opening period when Nikita Pecheritsyn found the back of the net at 18:42, converting a setup from Zander Carels. But Springfield answered quickly, tying the game just 40 seconds later to send the teams into the first intermission locked 1-1.
After the Hawks killed an early second-period penalty, Springfield capitalized on another opportunity moments later, taking a 2-1 lead on a power-play goal from Dobie Unrau at 00:44. Notre Dame continued to grind and was rewarded with a late equalizer. With under a minute left in the frame, Eli Carels buried a pass from Nicolas Vigier and captain Jeff Michiels to pull the Hawks even at 2-2.
The game’s turning point came early in the third. Springfield’s Owen Blocker scored just 30 seconds into the period, pushing the visitors ahead 3-2. Despite several pushes from Notre Dame, including a late power-play chance, they couldn’t find the tying goal.
Goaltender Christopher Lesage was busy throughout the night, making 35 saves to keep the Hawks within striking distance. Notre Dame finished 0-for-5 on the power play but held Springfield to 1-for-3.
The Hawks, now 2-3 on the season and sitting fourth in the SEMHL standings, will look to bounce back when they return home to host the Morden Bombers on Saturday, Dec. 6 at 8 p.m.
