The Notre Dame Hawks fell in back-to-back road contests last week, dropping a 6–3 decision to the Portage Islanders on Wednesday before closing out their home schedule with a 9–4 loss to the Morden Bombers on Saturday.
Despite the setbacks, the Hawks enter the final game of the regular season firmly in the playoff picture, sitting eighth in the SEMHL standings with one game remaining.
In Portage on Feb. 4, Notre Dame trailed early and was unable to fully recover after the Islanders built a 4–0 lead midway through the second period. Nicolas Vigier got the Hawks on the board with a power-play goal at 13:02 of the second, assisted by Jake and Eli Carels.
Captain Jeff Michiels led the push back in the third period, scoring twice to cut the deficit to 4–3. Christian Prejet and Vigier each picked up assists on the goals, but Portage sealed the game with an empty-net marker in the final minute before adding a late insurance goal. Goaltender Christopher Lesage turned aside 39 shots in the loss.
Notre Dame returned home Saturday but ran into a disciplined Morden squad that capitalized on special teams. Eli Carels opened the scoring early in the first period, but the Bombers responded with five unanswered goals spanning the first and second periods.
The Hawks showed resilience late, with Christian Prejet scoring late in the second before power-play goals from Eli Carels and Michiels early in the third brought Notre Dame within striking distance. Morden answered again, however, pulling away with three goals over the final 10 minutes to secure the win. Lesage made 39 saves as Notre Dame went 2-for-6 on the power play.
With the losses, Notre Dame sits eighth in the SEMHL standings at 6-8-3 with 15 points, one point back of Portage and ahead of Carman. The Hawks have been strong at home this season, posting a 5-1-3 record, while struggling on the road.
The Hawks will close out the regular season Tuesday night in Ste. Anne against Ile des Chênes, a game that will finalize playoff positioning. All nine SEMHL teams qualify for the postseason, which begins with a Survivor Series between the eighth- and ninth-place teams. The winner advances to face the first-place team, followed by best-of-five series in the first two rounds and a best-of-seven league final.
