No. 1 Notre Dame (31-6-3) vs. No. 4 Alabama-Huntsville (13-19-2)

First Period Notre Dame in white, Huntsville in blue This is Huntsville’s first NCAA appearance, and Notre Dame’s second.

18:30: Huntsville’s come out hard, pushing the puck up the ice and sending two shots on Notre Dame goalie, and Baker finalist, David Brown.

17:43 – Paige throws a puck across net, but Ryan Thang sends the 1-timer wide, missing the wide-open goalmouth.

16:42 – NOTRE DAME GOAL! Fourth-liner Josh Sciba, with the puck on the right boards, circles through the zone, above the traffic in front of the net. He lets loose low shot from left slot that sneaks through traffic and beats Huntsville goalie Blake MacNicol across his face.

15:34 – NOTRE DAME GOAL! Ryan Thang glides along left boards with clear shot at net from outside left circle. Lets fly easy wrister that beats Huntsville goalie Blake MacNicol. **MacNicol, a freshman who had played only 7 games this year, pulled for Marc Narduzzi.

14:35 – Huntsville misses its best chance of game thus far, as David Nimmo pass to Grant Selinger, with a step on the Notre Dame defense at the blue line, bounces off Selinger’s stick.

14:18 – Huntsville penalty sends Cale Tanaka to box. Good kill by the Chargers.

9:39 – Great save by Narduzzi, protecting 5-hole on laser by Garrett Regan. *Notre Dame 7 shots, UAH 5*

9:32 – UAH Penalty: David Nicoletti (2, holding) Chargers checking real hard, breaking apart ND offense by pinning Irish to walls and in corners. Another good PK.

Still no real opportunities for Chargers.

5:56 – UAH Penalty: Tyler Hilbert (2, contact head-high stick) This is not what the Chargers need right now, although the PK has been the best part of their game so far. 4:37 – UAH scoring chance: Dominik Rozman carries puck through ND zone into Brown, who knocks puck into crease, but Joe Federoff’s attempt to slip it into the open net goes wide left.

3:10 – UAH Penalty: Hilbert (2, trip) Second penalty in a row for the junior from Alberta, and fourth of the period for Huntsville, which doesn’t look outclassed, but just a bit slower, forcing the Chargers to take some frantic penalties.

End of First Period Notre Dame 2, Alabama-Huntsville 0 Shots: ND 12, UAH 7

Second Period: 15:17 – UAH kills off another penalty, but Notre Dame has the edge in every facet of the game, with 7 shots already in period.

13:01 – Narduzzi deflects rocket from in close off stick of ND’s Justin White. UAH senior goalie keeping Chargers in game (kind of).

10:10 – Good Huntsville possession, with a lot of pressure on Brown, despite only one shot. Chargers putting on heavy forecheck to keep puck in zone.

9:40 – HUNTSVILLE GOAL! Chargers get 3-on-2 on counter-attack, but puck gets loose inside zone. Josh Murray corrals it just inside blue line along the left boards, whirls and fires a shot while spinning. The shot glanced off a ND defenseman, and Dominick Rozman slammed the bouncing puck toward net from the left circle, sneaking the puck through Brown’s 5-hole.

6:50 – ND Penalty: Mike Salekin (2, trip) It’s the first man-advantage for the Chargers tonight, and it couldn’t have come at a better time. 5:41 – Big chance for UAH: David Nimmo slashes down stick of ND defenseman on clear attempt in front of net, making the puck fall in front of Brett McConnache, who rips a slapper wide from right in front.

3:54 – HUNTSVILLE GOAL! Cale Tanaka swings around to right circle and wrists shot top-shelf from the faceoff dot, tucking into the far-side corner over Brown’s stickside shoulder.

3:11 – ND’s Jason Paige misses slapper standing alone in front of Narduzzi, tapping a one-timer toward net *Narduzzi makes great glove save on next ND possession off Regan’s high shot.

End of Second Period Notre Dame 2, Alabama-Huntsville 2 Shots: ND 25, UAH 12

Notre Dame has been shoved back, as Huntsville has started attacking a team that sat on a pedestal coming into the game. The Chargers look a whole lot like a team that has nothing to lose. Which is certainly the case. And the UAH band’s great. They sing along to the Notre Dame band’s songs and, evidently, the team’s fight song is “Sweet Home Alabama.” Awesome.

Start of Third Period

15:38 – Notre Dame scoring chance trickles away, as Ryan Thang’s offering from in close is deflected to the left corner.

10:53 – Action’s been taking place mostly in neutral zone, without a whole lot of fray near the nets. UAH defense is blocking a lot of shots, and the ones that are getting through – like the blast from the blue line a second ago – are ending up on Narduzzi’s pads (27 saves thus far).

10:00 – ND shot behind net bounces out to left slot, where Paige waits. Paige rips slapper, but Narduzzi’s already slid over to left post, stopping the shot in his chest.

4:06 – Notre Dame anchors puck in the Huntsville defensive zone, but has nothing to show for it, as shots close to goal hit blue jerseys before making it to the net.

3:34 – ND GOAL DISALLOWED. Ryan Thang re-directs a rebound back into the net, but does so with his right leg, and the referee waves it off immediately.

:27.1 – Notre Dame rush with :45 left sent away by Huntsville D, then a turnover deep in the ND zone gives the puck to David Nimmo, who cuts right but can’t put much on his shot on goal, as an Irish defender hacks at his stick.

End of Third Period Notre Dame 2, Alabama-Huntsville 2 Shots: ND 26, UAH 15

Notes: Tanaka’s goal was his second of the season — both have come in the postseason.

15:25 – Notre Dame pummels the net, getting shots from all over. A slap shot from the point bounces off Narduzzi, then the rebound from point-blank goes high after deflecting off his glove. Irish have regained momentum, but the Chargers aren’t breaking, at least not yet.

10:20 – UAH’s Steve Canter fires from the right side of the net off Brown. Puck slides through crease, and Kevin Morrison’s bid to tap it in goes wide, after a Notre Dame defenseman forces him to the ice.

8:45 – Notre Dame’s Mark Van Guilder, on the right boards with Christian Hanson cutting middle, fires a wrister low and to the right. But Narduzzi sticks his glove out and snares it.

7:26 – Erik Condra gets puck between the circles and fires on Narduzzi with a clean look, but the Huntsville goalie knocks the puck high for his 37th save.

6:30 – Notre Dame’s Christian Hanson steals the puck from a Huntsville defenseman’s hand at the blue line, then cruises through the middle and shoots into Narduzzi’s chest.

5:49 – Notre Dame Penalty: Wes O’Neill (2, interference) Slow start to power play. 40 seconds remain. With 3 seconds left on man-advantage, UAH’s Brett McConnachie creeps in from the left side along the goal line, and tries to sneak shot into top left corner. But Brown makes save as penalty expires.

1:04 – Notre Dame’s top line flies into the zone, with Kevin Deeth holding onto the puck in the middle. But Huntsville captain Shaun Arvai meets Deeth in the slot, crumpling him. Puck squirts out to Paige, who shoots, and Erik Condra deflects into Narduzzi’s pads.

:12 – Sciba curls around and fires into Narduzzi.

End of First Overtime Notre Dame 2, Alabama-Huntsville 2 Shots: ND 44, UAH 27

Notre Dame has been playing better, but not by much. Huntsville’s managed some late offense, and the triumphant Rocky-style music they’re playing in the arena right now provides a pretty cool backdrop for whatever’s being said about heroism and history in the Huntsville locker room.

Start of Second Overtime

15:10 – Notre Dame’s Noah Babin fires pass across zone to Justin White on the right doorstep. White blasts a shot, but Narduzzi sneaks over and grabs it. Then two more shots ensue, and Narduzzi keeps fending them off. Huntsville finally clears the zone after ND has the puck for 40 seconds.

12:25 – UAH’S Mike Salekin gets open look from right circle, shoots high. Shot comes out to left side, where long shot hits Brown on left pad, and he falls on it.

9:29 – UAH has iced the puck 5 times in the past 2 minutes. Seems like they’re getting energy back, like a boxer going in close for a hold.

5:47 – Notre Dame’s taken complete control of the game, firing on Narduzzi at will. But the senior isn’t flexing, calmly kicking away or snaring any shot that’s come his way (49 saves). But the way his team’s skating, it just seems like a matter of time until a Notre Dame rush finally results in pay dirt.

5:47 – UAH Penalty: Scott Kalinchuk (2, holding stick) 4:42 – NOTRE DAME GOAL! Ryan Thang curls around the top of the left circle into the middle, splashing the top-left corner of the net.

Notre Dame moves to the regional final, with a 3-2 win in double-overtime

Said Notre Dame coach Jeff Jackson after the game about Huntsville coach Doug Ross, who retired after the loss: “I hope when I retire, my guys play this hard for me.”