From my former South Bend Tribune colleague, John Fineran ... now retired and doing some freelancing ...
SOUTH BEND – When Notre Dame plays its first hockey game under new head coach Brock Sheahan next October, it will do it without Owen Say in goal.
The 6-foot-2, 190-pound Say, easily the team’s most valuable player during its 2-2 run through the recently completed Big Ten Tournament, will forego his senior season at Notre Dame after he signed a one-year, two-way contract with the Calgary Flames of the National Hockey League.
According to the Flames’ website, the 23-year-old Say, a London, Ont., native who played his first two seasons at Mercyhurst College of the Atlantic Hockey America, could earn $872,500 at the NHL level if he makes the team’s roster coming out of training camp. Calgary also has two minor league affiliates – the Calgary Wranglers of the American Hockey League and the Rapid City (S.D.) Rush of the East Coast Hockey League.
“I’m beyond excited to announce that I have signed with the Calgary Flames and can’t wait for what’s in store,” Say said in a Notre Dame release. “I can’t thank everyone at Notre Dame enough for all the support I received throughout the past year. From (head coach Jeff) Jackson and the rest of the coaching staff to our trainer Kevin Ricks, strength and conditioning coach Tony Rolinski and especially my teammates, I am truly blessed to have been a part of the Fighting Irish. I will cherish this year for the rest of my life.”
During his two seasons at Mercyhurst, Say compiled a 12-23-4 record in 42 games with a 3.26 goals-against average and a saves percentage of .910. One of his losses was a 4-3 overtime setback at Notre Dame on Oct. 26, 2023 during which Say made 50 saves in 63:03 against the Irish. When he entered the transfer portal following the 2023-24, Jackson, himself a former goaltender at Michigan State, remembered the performance and invited Say to join the Fighting Irish, who returned backup goaltender Jack Williams and had incoming freshman Nicholas Kempf coming in.
In 27 games this past season, Say finished with a 10-15-0 record, a 2.82 goals-against average and a .920 saves percentage as Notre Dame finished 12-25-1. He was even better in the playoffs – in four games against Minnesota and Michigan State, ranked Nos. 3 and 2 in the nation when the Irish played them, Say went 2-2 with a 1.76 goals-against average and a .954 saves percentage, stopping 144 of 151 shots.
During the Big Ten quarterfinals at Minnesota, Say made 30 saves and allowed two goals in a 3-2 victory on March 7 that was the 600th of Jackson’s career. Following a 4-2 loss the following night when he allowed three goals while turning aside another 31 shots, Say was brilliant once again on March 9 when he stopped 38 of 39 shots in Notre Dame’s 4-1 victory that clinched the quarterfinal series.
Then in the tournament semifinal at Munn Ice Arena in East Lansing on March 15, Say turned aside 45 of 46 shots, allowing the only goal of the game, a power-play score 19 seconds into the third period, as the Irish fell 1-0 to the Spartans, the co-champions (with Minnesota) of the Big Ten regular season and the eventual tournament champions.
Say finished his three-year collegiate career with a 3.09 goals-against average, a .914 saves percentage and a 22-38-4 record.
Williams and Kempf are expected to return next season and will be joined by between the pipes by 17-year-old Patrick Quinlan, a 6-foot-1, 174-pounder from Kennett Square, Pa. Quinlan spent the last two seasons with the United States National Team Development Program and played on both the Under-17 and Under-18 teams this past season. Quinlan made 28 saves and allowed four goals during Notre Dame’s 5-2 victory over the Under-18 team last Oct. 4.
BIONDI SIGNS WITH WOLVES: Following the recently completed season, graduate right wing Blake Biondi signed an amateur tryout contract with the Chicago Wolves of the American Hockey League.
“I’m extremely grateful to have spent my last chapter of college hockey at the University of Notre Dame,” the 6-foot-1, 215-pound Biondi said in a release. “It was a year that my wife and I will always look fondly back on. I am proud to forever be a part of the Notre Dame family and thank the coaching staff and team for a memorable year.”
The 22-year-old Biondi, who played one season for Notre Dame after an injury-plagued career at Minnesota Duluth, scored 12 goals and had 15 assists for 27 points in 38 games for the Irish. Seven of his goals came on Notre Dame power plays.
Biondi, who was named Minnesota’s Mr. Hockey in 2020 while playing for Hermantown High School, totaled 30 goals and 28 assists for 58 points during his 119 games in four seasons playing for the Bulldogs. In two games played with the Wolves, Biondi has not scored.
BIG TEN HONORS: Sophomore center Cole Knuble, who led the Irish in scoring with 39 points on 12 goals and 27 assists in 34 games, was named to the All-Big Ten second team. … Senior forward Tyler Carpenter, one of three assistant captains for the Irish, was named Notre Dame’s honoree in the league’s sportsmanship awards. Carpenter, who was not penalized in the 38 games played this season by the Irish, finished with two points (one goal and one assist) while also organizing community fund-raising activities for honorary team member Rudy Chapman. … Fifteen members of the team received Winter Academic All-Big honors. To be eligible, individuals had to be enrolled at Notre Dame for a minimum of 12 months and carry a grade-point average of 3.0 or higher. The players representing Notre Dame are graduate forward Grant Silianoff and graduate defenseman Zach Plucinski; senior goaltender Jimmy Mooney and senior forwards Justin Janicke and Hunter Strand; junior goaltender Jack Williams, junior defenseman Michael Mastrodomenico and junior forward Niko Jovanovic; and sophomore forwards Knuble, Brennan Ali, Jayden Davis, Maddox Fleming, Danny Nelson and defensemen Paul Fischer and Henry Nelson.
