Jan. 4, 2017
By Dan Colleran
NOTRE DAME, Ind. — The 12th-ranked University of Notre Dame Fighting Irish hockey team will close out the non-conference portion of its schedule this weekend (Jan. 6-7) at home against Michigan Tech.
The Irish are coming off a weekend sweep of Alaska, including back-to-back shutouts, and are on a season-long, four-game winning streak. The Huskies have won four of their last five games.
OVERVIEW | GAMES 20 & 21
Matchup: Michigan Tech at Notre Dame
Date: Friday, Jan. 6 | Saturday Jan. 7
Time: 7:40 p.m. (ET) | 7:10 p.m. (ET)
Site: Notre Dame, Ind.
Arena: Compton Family Ice Arena (5,022)
Television: NBCSN
Play-by-Play: Alex Faust | Friday
Play-by-Play: Nicholas Gismondi | Saturday
Analyst: Anson Carter
Live Streaming: NBC Sports App
Live Radio | Audio: WZOC 94.3 FM | WatchND
Play-by-Play: Darin Pritchett
Live Stats: Live Updates: @NDHockey
Series History: ND trails, 25-31-2 (58 games)
Tickets: UND.com/BuyTickets
NOTES TO KNOW
- Two of the top defensive units in the nation will be facing off, as Michigan Tech ranks fourth (2.00) and Notre Dame ranks seventh (2.11) in goals against per game.
- After back-to-back shutouts against Alaska, Irish goaltender Cal Petersen has a personal shutout streak of 166:53, dating back to Notre Dame’s Dec. 10 win against Boston College.
- Petersen is tied for first in the country with four shutouts on the year, while Michigan Tech’s Angus Redmond has two shutouts.
- Junior forward Anders Bjork has 14 goals this season, which is tied for second in Hockey East and tied for third in the nation. His 32 points are also tied for second in Hockey East.
- Junior defenseman Jordan Gross ranks third among Hockey East defensemen in scoring with 17 points (5-12-17) and he is tied for seventh nationally.
BJORK PLAYS LEADING ROLE
- Junior forward Anders Bjork, a 2014 fifth-round pick by Boston, is one of the country’s leading scorers with 14 goals and 18 assists for 32 points.
- Bjork has been held without a point in just four of Notre Dame’s 19 games this season (one of which was the 0-0, two-period tie at Northeastern on Nov. 13).
- Bjork has posted 11 multi-point games this season, including four-point games against ASU (Oct. 8) and UConn (Oct. 28).
- The Irish are 11-3-1 on the season when Bjork notches at least one point (7-2-0 when he scores at least one goal).
- Bjork reached the 25-point plateau in his 15th game of the season, marking the fastest any Notre Dame player has reach 25 points in the Coach Jackson era (and dating back to at least 2001-02).
THIRD PERIOD SURGE
- This season, Notre Dame is outscoring opponents by a 27-14 margin (+13) in the second period and by a 27-10 (+17) margin in the third period.
- Combined, the Irish are outscoring opponents by +30 goals over the final 40:00 minutes of play (54-24).
- Notre Dame’s 27 third period goals ranks tied for fourth in the country.
- The Fighting Irish are averaging 1.50 goals per third period, which ranks second in the country (Notre Dame has played only 18 third periods this season due to the shortened game at Northeastern on Nov. 13).
- Anders Bjork is tied for second in the country 14 third-period points (8-10-14).
STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE
- The Irish have played a tough schedule in 2016-17, including a non-conference road series at current No. 1 Minnesota Duluth and a non-conference home series against current No. 2 Penn State.
- Notre Dame has posted wins at then #4 Minnesota Duluth (3-1 on Oct. 15), versus then #5/6 UMass Lowell (4-1 on Nov. 18) and over then #3/4 Boston College (3-2 on Dec. 10).
— ND —
Dan Colleran, associate athletics communications director at the University of Notre Dame, has been a part of Fighting Irish Media since August 2015 and coordinates all media and publicity efforts surrounding the Notre Dame hockey and golf programs. A native of Walpole, Massachusetts, Colleran spent the previous three years working with the men’s hockey and soccer programs at Providence College. Colleran also spent two years as an Assistant Executive Director of Communications & Championships at the Ivy League and is a graduate of Providence College (’06 & ’08G).