WHO: #4/5 Notre Dame (4-0-0, 0-0-0-0 B1G) at Minnesota (2-5-0, 0-0-0-0 B1G)
WHEN: Friday, November 1 – 8:30 p.m. ET | Saturday, November 2 – 5 p.m. ET
WHERE: Compton Family Ice Arena
WATCH: Friday – Big Ten Network | Saturday – Fox Sports North
LISTEN: 94.3 FM | UND.com
GAME NOTES (PDF)
FOR STARTERS
- After opening the season with home sweeps of Air Force (Oct. 11 & 13) and Lake Superior State University (Oct. 25-26), the Fighting Irish will hit the road this weekend to begin Big Ten play at Minnesota.
- Following last weekend’s sweep of Lake Superior State, senior forwards Mike O’Leary (4-2-6) and Cal Burke (2-5-7) earned Big Ten First and Second Star of the Week honors (Oct. 29).
- O’Leary (First Star) had two goals and an assist in each win over the Lakers, while Burke (Second Star) had a goal and three assists on Friday night and followed with a goal and two assists on Saturday.
- O’Leary (4-7-11) and Burke (4-7-11) have each opened the season by notching at least two points in all four games and they are tied for the NCAA lead with 2.75 points per game averages.
- Dating back to last season’s series at Wisconsin on Jan. 18-19, 2019, O’Leary has 27 points (8-19-27) in his last 23 games played (career: 118 GP, 15-30-45).
- At 5.25 goals per game, the Notre Dame offense leads the NCAA and 10 Fighting Irish players have scored at least one goal through four games.
- Last season, Notre Dame went 2-3-0 against the Gophers but the final win came in the semifinals of the Big Ten Tournament when the Irish won a 2-1 overtime game to end the Gophers’ season at the Compton Family Ice Arena on March 17.
- Since joining the Big Ten, Notre Dame leads the series with the Gophers 5-4-0.
- The Irish won the Big Ten Tournament Championship for a second consecutive season in 2019 after also taking home the regular-season and tournament championships in 2017-18.
THE SERIES VS. MINNESOTA
- Minnesota leads the all-time series 30-20-3 dating back to 1924-25 when the Irish lost 2-1 in overtime in the first meeting.
- Notre Dame recognizes its first win over Minnesota in 1926-27 when the Irish shutout their opponent, 2-0, in Minneapolis.
- Twenty-three contests between the two teams have been decided by a single goal, with the Irish narrowly leading that category 13-10.
- All-time, Minnesota holds a 18-9-2 series lead in Minnesota.
- The teams have played each of the last eight seasons, before joining the Big Ten those meetings largely overlapped with Mario Lucia’s time at Notre Dame from 2012-16 (Mario is the son of former Minnesota head coach Don Lucia – a 1981 Notre Dame graduate/former defenseman).
- Minnesota took last season’s regular-season series with a 3-1-0 record but the Irish were able to post a 2-1 Big Ten Tournament semifinal win in overtime on March 17 en route to ultimately claiming a second consecutive Big Ten Tournament Championship.
- Including Cam Morrison for the Irish, each team scored in the first period of that semifinal game before Michael Graham broke the deadlock 53 seconds into overtime with a game-winning power-play tally.
- Mike O’Leary assisted on both Irish goals, while Cale Morris finished with 25 saves.
- In his career, Morris is 5-3-0 against Minnesota with a 1.62 goals-against average and a .943 save percentage.
- Notre Dame’s active career leaders against the Gophers include Cam Morrison (9 GP, 1-6-7), Cal Burke (8 GP, 2-2-4), Colin Theisen (9 GP, 2-1-3) and Mike O’Leary (10 GP, 1-2-3).
THREE GOALS AND COUNTING
- Over the past two seasons, the Irish are now 21-0-1 when scoring at least three goals.
- In 2019-20, the Irish are 4-0-0 when scoring at least three times.
- In 2018-19, Notre Dame went 17-0-1 when scoring three or more goals.
- The lone tie in 2018-19 came when Notre Dame opened the season on Oct. 12 against Mercyhurst in the Ice Breaker – a game that ended knotted at 6-6 before Notre Dame won the shootout to advance to the championship game.
IN THE CLASSROOM
- Notre Dame’s posted another GSR rating of 95 in October, 2019 marking the 15th consecutive season the Fighting Irish posted at least a 94 in the annual four-year graduation success rating from the NCAA.
- In the 2019-20 federal standings, Notre Dame’s hockey score of 91 ranked sixth among all Division I men’s ice hockey programs and first in the Big Ten.
- Last season, Cam Burke (Fall), Charlie Raith (Fall and Spring) and Alex Steeves (Fall and Spring) were each named to the Dean’s List.
NOTABLE NUMBERS
- 505 –With Notre Dame’s 3-2 win over Penn State in the Big Ten Tournament championship game last season, head coach Jeff Jackson recorded his 500th career win. He now has 505 career wins, which ranks second among active NCAA DI head coaches (spanning six seasons at Lake Superior State and 14+ seasons at Notre Dame).
- 55 –Over the past three seasons (2017-18, 2018-19 and 2019-20), Notre Dame has totaled 55 wins to rank fourth in the NCAA and first in the Big Ten over that span: 1. Minnesota State (66); 2. Minnesota Duluth (57); 3. St. Cloud State (56); 4. Notre Dame (55); 5. Northeastern (54).
- 13 – Thirteen sets of brothers have suited up for the Irish, including currents sets of brothers Cal and Cam Burke and Matt and Alex Steeves.
- 8 –With the 2019 Big Ten tournament title, Notre Dame has won eight conference championships in program history, each under Jeff Jackson (three regular-season).
- 8 – Eight former Fighting Irish players have appeared on NHL rosters so far this season, including: Anders Bjork (Boston Bruins), Ian Cole (Colorado Avalanche), Dennis Gilbert (Chicago Blackhawks), Vinnie Hinostroza (Arizona Coyotes), Anders Lee (New York Islanders), Kyle Palmieri (New Jersey Devils), Bryan Rust (Pittsburgh Penguins/IR) and Riley Sheahan (Edmonton Oilers).
- 6 – With freshman Trevor Janicke joining the program, six father-son combinations have played for the Irish including Trevor and his father, Curtis ‘93, as well as sophomore Graham Slaggert and his father/Associate Head Coach Andy Slaggert ‘89.
- 5.25 – The Fighting Irish enter the weekend with the nation’s top scoring offense with a 5.25 goals per game mark. Through four games, 10 Notre Dame players have already notched at least one goal, led by Cal Burke (4) and Mike O’Leary (4).
- 4 – Notre Dame has an active four-year NCAA tournament appearance streak, including Frozen Four appearances in 2017 and 2018, which is the longest streak in program history and is the fourth-longest active streak in the NCAA (the Irish have also appeared in seven of the last 10 NCAA Tournaments).
- 3 – Cam Morrison has three career overtime goals, which is tied for the active lead across the NCAA. Two of his three overtime winners have come in postseason play, clinching the 2018 Big Ten Tournament championship with a goal against Ohio State and sending the Irish to the 2019 NCAA Northeast Regional Final with the OT winner versus Clarkson.
- 2.75 – Cal Burke (4-7-11) and Mike O’Leary (4-7-11) enter the weekend tied for the NCAA lead with 2.75 points per game averages.
—ND—