#4 Irish Primed For Weekend Series With #6 Minnesota

Nov. 22, 2017

Game Notes

By Dan Colleran

NOTRE DAME, Ind. — Fourth-ranked Notre Dame and sixth-ranked Minnesota will be meeting for the first time as Big Ten opponents in a marquee weekend series at the Compton Family Ice Arena (Nov. 24-25).

Winners of seven in a row, the Irish enter this weekend’s series in first place in the Big Ten standings (12 points in four games; 4-0-0-0), while Minnesota is second (11 points in six games; 3-2-1-1). With sweeps at Ohio State and at home against Penn State to begin B1G play, Notre Dame became the first team to start a Big Ten conference season with four consecutive league wins. Minnesota had the best previous start to Big Ten play in 2013-14 with a 3-0-1-0 record en route to an 8-0-2-0 B1G start.

Last season, No. 4 seed/12th-ranked Notre Dame came back from a 2-0 deficit to defeat the top-seeded/fifth-ranked Golden Gophers, 3-2, in the first round of the 2017 NCAA Northeast Regional at the SNHU Arena in Manchester, N.H. The win helped propel the Irish to the 2017 Frozen Four in Chicago.

SEVEN IN A ROW

• Notre Dame is on a seven game winning streak, which is tied with Boston College for the longest active winning streak in the country.
• It marks Notre Dame’s first winning streak of at least seven games since Feb. 13 – March 21, 2009 when it won 10 straight games.
• The Irish did have a seven game unbeaten streak last year from Feb. 3-24, 2017 (5-0-2).
• Cale Morris has started each game during the current seven-game winning streak, posting a 1.57 goals-against average and a .953 save percentage to go along with a pair of 1-0 shutout wins.
• Jake Evans (2-8-10) and Cal Burke (3-3-6) have led a balanced Irish offensive attack during the win streak.
• Also during the streak, Notre Dame is averaging 3.29 goals per game and the Irish penalty kill unit is 24-for-27 (88.9%).

NOTES TO KNOW

• On Saturday, Nov. 18, Notre Dame (10-3-1) and Clarkson (10-3-1) became the first two teams in the country to reach 10 wins on the season.
• It marked the first time Notre Dame won 10 of it first 14 games since 2012-13 (10-4-0) with that season’s 10th win coming on Nov. 30, 2012.
• This season also marks the earliest the Irish have reached 10 wins (based on date) since starting 2007-08 with a 10-4-0 record with that 10th win coming on Nov. 20 (same weekend of the season as Nov. 18 this year).
• This weekend’s series will mark the second Top-10 showdown this season at the Compton Family Ice Arena, following then No. 4/6 Notre Dame vs. No. 1/1 Denver on Oct. 13-14.
• Over the last four games, the Irish have killed off 18 straight opponent power plays.
• Jake Evans enters the weekend tied for second in the NCAA in points (5-17-22).
• Evans leads the nation with 17 assists, 208 faceoff wins, 15 even strength points and games with at least three points (4).
• Evans’ 1.57 points per game average ranks fifth nationally.
• Jordan Gross (5-8-13) and Bobby Nardella (4-9-13) are tied for third in the country in scoring by defensemen (tied with each other for the Big Ten lead among defensemen).
• Cale Morris‘ .945 save percentage ranks fourth in the country (minimum 33% team minutes played), while his nine wins are tied for second with Minnesota’s Eric Schierhorn.

— ND —

Dan Colleran, Director of Athletics Communications 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).