#4 Irish Set To Wrap 2017 At #12 Wisconsin

Dec. 6, 2017

Game Notes

NOTRE DAME, Ind. — The No. 4 University of Notre Dame hockey team will play its final series of the year, hoping to extend its 11-game winning streak as the Irish take on No. 12 Wisconsin on Friday and Saturday at the Kohl Center in Madison, Wisconsin.

Notre Dame (14-3-1, 8-0-0-0 B1G) and Wisconsin (10-7-2, 8-4-3-1 B1G) will be meeting for the first time since Oct. 12, 2007, and for the first time at the Kohl Center since the Irish posted a 3-1 win on Jan. 18, 2004.

At 8-0-0-0, Notre Dame is the the first Big Ten team to win its first eight conference contests of the season. The Fighting Irish are the second Big Ten team to go undefeated through eight games and the first since Minnesota started 2013-14 with a 10-game unbeaten streak to open conference play (8-0-2-0).

11-Game Winning Streak

• Notre Dame is on an 11-game winning streak, which is the longest active winning streak in the country.
• It is the longest Fighting Irish winning streak under head coach Jeff Jackson and the longest winning streak during a season in which Notre Dame competed in an NCAA Div. I conference.
• The only other times Notre Dame has won at least 11 games in a row occurred during the 1983-84 season (15 consecutive wins from Nov. 4, 1983 – Jan. 21, 1984) and the 1987-88 season (14 consecutive wins from Dec. 11, 1987 – Feb. 13, 1988). The Irish competed under club status for the 1983-84 season and then were an independent during the 1987-88 season.
• Notre Dame’s previous longest winning streak under Jackson was 10 games from Feb. 13 – March 21, 2009.
• It is also Notre Dame’s longest unbeaten streak since Nov. 28, 2015 – Jan. 23, 2016 when it went 9-0-3 (12 games).
• Cale Morris has started each game during the current 11-game winning streak, posting a 1.27 goals-against average and a .963 save percentage to go along with four shutouts.
• Jake Evans (4-12-16), Cal Burke (7-3-10) and Jordan Gross (2-7-9) have led a balanced Irish offensive attack during the win streak.
• Fifteen Irish skaters have totaled at least three points during the winning streak, while 10 players have scored at least two goals.

Notes to Know

• Jake Evans enters the weekend as the nation’s top scorer with 28 points on seven goals and 21 assists (which also lead the nation). Evans also leads the nation with 250 faceoff wins, 21 even strength points, five games with at least three points and nine games with at least two points. His 1.56 points per game average ranks fourth nationally.
• Jordan Gross (5-12-17) is tied for second in scoring among defensemen in the NCAA. Gross’ 70 shots on goal lead all defensemen and ranks tied for fourth among all skaters, while his 3.89 shots on goal per game average ranks first among defensemen and 15th nationally.
• Andrew Oglevie‘s three game-winning goals are tied for second in the NCAA.
• Cale Morris has a .955 save percentage, which ranks first in the country and his 13 wins are tied for first. Morris also leads the nation with a .929 winning percentage (13-1-0). He ranks second in the NCAA with a 1.47 goals-against average and his four shutouts are tied for second.
• For the fourth consecutive week, Morris was named the Big Ten’s First Star of the Week the conference announced on Tuesday morning (Dec. 5). Last week, he became the first player to earn Big Ten First Star honors in three consecutive weeks and has now extended that streak to four.
• Notre Dame is giving up just 2.00 goals-against per game, which ranks third in the NCAA.
• The Irish have killed off 54 of 61 opponent power plays, which ranks fifth in the country.
• Notre Dame (14-3-1) has won 14 of its first 18 games for the first time since the 2012- 13 season when the Irish got off to a 14-4-0 start (14th win came on Dec. 12, 2012 at Bowling Green). Last season, Notre Dame’s 14th win of the year came in game 25 (Jan. 21, 2017 vs. New Hampshire).

Series Quick Hits

• Former opponents in the WCHA, Notre Dame and Wisconsin will be meeting for the 65th and 66th times overall but for the first time as Big Ten opponents. The teams last met on Oct. 12, 2007, in the opening game of the Lefty McFadden Invitational at the E.J. Nutter Center in Dayton, Ohio. Wisconsin posted a 4-1 win on that day, with Mark Van Guilder accounting for the lone Irish goal.
• That meeting was the only previous time the Irish and Badgers have played under head coach Jeff Jackson, who owns a 1-2-0 record all-time against Wisconsin (1-1-0 at Lake Superior State).
• The one win Jackson has over the Badgers came on April 4, 1992, in Albany, New York, as Lake Superior State defeated Wisconsin 5-3 to win the NCAA Championship (the first of Jackson’s two NCAA Championships at Lake State).
• The Irish and Badgers played the first hockey game in the Kohl Center on Oct. 3, 1998, with Notre Dame posting a 2-1 win. In that game, Ryan Dolder scored in the first period and Aniket Dhadphale added the second-period game-winner, while Forrest Karr made 30 saves in the Irish net.
• The current Notre Dame roster features one Wisconsin native: Luke Novak (Waukesha).
• Fighting Irish goaltender Cale Morris (Larkspur, Colorado) credits Wisconsin graduate transfer goaltender Kyle Hayton (Denver, Colorado) with getting him interested in playing goalie as the two grew up near each other and became friends.

–ND–