WHO: #5 Notre Dame (5-0-1, 1-0-1-0 B1G) vs. Ohio State (6-1-1, 2-0-0-0 B1G)
WHEN: Friday, November 8 – 8 p.m. ET | Saturday, November 9 – 7 p.m. ET
WHERE: Compton Family Ice Arena
WATCH: Friday – NBCSN | Saturday – SNY
LISTEN: 94.3 FM | UND.com
TICKETS: Click here
GAME NOTES (PDF)
FOR STARTERS
- The Fighting Irish went 1-0-1 at Minnesota last weekend to open Big Ten play, improving to 5-0-1 overall on the season (Notre Dame lost the extra B1G point in 3×3 play in game one against the Gophers).
- It marks Notre Dame’s first unbeaten start through six games since opening the 1998- 99 season with a 6-0-0 mark.
- After the 1-0-0 weekend at Minnesota, Cam Morrison was named the Big Ten’s Third Star of the Week (Nov. 5) as he led the Irish with four points (0-4-4), including three assists in the game two comeback victory.
- Senior captain Cal Burke has opened the season on a six-game point streak (4-9-13).
- Burke’s 2.17 points per game average ranks second in the NCAA among skaters with at least three games played on the season.
- Senior Mike O’Leary leads the Irish with five goals and ranks second on the team with 12 points (5-7-12).
- With a 2.00 points per game average, O’Leary ranks third in the NCAA among skaters with at least three games played on the season.
- Dating back to last season’s series at Wisconsin on Jan. 18-19, 2019, O’Leary has 28 points (9-19-28) in his last 25 games played (career: 120 GP, 16-30-46).
- At 4.67 goals per game, the Notre Dame offense ranks third in the NCAA and first among teams that have played at least three games this season.
- Ohio State ranks tied for third in the country with a 1.62 goals-against average. • Twelve Fighting Irish players have scored at least one goal through six games.
- Current Irish point streaks include Cal Burke (6 games; 4-9-12), Matt Hellickson (career-long 5 games; 2-3-5), Trevor Janicke (career-long 3 games; 3-2-5) and Cam Morrison (2 games; 0-4-4).
- The Fighting Irish penalty kill is 16-for-17 on the season, which ranks seventh nationally (94.1%).
- Notre Dame is 6-for-20 on the power play, good for ninth in the country (30.0%).
TOP-10 SHOWDOWN
- The fifth-ranked Fighting Irish will play a ranked opponent for the first time this season when they welcome No. 8/9 Ohio State for this weekend’s series (Nov. 8-9).
- Notre Dame’s last win over a top-10 team came on March 29, 2019 when Cam Morrison’s overtime goal lifted the Irish past No. 6/7 Clarkson, 3-2, in the NCAA Northeast Regional semifinal.
- This weekend’s series will mark Notre Dame’s first series against a top-10 opponent since playing at fourth-ranked Ohio State last season on Feb. 1-2.
- The last Fighting Irish home series against a top-10 team also came last season versus Ohio State when the teams split a pair of games on Nov. 2-3.
- The last time Notre Dame swept a series against a top-10 team came on Nov. 24-25, 2017 when the Irish topped sixth-ranked Minnesota 1-0 and 5-2.
THE NOTRE DAME – OHIO STATE SERIES
- Ohio State leads the all-time series 37-35-10, but in games played at Notre Dame the Fighting Irish lead the series 18-16-4.
- In their inaugural season in the Big Ten, the Irish and Buckeyes met five times, with Notre Dame skating away with a 4-1-0 record including a 3-2 overtime victory in the 2018 Big Ten Championship game courtesy of a Cam Morrison game winner.
- Notre Dame’s first Big Ten conference games included a weekend sweep of the Buckeyes in Columbus by scores of 4-1 and 3-2 on Nov. 3-4.
- Since joining the Big Ten, Notre Dame leads the series with the Buckeyes 5-4-0.
- Last season, Ohio State won the season series with a 3-1-0 mark.
- In nine career starts against Ohio State, Morris is 5-4-0 with a 1.92 goals-against average and a .940 save percentage.
- Notre Dame’s active career leaders against the Buckeyes include Cam Morrison (9 GP; 4-2-6), Cal Burke (9 GP; 2-3-5) and Colin Theisen (9 GP; 2-3-5).
- Notre Dame Associate Head Coach Paul Pooley is a 1984 graduate of Ohio State where he earned All-American honors and graduated as the program’s all-time leader in goals (114), assists (156) and points (270).
- Pooley, who wore No. 22, became the first Ohio State hockey player to have his number retired on November 4, 2006 during a game between Notre Dame and Ohio State
- Pooley’s nephew, Austin Pooley, is a junior forward with the Buckeyes.
NOTABLE NUMBERS
- 506 –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 506 career wins, which ranks second among active NCAA DI head coaches (spanning six seasons at Lake Superior State and 14+ seasons at Notre Dame).
- 56 – Over the past three seasons (2017-18, 2018-19 and 2019-20), Notre Dame has totaled 56 wins to rank tied for third in the NCAA and first in the Big Ten over that span: 1. Minnesota State (67); 2. Minnesota Duluth (57); 3. Notre Dame (56) & St. Cloud State (56); 5. Denver (55).
- 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.
- 4.67 – The Fighting Irish enter the weekend with the nation’s third-highest scoring offense with a 4.67 goals per game mark. Through six games, 12 Notre Dame players have notched at least one goal. The 4.67 is topped only by Princeton (2 GP) and Harvard (1 GP).
- 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).
- 4 –Notre Dame (5-0-1) is one of four remaining unbeaten teams, joining Denver (8-0-0), Cornell (2-0-0) and Harvard (1-0-0).
- 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.
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