Feb. 17, 2016
DETAILS — GAME 31
Match-up: Notre Dame at Providence College
Date: Friday, Feb. 19, 2016
Time: 7:05 p.m. (ET)
Site: Providence, R.I.
Arena: Schneider Arena (3,033)
Television: CoxSports on OSN (local)
Play-by-Play: Mike Logan
Analyst: Sonny Watrous
Live Streaming: coxhub.com/coxhublive
Live Radio: New Country 99.9 FM
Play-by-Play: Darin Pritchett
Live Audio: WatchND App (www.watchND.tv)
Play-by-Play: Darin Pritchett
All-Time Series: ND leads 5-3-1 (9 games)
DETAILS — GAME 32
Match-up: Notre Dame at Providence College
Date: Saturday, Feb. 20, 2016
Time: 7:05 p.m. (ET)
Site: Providence, R.I.
Arena: Schneider Arena (3,033)
Television: CoxSports on OSN (local)
Play-by-Play: Mike Logan
Analyst: Sonny Watrous
Live Streaming: coxhub.com/coxhublive
Live Radio: New Country 99.9 FM
Play-by-Play: Darin Pritchett
Live Audio: WatchND App (www.watchND.tv)
Play-by-Play: Darin Pritchett
OVERVIEW
— Two of the top teams in the nation will meet this weekend at Schneider Arena when the fifth-ranked Friars play host to the seventh-ranked Irish with Hockey East title implications and playoff positioning on the line.
— Notre Dame enters the weekend in first place in the Hockey East standings, while Providence is third and both teams are on four-game winning streaks.
— The Irish are now 13-1-3 over their last 17 games (dating back to Nov. 28) and are also 8-1-0 over their last nine games.
— During the last 17 games, goaltender Cal Petersen has a .949 save percentage, which is the best mark in the country over that stretch, and he has a 1.59 goals-against average to go along with the 13-1-3- record.
— Notre Dame is 7-2-4 (6-1-1 HEA) on the road this season and the Irish are also 6-0-0 on the year in one goal games.
THE FRIARS AT A GLANCE
— Fifth-ranked Providence College, the 2015 defending National Champion, enters the weekend with a 21-5-4 record and in third place in the Hockey East standings (12-3-3, 27 points).
— Last weekend, the Friars handled a home-and-home series with UConn by scores of 4-0 and 3-2.
— Prior to the UConn series, Providence swept a road series at Maine to account for its current four-game unbeaten streak.
— After finishing the first semester with an unbeaten record (12-0-3), the Friars are 9-5-4 since returning from the winter break (Dec. 28), but have won five of their last six games.
— Senior center Mark Jankowski leads the team in scoring with 30 points (13-17-30), while sophomore defenseman Jake Walman (13-15-28) and senior forward Trevor Mingoia (9-19-28) are tied for second on the team.
— In net, junior Nick Ellis has filled in nicely for the departed Jon Gillies, posting a 19-5-4 record to go along with a 2.04 goals-against average and a .929 save percentage.
— Freshman Hayden Hawkey has also spelled Ellis for four games this season, including last weekend’s shutout against UConn in which he made 24 saves.
FRIAR CONNECTIONS
— Current Notre Dame associate head coach Paul Pooley served as Providence College’s head coach from 1994-2005, leading the Friars to the 1996 Hockey East title and to NCAA Tournament appearances in 1996 and 2001.
— Current Providence College Coordinator of Men’s Hockey Operations Kyle Murphy began his collegiate playing career with the Irish (2009-10) before finishing with the Friars (2012-13).
FAST STARTS
— Notre Dame has taken a 1-0 lead in 24 of its 30 games this season.
— The Irish are 17-2-5 when scoring first.
— Notre Dame is out-scoring opponents 32-12 in the first period (20-7 in Hockey East play).
— The 24 first goals are tied with Providence College for the national lead.
PETERSEN MAKING ALL THE STOPS
— Sophomore goaltender Cal Petersen has started each of Notre Dame’s first 30 games of the season.
— Petersen leads the nation in minutes played (1808:11) and percent of team minutes (98.5%).
— Dating back to last season, Petersen has started each of Notre Dame’s last 43 games.
— With 847 saves this season, Petersen ranks second in the country in total saves, trailing AIC’s Alex Murray (944).
— In Hockey East play this season, Petersen is 14-2-2 with a 1.66 goals-against average and a .938 save percentage.
— Petersen is one of only four Hockey East goaltenders to have played at least 90 percent of their team’s minutes in goal (entering the Feb. 19 games):
1. Cal Petersen, ND — 98.5%
2. Kevin Boyle, UML — 93.9%
3. Thatcher Demko, BC — 92.9%
4. Nick Ellis, PC — 91.6%
IRISH POINT STREAKS/TRENDS
— Anders Bjork (1-2-3), Sam Herr (2-1-3), Connor Hurley (1-2-3) and Jake Evans (2-4-6) each have three-game point streaks.
— Jack Jenkins has a two-game point streak (1-1-2). Ã… Thomas DiPauli has notched 11 points (4-7-11) over the last eight games.
— Jordan Gross has five points (1-4-5) over the last four games.
PLAYOFF PICTURE
— With two weekends remaining in the regular season, the races for playoff positioning and the regular season championship are heating up.
— All 12 teams will make the Hockey East playoffs, with the top-four seeds earning first round byes and hosting best-of-three second round series (first round series will also be best-of-three).
— Notre Dame (14-2-2/30 points) sits in first place and controls its own destiny with series at Providence and against Boston University remaining.
— Boston College (12-1-5/29 points) is in second, with series against Vermont and UMass Lowell left on the Eagles’ schedule.
— Providence College (12-3-3/27 points), is in third place, followed by UMass Lowell (11-5-4/26 points) and Boston University (10-5-3/23 points).
— With one point, Notre Dame would clinch a top-four seed and a first round bye.
GROSS OFFENSE
— Sophomore defenseman Jordan Gross is providing an offensive spark and ranks third on the team with 27 points (8-19-27).
— Gross’ eight goals are a career-high total (freshman season: 42 GP, 7-21-28).
— Gross’ 27 points are the third-most in the country by a defenseman, trailing only Ethan Prow of St. Cloud State (6-23-29) and Jake Walman of Providence College (13-15-28).
— Gross’ eight goals rank tied for fifth nationally among defensemen.
NARDELLA JOINING IN
— Freshman defenseman Bobby Nardella, who has been paired with Gross since the Merrimack series (the last nine games), is joining in to create one of the nation’s top scoring defenseman teammates.
— Nardella’s 22 points (4-18-22) rank tied for seventh nationally among defensemen (second among freshmen).
— Nardella and Gross have combined for 49 points, tied for the most among two defensemen on any team in the country:
49 — Prow & Nevalainen (St. Cloud State)
49 — Gross & Nardella (Notre Dame)
48 — Walman & Gilmour (Providence)
43 — Toews & Priskie (Quinnipiac)
41 — Wilson & Golightly (Robert Morris)
41 — Zink & Kapla (UMass Lowell)
JACKSON RANKS
— Heading into the weekend, Notre Dame Head Coach Jeff Jackson ranks second in career winning percentage in NCAA DI (minimum five years):
.66098 — Red Berenson, Michigan (828-403-89)
.66094 — Jeff Jackson, Notre Dame (426-201-72)
.638 — Don Lucia, Minnesota (690-370-97)
.625 — Dean Blais, Omaha (390-222-58)
.621 — Dick Umilie, New Hampshire (570-328-102)
.620 — Jerry York, Boston College (1005-595-110)
IN THE POLLS
— In the rankings for the 14th consecutive week, the Irish moved up to No. 7 in both the USCHO.com and USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine polls after the weekend sweep of Maine.
— The No. 7 ranking is Notre Dame’s highest since being ranked No. 6 in the Nov. 18, 2013 releases of both the USCHO.com and USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine polls.