Nov. 15, 2016
By Dan Colleran
NOTRE DAME, Ind. — The ninth-ranked Notre Dame Fighting Irish hockey team will play host to No. 5/6 UMass Lowell for two games this week at the Compton Family Ice Arena.
The Hockey East series will begin at 7:35 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 17, while game two, also slated for 7:35 p.m., will take place on Friday, Nov. 18.
OVERVIEW | GAMES 11 & 12
Matchup: UMass Lowell at Notre Dame
Date: Thursday, Nov. 17 | Friday, Nov. 18
Time: 7:35 p.m. (ET) | 7:35 p.m. (ET)
Site: Notre Dame, Ind.
Arena: Compton Family Ice Arena (5,022)
Television: None
Live Streaming: NBC Sports App
Play-by-Play: Darin Pritchett
Live Radio: WZOC 94.3 FM
Play-by-Play: Darin Pritchett
Live Audio: WatchND App
Live Stats: UND.com
Live Updates: @NDHockey
Series History: UMass Lowell leads, 7-1-2
Tickets: UND.com/BuyTickets
NOTES TO KNOW
— Entering the weekend series with Northeastern, junior goaltender Cal Petersen has started 60 consecutive games in the Irish net dating back to his freshman season.
— The Irish are outscoring opponents by a 17-6 margin in the third period. Notre Dame’s 1.89 goals per third period are tied for first in the country with Boston University.
— With 18 points (7-11-18) through nine games, Anders Bjork is tied for first in the country with a 2.00 points-per game average (Union’s Mike Vecchione).
IRISH POINT STREAKS & TRENDS
— Andrew Oglevie has a career-long, seven-game point streak (4-7-11).
— Jake Evans has a five-game point streak (3-5-8).
— Anders Bjork has a three-game point streak (2-5-7).
— Bjork has also notched at least one point in eight of Notre Dame’s nine games this season.
— Cam Morrison has his first career point streak (two games, 2-1-3).
SCOUTING UMASS LOWELL
— The Riverhawks are coming off a weekend home-and-home series split with Maine, including a 5-2 road loss (Nov. 11) and a 4-1 home win (Nov. 13).
— No. #5/6 UMass Lowell is 7-3-2 (3-1-0 Hockey East) on the season and 3-2-0 on the road. — Senior forward Joe Gambardella leads the team with 17 points on seven goals and 10 assists, followed by junior forward C.J. Smith (7-8-15).
— Smith (4), junior forward Jake Kamrass (4) and Gambardella (3) have combined for 12 of Lowell’s 17 power-play goals this season.
— Freshman Tyler Wall has started the last five games in net for the Riverhawks and is 7-2-1 on the season.
— Wall also has a 1.96 goals against average and a .923 save percentage entering this week’s series.
BJORK PLAYS LEADING ROLE
— Junior forward Anders Bjork, a 2014 fifth-round pick by Boston, is tied with Union’s Mike Vecchione for the NCAA lead with a 2.00 points-per game average (7-11-18 in nine games played).
— Bjork leads all Hockey East skaters with 18 points and is tied for the league lead with 11 assists.
— Bjork has only been held without a point in one of Notre Dame’s nine games this season and he has posted four multi-point games, including four-point games against ASU (Oct. 8) and UConn (Oct. 28).
JACKSON REACHES 250
— In the midst of his 12th season behind the Irish bench, Head Coach Jeff Jackson notched his 250th career win with Notre Dame in the 5-2 victory at Northeastern on Nov. 12. (250-158-48).
— Only Charles “Lefty” Smith has more wins as Notre Dame’s head coach (307-320-31).
TOP MARKS IN THE COUNTRY
— Released on Nov. 15, the Irish rank third in NCAA Div. I hockey in the Graduation Success Rate (GSR) with a score of 94 (Bowling Green is first with 100, followed by Air Force at 96). — Notre Dame also ranks first in NCAA Div. I hockey in the Federal Rate (measured by the federal government in its Department of Education report) with a score of 82.
— Miami is second in the Federal Rate with a score of 79.
— The University of Notre Dame has claimed a share of the 2016 national championship for graduating student-athletes in all sports–in the process posting the top NCAA Graduation Success Rate (GSR) figure (98) for its student-athletes for the 10th straight year.
— ND —
Dan Colleran, associate athletics communications director 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).