WHO: #6/6 Notre Dame (12-5-1, 5-3-0-0 B1G) vs. Michigan (6-7-6, 2-4-4-2 B1G)
WHEN: Saturday, January 5 – 4:30 p.m.
WHERE: Notre Dame Stadium
WATCH: NBCSN
LISTEN: Click here
TICKETS: Click here
THE SERIES VS. MICHIGAN
- Earlier this season, the teams split a weekend series at the Yost Ice Arena (Nov. 9-10), with Michigan winning game one 2-1 and Notre Dame bouncing back to take game two by a score of 6-2.
- Eleven players recorded at least one point in that series, including five with two or more points on the weekend.
- Alex Steeves (2-1-3) and Cal Burke (1-2-3) both posted three points in the game two victory.
- Matt Hellickson notched a goal in game one before assisting on two on the second night for a three-point weekend (1-2-3).
- Jack Jenkins (1-1-2) and Jake Pivonka (0-2-2) also tallied multiple points on the weekend.
- Dylan St. Cyr made his second start of the 2018-19 season against the Wolverines, stopping 29 shots in the Irish 6-2 victory to conclude the trip to Ann Arbor.
- Last season, in their inaugural season in the Big Ten, the Irish and Wolverines met five times, with the Irish claiming three victories, including a last second win at the 2018 NCAA Frozen Four.
- As time ran down in the 2018 NCAA Frozen Four semifinal (April 5), Cam Morrison slid the puck back to Jake Evans in the slot, who shot it five-hole for the game-winner with five seconds remaining – sending Notre Dame to the national championship.
- All-time, Michigan leads the series 77-60-5, however, since their final season in the CCHA (2012-13), the Irish hold the edge with an 9-4-0 record.
- Three of those four losses were by a single goal, including an overtime loss at the U.S. Bank Arena in the NCAA Regionals (UM 3-0; March 25, 2016).
- The Irish and Wolverines met each season from 1991-92 to 2012-13.
- Notre Dame recognizes the first official meeting as a 3-2 overtime win by the Fighting Irish on Jan. 17, 1922 at the Weinberg Coliseum in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
- Head Coach Jeff Jackson is 30-29-8 all-time against Michigan (including his time at Lake Superior State), while he is 12-6-0 all-time against the Wolverines in the playoffs.
- Jackson named current Michigan head coach Mel Pearson as one of his Team USA assistant coaches for the 1997 IIHF World Junior Championship. Jackson and Pearson helped lead USA to the silver medal in that tournament in Switzerland.
- The current Notre Dame roster features two Michigan natives: Dylan St. Cyr (Northville, Michigan) and Colin Theisen (Monroe, Michigan).
- In six career games against Michigan, junior goaltender Cale Morris boasts a 3-3-0 record and a .943 save percentage. Last season, he stopped 161 of the 171 shots faced including 78 in their first weekend series as Big Ten rivals as the Irish posted a pair of 2-1 wins.
- Current offensive leaders against the Wolverines include Matt Hellickson (7 GP, 4-3-7), Cal Burke (7 GP, 2-3-5), Dylan Malmquist (8 GP, 0-4-4), Jack Jenkins (9 GP, 2-1-3), Alex Steeves (2 GP, 2-1-3) and Bobby Nardella (8 GP, 2-1-3).
NOTABLE NUMBERS
- 308 – In his 14th season, head coach Jeff Jackson now has 308 career wins at Notre Dame (308-182-55), breaking Lefty Smith’s longtime record of 307 wins behind the Irish bench.
- 50 – Notre Dame is embarking upon the 50th season of varsity hockey at the University
- 40 – Over the last two seasons to date, the Fighting Irish have racked up 40 wins which ranks second in the NCAA behind only Minnesota State’s 41 (entering games on Jan. 4).
- 19 – Former Fighting Irish goaltender Cal Petersen, who led Notre Dame to the 2017 Frozen Four, made his NHL debut for Los Angeles on Nov. 13, becoming the 19th player to reach the NHL after skating for Jeff Jackson at Notre Dame.
- 7 – With the 2018 Big Ten tournament and regular season titles, Notre Dame has now won even conference championships in program history, each under Jeff Jackson (three regular season)
- 6 – Cale Morris recorded his second shutout of the season and the sixth of his career in Monday’s win over Boston College. He now boasts a career .941 save percentage.
- 3 – Notre Dame will be playing in the third outdoor game in modern program history, having also played Miami at Soldier Field (W, 2-1 on Feb. 17, 2013) and Boston College at Fenway Park (L, 4-3 on Jan. 4, 2014).
- 2 – Against Mercyhurst on Oct. 12, junior Cal Burke notched a third period hat trick — the second of his career. He became the first Irish player since Anders Lee with multiple career hat tricks.
OTHER TIDBITS
- In the 2019 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic® at Notre Dame Stadium, the Boston Bruins came from behind to defeat the Chicago Blackhawks, 4-2 (Jan. 1).
- A capacity crowd of 76,126 was the second-largest crowd in NHL history.
- Boston’s Sean Kuraly scored what proved to be the game winner in the third period.
- Prior to the turn of the century, the House that Rockne Built rarely hosted non-football events.
- In 2008, the stadium was host to the Big East Women’s Lacrosse Tournament and will host the NCAA Men’s Lacrosse Championship in 2021.
- In October, Notre Dame Stadium hosted its first-ever concert as Garth Brooks played on stage set up at center field.
- Since 2010, the stadium has also hosted the annual commencement ceremony.
- Saturday’s game will mark the third outdoor game in the modern era of Notre Dame hockey, having previously played against Miami at Soldier Field in Chicago (W, 2-1 on Feb. 17, 2013) and versus Boston college at Fenway Park in Boston (L 4-3 on Jan. 4, 2014)
- Notre Dame’s previous outdoor game goal-scorers include: Mario Lucia and Jeff Costello versus Miami and Lucia, T.J. Tynan and Bryan Rust versus Boston College.
- The original site for Notre Dame hockey, dating back as far as 1912, was outdoors at the current site of Badin Hall and Saint Mary’s Lake (the area where Badin hall is located was flooded in order to use as a rink).
- Notre Dame’s most recent outdoor home game from the early years of the program took place on Thursday, January 20, 1927 against the Michigan College of the Mines (Michigan Tech).
- Michigan Tech scored two first period goals en route to an eventual 3-0 win on that day.
- In addition to the flooded area at Badin Hall, the original club team played outdoors at Howard Park in South Bend in its early years.