Jan. 15, 2002
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HERE COME THE MAVERICKS: The Nebraska-Omaha Mavericks will make their second trip ever to the Joyce Center to face the Notre Dame Fighting Irish this weekend, Jan. 18-19. Game time both nights is 7:05 p.m. The series is an important one as the two teams are separated by one point in the CCHA standings. Notre Dame starts the week in seventh place with a 6-6-4 record and 16 points. Nebraska-Omaha is in eighth place with a 6-7-3 mark and 15 points. The two teams are part of a logjam that has eight teams within six points of third place. The Irish are one point behind sixth-place Ferris State (17), two behind fifth-place Northern Michigan (18), three behind fourth-place Alaska Fairbanks (19) and just four off the pace of third-place Ohio State (20). Michigan and Michigan State are tied for first with 23 points in the standings. The Irish have a game-in-hand on Ferris State and Michigan as each have played 17 league games. The Irish will look to end a trend that has them play well on the first night of a series and struggle in the second game. To date, Notre Dame is 6-2-3 in the first game of series and just 2-7-2 on the second night. After starting the season with an 0-4-2 record, the Irish are 8-5-3 in their last 16 games and are 6-3-1 since Dec. 1. At home, the Irish are 4-4-2. Notre Dame returns to the road next week with two games at Miami (OH) on Jan. 25-26. Both games at Goggin Arena will start at 7:35 p.m.
TV TIME: Notre Dame’s game with the Nebraska-Omaha Mavericks on Saturday, Jan. 19 will be televised locally by WHME-TV with Bob Nagle and Craig Brown calling the action. Game time is 7:05 p.m.
IRISH VERSUS MAVERICKS: The two teams have met six times in the all-time series with Nebraska-Omaha holding a 3-2-1 mark in the games played. UNO played its first season in the CCHA during the 1999-00 campaign and made their only visit to South Bend that season. At the Joyce Center, the two teams are 1-1-0. Last year, the two teams played twice in Omaha, Neb. with the Mavericks winning 1-0 on Dec. 19, 2000 while the Irish took a 7-3 decision the following night (Dec. 20). The Irish have won two of the last three meetings in the series.
SCOUTING NEBRASKA-OMAHA: In two seasons in the CCHA, the Mavericks have had a great deal of success advancing to Joe Louis Arena and the CCHA finals each year. UNO comes into this weekend’s series after sweeping Alabama-Huntsville at home 4-2 and 3-2 and the Mavericks are 3-1-1 in their last five games. Offensively, senior Jeff Hoggan (14-16-30) leads the team in scoring. He is followed by sophomore Andrew Wong (7-20-27) and junior David Brisson (7-13-20) on the scoring list. In goal, sophomore Dan Ellis has started 23 of 24 games in goal and is 11-9-3 overall with a 2.75 goals against and a .908 save percentage. For more information on the Mavericks, check their website at gomavs.unomaha.edu.
HEAD COACH DAVE POULIN: Irish head coach Dave Poulin is now in his seventh season behind the Notre Dame bench. He owns an 89-130-34 (.419) overall record and is 63-96-30 (.413) in CCHA contests. Against Nebraska-Omaha, Poulin-coached teams are 2-3-1.
NORTHERN MICHIGAN SERIES RECAP: On Friday, Jan. 11, the Irish downed Northern Michigan, 4-1 at the Joyce Center. Freshman goaltender Morgan Cey (Wilkie, Sask.) stopped 36 of 37 Wildcat shots to lead Notre Dame to the win at a sold-out Joyce Center. David Inman (Sr., Toronto, Ont.) paced the Irish offense scoring once while assisting on two others as the Irish opened a 3-0 lead through two periods. Rob Globke (So., West Bloomfield, Mich.) rejoined Inman and Michael Chin (Jr., Urbana, Ill.) on the same line after playing at the World Junior Championships and scored a power play and assisted on another in his return. Chin added a goal and an assist and Evan Nielsen (Jr., Evanston, Ill.) scored into an empty net at 19:11 to seal the win. Bryce Cockburn scored Northern’s lone goal at 1:12 of the third period on the power play to cut the Irish lead to 3-1. The Wildcats held a 37-28 edge in shots during the game. Goaltender Craig Kowalski made 24 saves in the game. Both teams were one-for-five on the power play. The win marked the first time this season that the Irish won when outshot in the game. On Saturday, Jan. 12, it was Craig Kowalski’s turn to shine in goal as he kicked out all 41 Notre Dame shots he faced in a 4-0 win over the Irish. Chris Gobert scored the only goal Kowalski would need at 17:24 of the first period as he cashed in on an Irish turnover. Bryce Cockburn (15:27) and Sean Owens (15:41) scored 14 seconds apart in the second period to break the game open and Cockburn closed the scoring with an empty-net shorthanded goal at 18:20 for the 4-0 final score. Notre Dame’s Morgan Cey made a career-high 38 saves in the loss as the Irish were outshot 42-41 in the game. Notre Dame failed to capitalize on eight power play chances while Northern Michigan was 0-4 with the man-advantage.
BLANKED AT HOME: Craig Kowalski’s 41-save, 4-0 shutout of the Irish on Jan. 12 marked the first time that the Irish were shutout at home since February 13, 1999 when Ferris State’s Vince Owen blanked the Irish 1-0. Notre Dame went 55 consecutive games at home without being shutout.
SRO: The Irish have sold-out three consecutive home games and now have four sellouts this season. Notre Dame has recorded crowds of 2,721 in the second game versus Michigan and in each of the Northern Michigan contests.
FIRST NIGHT’S ALRIGHT: Notre Dame has been very successful on the first night of weekend series this season. In the first game of a series, the Irish are 6-2-3. In the second game, Notre Dame is just 2-7-2.
FLYING RUBBER: The 42 shots surrendered by the Irish in the 4-0 loss to Northern Michigan was the most shots the Irish have given up in a game this season. Over the last four games, the Irish have been outshot by a 154-120 margin.
MAKING THE CEY-VE: Freshman goaltender Morgan Cey (Wilkie, Sask.) made a career-high 38 saves in the 4-0 loss to Northern Michigan on Jan. 12. That followed a 36-save performance in a 4-1 win over the Wildcats (Jan. 11). In his last four games, Cey has made 144 saves on 153 shots for a .941 save percentage. Over his last nine games, Cey is 5-3-1 with a 2.00 goals against average and a .936 save percentage. After giving up 37 goals in his first 10 games, the 6-3, 174-pound goaltender has given up just 18 goals in his last nine games. On the year, 15 of the 55 goals he has surrendered have been on the power play. On the season, Cey is 7-9-3 with a 2.88 goals against average and a .906 save percentage.
SHOT STUFF: Over the last four games, the Irish have surrendered 154 shots on goal (38.3 shots per game). Prior to the Michigan series, the Irish had outshot the opposition in six consecutive games by a 245-150 margin (40.8 to 25.0 average). The Jan. 11 win over Northern Michigan was the first time this season that the Irish won the game after being outshot. When the Irish outshoot their opponents, they are 7-2-1. When outshot, Notre Dame is 1-6-4.
WHAT’S MY LINE: For the first time since the Bowling Green series (Dec. 7-8), the line of David Inman, Rob Globke and Michael Chin was back together versus Northern Michigan. After not playing together due to Globke’s participation in the World Junior Championships, the trio picked up where they left off getting three goals and four assists in the 4-1 win versus Northern Michigan. The line was put together for the first time on Dec. 1 versus Lake Superior State and in six games together, they have 10 goals and 15 assists for 25 points and are +21 together. Inman (3g, 6a) leads the group with nine points while Globke (4g, 4a) and Chin (3g, 5a) each have eight points in six games.
THE IN(MAN) THING: Senior forward David Inman is in the midst of the best season of his Notre Dame career. He collected his sixth multiple-point game of the season with a three-point night (1g, 2a) in the 4-1 win over Northern Michigan (Jan. 11). He now has career highs in assists (12) and points (24) while his 12 goals are one off his 13-goal season in 1999-00. Inman had his second two-goal game of the season and the sixth of his career on Jan. 4 versus Michigan. The Toronto, Ont. native also had a career-high 10 shots on goal in the Dec. 8 game at Bowling Green. On Nov. 2, he recorded the second four-point game of his career in the 5-4 Irish win at Northern Michigan.
STREAKING IRISH: With the 4-0 shutout by Northern Michigan, all Irish scoring streaks came to an end. Rob Globke has points in five of his last six games (4-4-8) … Brett Lebda has an assist in three of his last four games (0-3-3) … David Inman has points in two of his last four games (3-2-5) and Michael Chin has goals in two of his last three games (2-1-3) and points in 12 of his last 15 contests (9-7-16).
A LITTLE CHIN MUSIC: Junior right wing Michael Chin has scored goals in four of his last six games. He scored the lone goal in Notre Dame’s 2-1 loss to Michigan just 1:06 into the game. That follows the weekend series at Princeton where he notched a power play goal in each game. His goal on Dec. 28 was the game-winner while his goal on Dec. 29 gave the Irish a 2-1 lead in the second period. Chin now has a career-high 10 goals (tied for 10th in the CCHA) and a career-best 17 points on the season. Chin has three multiple-point games this season. His previous best year came as a freshman when he had six goals and seven assists for 13 points. Chin also set a career-high when he had nine shots on goal in the 2-1 win on Dec. 28. For the series, Chin had 15 shots on goal.
ROAD SWEEPS: Notre Dame’s two wins over Princeton marked the first time since the Irish swept a series on the road since Oct. 17-18, 1997 when they won two games at St. Cloud State (4-3 in ot and 4-1).
CENTRAL SCOUTING RATINGS: The National Hockey League’s Central Scouting Service has released it’s midseason rankings of North American players eligible for the 2002 Entry Draft which will be held in Toronto, June 22-23. Included in the list of 240 players are 13 players from the CCHA including three Notre Dame players. Forward Rob Globke is ranked eighth overall with only Michigan’s Jim Slater ranked ahead of him among CCHA players. Center Yan Stastny is ranked 94th and forward Alex Lalonde is 240th.
THEY’RE BACK: Notre Dame center Rob Globke and defenseman Brett Lebda will return to the lineup this weekend versus Northern Michigan after helping the U.S. Junior National team to a 4-1-2 record and a fifth-place finish at the World Junior Championships in the Czech Republic. Globke had two goals and an assist for three points in seven games while Lebda had two goals in the tournament. The lone U.S. loss came to Russia in the quarterfinal round. Russia went on to wen the tournament. The Irish have had at least one player on the National Junior team in each of the last six years and along with Boston College have had 11 players in that period.
TURNING ON THE POWER: The Irish have struggled on the power play over the last four games scoring just once in 19 chances after going 0-for-8 in the 4-0 loss to Northern Michigan. For the season, the Irish are 16 for 110 with the man-advantage (14.5%). Over the last 13 games, Notre Dame is 13-for-72 (18.1%) with the man-advantage. Earlier this season, for the first time in two seasons (54 games), the Irish turned in back-to-back games with two or more power play goals. Notre Dame was two-for-10 versus Ferris State (11/9) and followed with a two-for-seven performance on (11/10). Prior to that, the last time the Irish scored two or more power play goals in back-to-back games was Feb. 12 and Feb. 18, 2000. David Inman leads the team with five power play goals while Aaron Gill has three. Michael Chin and John Wroblewski each have two goals with the man-advantage while Brett Lebda, Connor Dunlop, Rob Globke and Alex Lalonde each have one.
PENALTY KILLING PROWESS: Irish penalty killers have killed 11 of 14 penalties in the first four games of January for a 78.7% success rate. During the month of December, the Irish penalty killers killed 35 of 38 opponent power play chances for a 92.1% success rate. Over the last 10 games, the Irish have killed 46 of 52 penalties for an 88.5% penalty killing efficiency. For the season, the Irish have killed 106 of 123 for an 86.2% rate which ranks them third in the CCHA and ninth in the nation.
EVERYONE CONTIBUTES: Through 21 games this season, the Irish have gotten goals from 18 different players. Only three players – Neil Komadoski, Cory McLean and Joe Zurenko – who have played in eight or more games have not scored this season. The Irish have also had eight different players score game-winning goals this season.
CAREER YEAR: Junior center John Wroblewski recorded the first two-goal game of his career in Notre Dame’s 4-2 win over Princeton. Wroblewski scored the first goal of the game on the power play and then added an empty net goal. On the year, Wroblewski has career highs in goals (7) and points (11) while his four assists equal his career high.
SAM’S THE MAN: Senior left wing Sam Cornelius, playing in just his third game of the season, scored the winning goal in Saturday’s 4-2 win over Princeton. After Jon Maruk (Sr., Eden Prairie, Minn.) outmuscled the Princeton defense to drive to the goal, Cornelius was there to jam the rebound past Dave Stathos just 2:27 into the third period to give Notre Dame a 3-1 lead. Cornelius followed the goal versus Princeton by helping set up Michael Chin’s goal in the 2-1 loss to Michigan. A converted defenseman, Cornelius has now scored three goals in his career with two of them being game-winners. His first game-winner came during his freshman year (1998-99) versus Ferris State.
ALWAYS WILLING TO HELP: Irish center Connor Dunlop added to his career-best assists total with one in the 3-3 tie with Michigan (Jan. 4). Dunlop now has a career-highs in assists (19) and points (24). Dunlop is tied for tenth in the CCHA in scoring with 24 points on five goals and 19 assists. the 19 assists rank him fifth in the league.
BIG JAKE: With Rob Globke at the World Junior Championships, junior Jake Wiegand moved between Inman and Chin for the Michigan series. The 6-2, 218-pound forward picked up assists in each game to give him a career-best two game point streak. Wiegand has already equalled his career-best mark with three assists this season. Last year was his best year point-wise as he collected a goal and three assists for four points.
PENALTY SHOTS: After not being involved with a penalty shot either for or against for over two seasons, Notre Dame has had two called this season. On Dec. 8 at Bowling Green, Irish goaltender Morgan Cey stopped BG’s Greg Day at 9:52 of the second period. That was the first penalty shot called against the Irish since Mar. 13, 1999 when Matt Eisler stopped Michigan’s Bill Muckalt in a 4-2 Notre Dame win in the CCHA playoffs. Earlier this season (Oct. 12), sophomore Rob Globke scored on a penalty shot versus Union College’s Brandon Snee at 3:41 of the third period in the 7-4 loss to Union College. That was the first penalty shot by an an Irish player since Feb. 5, 1998 when Brian Urick was stopped by Ohio State’s Jeff Maund.
END OF THE LINE: Earlier this season, Notre Dame goaltender Morgan Cey recorded a career-best shutout streak of 111:24 between Nov. 17 and Dec. 7. Cey held Western Michigan off the scoreboard the final 13:40 of the third period on Nov. 17 and then followed that with a Dec. 1 shutout of Lake Superior State. The streak was snapped when Bowling Green scored at 17:44 of the second period in the 6-3 win over Bowling Green on Dec. 7.
ON THE OFFENSIVE: After 16 CCHA league games, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish are tied for the league lead in CCHA scoring with Michigan State as both teams are averaging 3.38 goals per game. In 22 games overall, the Irish rank sixth among CCHA teams with 3.14 goals per game. After scoring just 12 goals in their first five games (2.40 gpg), the Irish have scored 57 goals in their last 17 games (3.35 gpg). Over their last 10 games the Irish have scored 34 goals (3.40 per game).
GLOBKE GOALS: Sophomore forward Rob Globke snapped a 10-game personal goal-scoring drought in the weekend series with Lake Superior. After scoring two goals on Oct. 12 versus Union College, the Irish sniper did not score a goal until the Dec. 1 game with the Lakers when he picked up a goal and an assist. In the Dec. 2 game, Globke found the back of the net twice for his second multiple-goal game of the season. Since then, Globke has scored goals in three of the last six games he’s played for the Irish. On the year, Globke now has six goals and seven assists for 13 points.
PERANI CUP STANDINGS: Perani’s Hockey World is the CCHA’s sponsor of the league’s “Three Stars of the Game.” Members of the media are asked to select the game’s three stars for which points are accumulated – 1st Star gets five points, 2nd Star gets three and 3rd Star gets one. Here are the standings for Notre Dame players in CCHA games only:
CAREER BESTS: Michael Chin, Yan Stastny and Tom Galvin all had career-best games in the 6-3 win over Bowling Green (Dec. 7). Chin (a goal and two assists) and Stastny (three assists) each had career-high three-point games. Galvin had the first two-goal game of his career.
GALVIN-IZED: Defenseman Tom Galvin has proven to be an offensive force on the Notre Dame blueline this season. The sophomore defenseman if tied for fourth on the team in scoring with three goals and 11 assists for 14 points which ties him for seventh among CCHA defensemen in scoring. GGalvin had the first two-goal game of his career on Dec. 7 versus the Falcons, getting the game-winner early in the second period.
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Defenseman Evan Nielsen (Jr., Evanston, Ill.) was selected the CCHA’s Defensive Player of the Week for the week ending Dec. 2. Nielsen anchored a Notre Dame defense that turned in a 7-0 shutout and a 5-2 win over Lake Superior State, allowing just 39 shots in the two games. He was also part of a penalty-killing unit that killed off 14 consecutive Laker power play chances. The Irish captain also joined the offensive attack scoring a goal and adding an assist in the 7-0 win. For the weekend, Nielsen was a +5. He is the first Notre Dame player to take defensive player of the week honors since Feb. 20, 2000 when Tony Zasowski was selected for the honor.
SHARE THE WEALTH: Versus Lake Superior State, the Irish spread the offense around in both weekend wins. In the Dec. 1, 7-0 shutout win, 12 different players picked up points led by David Inman’s three-point (1g, 2a) night. In Sunday’s (Dec. 2) 5-2 win, 11 different players made the scoresheet with Rob Globke (2 goals) and Connor Dunlop (2 assists) leading the way.
CEY CAN YOU SEE: Freshman goaltender Morgan Cey recorded his first Notre Dame shutout by making 20 saves in Notre Dame’s 7-0 win over Lake Superior (12/1). The shutout was the first by an Irish goaltender since Dec. 4, 1999 when Tony Zasowski blanked Michigan State, 1-0. The shutout was the 27th in Notre Dame history and the 10th by an Irish goaltender in CCHA play. The 7-0 margin of victory was the largest shutout by an Irish goaltender against a CCHA team.
MARGIN OF VICTORY: The seven goals scored by Notre Dame in the 7-0 shutout of Lake Superior State is the largest margin of victory the Irish have ever had in a CCHA contest. The seven-goal win was the biggest by Notre Dame since a 10-2 win over St. Francis Xavier on Oct. 14, 1994.
WCHA TOP 50: Irish hockey great Bill Nyrop has been selected to the WCHA’s Top 50 all-time players list that will be announced throughout the 2001-02 season, the 50th anniversary of the league. Nyrop was included in the first list of 10 players announced on Nov. 29. The Irish were members of the WCHA from 1971 through 1981. Nyrop played at Notre Dame from 1970-74 and was Notre Dame’s first All-American – selected first team All-America and second team all-WCHA following the 1972-73 season. During his Notre Dame career, he played in 132 games with 17 goals and 72 assists for 89 points. Selected in the fourth round of the 1972 NHL Entry Draft, he played on three Stanley Cup championship teams (1976, 1977 and 1978) with the Montreal Canadiens. He died at the age of 43 in December of 1995.
FIVE IN A ROW: Goaltender Morgan Cey started the first five games of his Notre Dame career to join Greg Louder (1990-94) as the only two goaltenders to play the first five games of their careers. Cey and Louder are the last two rookies to start a season opener in goal at Notre Dame. Cey made 28 saves in a 2-1 loss to Union College on Oct. 11. Louder made 36 saves in a 7-2 loss at Minnesota on Oct. 23, 1990. Cey’s streak was stopped after five games when junior Tony Zasowski made his first start of the season versus Northeastern. Louder went on to start all 33 games that season, missing just 30 minutes of play, while turning in a 16-15-2 record. For the year, Cey has started 15 of Notre Dame’s 18 games on the season.
ONE FOR ZASOWSKI: Goaltender Tony Zasowski picked up his first win of the season in Notre Dame’s 5-2 win over Lake Superior State. The junior goaltender made 17 saves. The start versus the Lakers was his third of the season. He recorded ties at Northeastern (Oct. 27) and versus Ferris State (Nov. 10). For the year, Zasowski is 1-0-2 with a 2.53 goals against average and a .900 save percentage.
BRONCO BUSTER: The Western Michigan Broncos bring out the best in Notre Dame defenseman Neil Komadoski (So., St. Louis, Mo.). In the 4-4 tie (Nov. 16), Komadoski picked up the second multiple-point game of his career (two assists) with both coming versus Western Michigan. Last season, Komadoski had a pair of assists in the Jan. 12 game. In his career, the rugged defenseman has five points (1g, 4a) in six games versus the Broncos.
FOUR-POINT WEEKEND: Sophomore defenseman Tom Galvin (So., Miller Place, N.Y.) scored as many points in two games versus Ferris State (Nov. 9-10) as he did in 26 games last year. Galvin turned in the first two multiple-point games of his career with a pair of assists in each contest. Last season, the 5-9, 187-pound blueliner had four assists for the year. Galvin leads Notre Dame defensemen with three goals and 11 assists for 14 points.
CAREER FIRSTS: T.J. Mathieson (So., Clarksville, Md.) and Kyle Dolder (So., Hutchinson, Minn.) each scored their first collegiate goals in the 5-2 win over Ferris State (11/9). For Dolder, his goal was also the first game-winning goal of his career. Defenseman Tom Galvin also had the first multiple point games of his career collecting two assists in each of the Ferris State games (11/9 and 11/10). Goaltender Tony Zasowski (Jr., Darien, Ill.) recorded the first assist of his Notre Dame career when he helped set up Brett Lebda’s second period goal in the 3-3 tie with Ferris State (11/10).
FOUR BY FOUR: Connor Dunlop’s four-point and four-assist game on Nov. 2 at Northern Michigan were career-bests for the junior center. The four-point game extended his point-scoring streak to a personal-best of five consecutive games (1-9-10). The last Notre Dame player to get four assists in a game was defenseman Brett Lebda, who had four assists in a five-point game at Nebraska-Omaha on Dec. 20, 2000.
LEBDA FOR THE DEFENSE: Sophomore defenseman Brett Lebda turned in the first two-goal game of his career in the 5-4 win over Northern Michigan. For the offensive-minded blueliner, the two goals were his first of the season. In the win over Northern, Lebda also had a career-high 10 shots on goal, passing his previous best of eight set in his rookie year versus Niagara at the Maverick Stampede.
PENALTY MARK: With 24 penalties for 78 minutes in the loss to Northern Michigan, the Irish set school records for both penalties and minutes. The previous record for penalties was 22 at Michigan State (3/4/00). The previous penalty-minute record was 77 and was also set versus Northern Michigan on Dec. 12, 1981. Rob Globke (So., West Bloomfield, Mich.) led the Irish with six penalties for 31 minutes.
IRON MEN: Sophomore defenseman Brett Lebda (So., Buffalo Grove, Ill.) saw his streak of 55 consecutive games snapped when he did not play for the Irish at Princeton. He is currently a member of the U.S. Junior National Team at the World Junior Championships. Lebda had the longest streak of consecutive games for the Irish since graduated right wing Ryan Dolder played in 103 consecutive games over a three-season period including every game in 1999-00 and 2000-01. Dolder’s teammate, Dan Carlson was the only other Irish player to played in every game over his last two seasons. Carlson finished his career playing in 101 consecutive games. For his career, Carlson played in 158 of a possible 160 games. The only two he missed came while playing at the World Junior Championships in 1998-99. Notre Dame’s consecutive game leaders (as of Dec. 31, 2001):
CLOSING THE DEAL: After going 50 games (42-0-8) without losing when taking a lead into the third period, the Irish lost two in a row with a third-period lead. The losses at Ohio State (10/21) and Boston College (10/26) snapped the 50-game unbeaten string that went back to Jan. 9, 1998. Prior to this season, that was the last time the Irish lost when leading after two periods. In that game, UAF’s Sean Fraser tied the game (2-2) with a power-play goal in the third minute of the final period before Chris Kirwan converted a breakaway with 0:45 left in overtime. Since the loss at Boston College, the Irish are now 7-0-1 in games that they lead after two periods of play.
FOR OPENERS: Notre Dame’s 2-1 season-opening loss to Union College on Oct. 11 makes the Irish 17-18-0 in season openers in the 35 years of hockey during the modern era at Notre Dame. Notre Dame is 0-3 in its last three season openers with the last win coming on Oct. 2, 1998, a 2-1 win over Wisconsin in the first game played at the Kohl Center in Madison, Wis. Notre Dame is also 20-15 in its first 35 home openers. The Irish opened with a win at home last season, a 2-1 overtime win versus Wayne State.
FIVE-GOAL PERIOD: Union College exploded for five third-period goals in the 7-4 win over the Irish on Oct. 12. The last time the Irish surrendered five goals in a period was on Nov. 20, 1998 when Western Michigan scored five goals in the third period of a 9-5 Notre Dame victory.
HOMETOWNS: The 2001-02 Notre Dame hockey team features players from nine states and three Canadian provinces – Alberta, Ontario and Saskatchewan. In the six-year tenure of head coach Dave Poulin, the Notre Dame hockey letterwinners have hailed from 20 different states and provinces – those listed below, plus: Alaska, British Columbia, Colorado, Delaware, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Prince Edward Island and Quebec.
Academic All-AmericanS: Notre Dame is the nation’s only Division I hockey program to produce a Verizon/CoSIDA Academic All-American during each of the past five seasons (as part of the fall-winter at-large program). Dan Carlson kept the streak going in 2000-01 by earning third team honors with a 3.49 gpa and a double major in finance and computer applications. He joins two-time selection Steve Noble who took second-team honors in 1996-97 and first-team honors in ’97-’98, goaltender Forrest Karr who was a second teamer in ’98-’99 and left wing Andy Jurkowski who was a third team selection in 1999-2000.
CCHA ALL-ACADEMIC TEAM: Notre Dame 2001 graduate and two-time team MVP, left wing Dan Carlson (Edina, Minn.) was named to the prestigious eight-player CCHA All-Academic Team for 2000-01, making Notre Dame the CCHA’s only school to produce an All-Academic honoree each of the last six seasons. Carlson led the Irish in scoring for the second consecutive season (17-25-42) and was also an honorable mention all-CCHA selection. A six-time Dean’s List student, Carlson graduated from Notre Dame with a 3.49 cumulative grade point average and a double major in finance and computer applications. Notre Dame has produced eight previous first team CCHA All-Academic selections since rejoining the CCHA in ’92-’93: Curtis Janicke and Carl Picconatto (’92-’93), Garry Gruber (’95-’96), Steve Noble (’96-’97, ’97-’98), Forrest Karr and Aniket Dhadphale (’98-’99) and Andy Jurkowski (99′-’00). During that nine-year span, only Western Michigan (10) has produced more CCHA All-Academic selections than Notre Dame’s nine.
CENTURY MEN: Left wing Dan Carlson became the fourth Notre Dame hockey player to reach 100 points for his career in the last four seasons. He finished his career with 50 goals and 82 assists for 132 career points, good for 20th on the school’s all-time scoring list. The Edina, Minn., native joins right wing Brian Urick (57G-69A) and left wing Aniket Dhadphale (61G-44A) who each reached 100 points in the 1998-99 season and center Ben Simon (44G-86A) who reached the milestone in 1999-2000. Carlson is just the fifth Notre Dame player to score over 100 points in his career since the Irish returned to the CCHA in ’92-’93. Only center Jamie Ling (1992-96) has scored more points (51-102-153) than Carlson over the past nine seasons. David Inman is the Irish player with the best chance to reach 100 points this season. The senior forward has 45 goals and 33 assists for 78 points in his career.
PATRIOTIC GROUP: The Notre Dame hockey team is no stranger to the National Team Development Program (NTDP) which includes the Under-18 and Under-17 teams. Nine members of this year’s Irish hockey roster have come through the National program. In fact, Notre Dame and the University of Minnesota currently have the most NTDP alums (9). For the Irish, that group includes injured senior forward Brett Henning, four members of the junior class – forwards Michael Chin, Connor Dunlopand John Wroblewski and defenseman Paul Harris – plus three sophomores: center Rob Globke and defensemen Neil Komadoski and Brett Lebda. From Notre Dame’s freshman class, defenseman Derek Smith played for the Under-18 team during the 2000-01 campaign.
Midwest Magic: Notre Dame continues to reap the benefits of the rapidly-improving youth hockey programs in the lower Midwest (namely Illinois and Missouri), as one-third of the current roster includes players from Illinois (6) or Missouri (3). Four are products of the USA Hockey National Team Development Program (NTDP): junior right wing Michael Chin (Urbana, Ill.), junior center Connor Dunlop (St. Louis, Mo.) and freshmen defensemen Brett Lebda (Buffalo Grove, Ill.) and Neil Komadoski (Chesterfield, Mo.). Junior defenseman Evan Nielsen (Evanston, Ill.) was invited to join the NTDP but returned for his senior year at The Taft School.
Notre Dame’s other Illinois natives includes the team’s top returning goaltenders – senior Jeremiah Kimento (Palos Hills) and junior Tony Zasowski (Darien) – plus freshman defenseman Joe Zurenko (Arlington Heights). Joining Dunlop and Komadoski from the St. Louis area is freshman forward Yan Stastny (St. Louis). Prior to 1995, the Notre Dame hockey program had produced just eight total letterwinners from Illinois and two from Missouri.
WINNERS: Two of the newest members of the Notre Dame hockey team were members of national champion teams during the 2000-01 season. Forwards Yan Stastny and Brad Wanchulak were members of junior hockey national championship teams in the United States and Canada. Stastny played for the USHL’s Omaha Lancers while Wanchulak played for the Camrose Kodiaks of the Alberta Junior Hockey League. Stastny scored six goals and added six assists in 12 postseason games as Omaha won the USHL’s Clark Cup as league champions and then followed by winning the Gold Cup as champions of junior hockey in the U.S. Wanchulak also played a key role in helping Camrose to the Canadian national title. He was the AJHL playoff Most Valuable Player helping the Kodiaks to the AJHL title. In the Royal Bank Cup, which brings together the champions of all the Canadian junior leagues, Wanchulak scored the winning goal in the championship game versus Flin Flon.