March 13, 2002
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- Next Games: Notre Dame Fighting Irish (16-16-5/12-12-4) vs. #12/#11 Northern Michigan (25-11-2/16-10-2)
- Date/Site/Times: Fri., March 15, 2002 – Joe Louis Arena (20,053) – 4:00 p.m.
- Broadcast Information: Friday’s game will be broadcast on WHLY 1580. Remaining games can be heard live on WDND South Bend’s ESPN Radio 1620 with Dave Mager calling the action.
OFF TO DETROIT: Notre Dame makes its second trip in three seasons to Joe Louis Arena for the CCHA Super Six Championships beginning on Friday, March 15th. The Irish, who started the tournament seeded eighth, will face the number three-seed Northern Michigan at 4:00 p.m. on Friday. Number four Alaska Fairbanks faces number seven Ohio State at 7:30 p.m. The two winners on Friday will play Saturday versus the top two remaining seeds – Michigan and Michigan State. If Notre Dame wins on Friday night, the Irish will face top-seeded Michigan on Saturday at 2:00 p.m. The Championship game will be played on Sunday at 3:00 p.m.
IRISH AT JOE LOUIS ARENA: The Irish make their fifth appearance ever at Joe Louis Arena with this being the third CCHA appearance to go along with two appearances in the Great Lakes Invitational. In seven games, Notre Dame is 3-4 at the Joe. The last time Notre Dame appeared at Joe Louis Arena was in the 1999-2000 CCHA Championships where the Irish lost to Michigan State in the semifinals, 4-0. The Irish appeared at Joe Louis Arena in the 1981-82 and 1982-83 Great Lakes Invitational tournaments and in the 1981-82 CCHA Championships. Notre Dame won the 1981-82 Great Lakes Invitational.
IRISH ALL-TIME CCHA PLAYOFF HISTORY: Notre Dame has made nine trips to the CCHA playoffs in 12 seasons as a league member.
IRISH VERSUS REMAINING TOURNAMENT TEAMS: Here is how the Irish have fared this season against the five remaining teams in the CCHA Super Six Championship:
IRISH VERSUS WILDCATS: The Irish and Wildcats have met 23 times in the all-time series with Northern Michigan holding a 12-7-4 edge. The two teams met four times this season with each team winning once on the others home ice. The Irish traveled to Marquette, Mich., on Nov. 2-3, where they won the opener 5-4 and then lost on Saturday, 4-1. On Jan. 11-12, Northern Michigan visited South Bend with the Notre Dame winning 4-1 before getting shutout, 4-0 in the second game of the series. The two teams have met once in the CCHA playoffs. That came in the opening round in 1998-99 at the Joyce Center where Northern Michigan won the series, two games to one. Notre Dame won the opener 3-2 then lost 7-1 and 3-2 decisions.
NEBRASKA-OMAHA RECAPS:
Game 1: Jeff Hoggan scored 40 seconds into the second overtime to give Nebraska-Omaha a 3-2 win in the opening game of the series. The Mavericks jumped out to a 1-0 lead on a goal by Chris Claffey at 10:41 of the first period. Tom Galvin (So., Miller Place, N.Y.) tied the game when his long shot from the blue line hit a UNO defenseman’s stick and beat Dan Ellis at 14:42. Shane Glover gave the Mavericks a 2-1 lead at 16:20 off a turnover in the Notre Dame zone. The Irish tied the game at 4:52 of the third period on a goal by Brad Wanchulak (Fr., Edson, Alb.). On a face off to the right of Ellis, UNO’s Hoggan pulled the draw back towards his goal. The puck went off a defenseman’s skate and into the net. Wanchulak, who was taking the face off for Notre Dame, got credit for the goal. After 20 minutes of overtime, Hoggan broke down the left wing and snapped a shot past Irish goaltender Morgan Cey (Fr., Wilkie, Sask.) for the game-winner. On the night, Notre Dame outshot the Mavericks 34-32. Cey made 29 saves while Ellis made 32 in the win. The 80:40 minutes played was the longest game in Notre Dame hockey history.
Game 2: For the second night in a row, the two teams went to overtime but this time the Irish walked away with the win. David Inman (Sr., Toronto, Ont.) got the game-ending goal at 8:09 of the extra session when he picked up a loose puck in the slot and whipped it past Dan Ellis’ glove. Defenseman Tom Galvin took a shot from the center point that was blocked by a UNO defenseman. The rebound went to Inman who wasted no time in firing it home for his 18th goal of the year. The Irish scored first on the night when Evan Nielsen (Jr., Evanston, Ill.) scored on the power play at 8:52 of the first period. Anthony Adams tied the game with a power play goal of his own at 6:07 of the third period to send the game to overtime. Nebraska-Omaha outshot the Irish 41-32 in the game. Morgan Cey made 40 saves in the win while Ellis had 30. The two power play goals were the first of the series.
Game 3: It was a weekend of great playoff hockey and the third game of the series was another classic. Jon Maruk (Sr., Eden Prairie, Minn.) and Evan Nielsen scored for Notre Dame and Morgan Cey made 30 saves to give Notre Dame a 2-1 win. The win helped Notre Dame win its first road playoff series ever. The Mavericks scored first in the game when Kyle O’Keefe poked a loose puck in a scramble past Cey at 6:42 of the first period. Up until this game, the Irish were 0-11-3 when the opposition scored the first goal of the game. Maruk scored his third goal of the season with just 3.6 seconds left in the first when he lifted the rebound of John Wroblewski’s (Jr., Neenah, Wis.) over Ellis at 19:56 to even the score at one. Nielsen would get the game-winner at 18:03 of the second period when his long shot from the right point changed direction in front and beat Ellis to the far post. After that, it was all up to Cey as he stopped 22 shots over the final two periods to preserve the victory. UNO outshot Notre Dame in the game 31-24. Ellis made 22 saves. For the series, the Irish were 2-for-13 on the power play while the Mavericks were 1-for-15.
HE’S SEN-CEY-SATIONAL: Notre Dame goaltender Morgan Cey backstopped the Irish to their playoff series win with Nebraska-Omaha. In three games covering 208:49 minutes, Cey gave up five goals, stopping 99 of 104 shots. That gave him a 1.49 goals against in the series and a .951 save percentage. Over the last nine games, Cey is 7-2 with a 1.37 goals against (13 goals against) while stopping 267 of 280 shots for a .954 save percentage. An honorable mention selection for the CCHA all-rookie team, Cey is 15-13-3 on the year with a 2.74 goals against and a .910 save percentage. He has started the last 23 games for Notre Dame since Dec. 8th at Bowling Green.
FIRST ROUND FACTS: Notre Dame’s overtime win in game two of the series marked the first time that the Irish had ever won a playoff game in overtime … game one of the series featured four unassisted goals until Jeff Hoggan’s second overtime game-winner. Andrew Wong had the only assist in the game … with the series win, the Irish are now 9-16 in CCHA postseason play … Notre Dame is now 5-3 at home, 3-11 on the road and 1-2 at Joe Louis Arena in CCHA postseason action … defenseman Evan Nielsen led the Irish with two goals in the series.
HEAD COACH DAVE POULIN: Irish head coach Dave Poulin is now in his seventh season behind the Notre Dame bench. He owns a 97-137-34 (.425) overall record and is 69-102-30 (.418) in CCHA contests. Against Northern Michigan, Poulin-coached teams are 7-6-4 overall and 1-2 in playoff action. In the postseason, Poulin has a 6-7 record in playoff action.
OUT OF THE LINEUP: Freshman left wing Alex Lalonde (Newmarket, Ont.) has been ruled academically ineligible for the spring semester.
IRISH STREAKS:
Tom Galvin – points in six of last seven (1-5-6).
Jon Maruk – two-game point streak (1-1-2).
Connor Dunlop – two-game point streak (0-2-2) and points in three of last four (1-4-5).
Jon Maruk – two-game point streak (1-1-2).
Evan Nielsen -two-game goal and point streak (0-2-2).
John Wroblewski – two-game point streak (0-2-2) and points in three of last four games (0-4-4).
Brad Wanchulak – points in two of three games (1-1-2) and in five of last seven (2-4-6).
CENTER OF ATTENTION: With two assists in the playoff series versus Nebraska-Omaha, center Connor Dunlop now has 35 assists and 44 points on the season. That’s the most by an Irish player in both categories since Notre Dame returned to the CCHA in 1992-93. Dunlop, an honorable mention all-CCHA selection this season, has recorded career highs in goals (9), assists (35) and points (44) this year. He comes into the Super Six ranked fifth in overall scoring and tied for second in the CCHA in assists. During the 28-game CCHA schedule, Dunlop finished second in the scoring race with nine goals and 27 assists for 36 points. His 27 assists ranked him second in the league in that category. Dunlop turned in a seven-point (two goals, five assists) weekend series with Alaska Fairbanks (Feb. 1-2) including his second four-point game of the season. For the season, Dunlop has recorded two four-point games, three with three-points and 13 multiple-point games in all.
DOUBLING UP: Connor Dunlop came into the 2001-02 season with 10 goals and 25 assists for 35 points in the first 65 games of his Irish hockey career. He has more than doubled his point-total this season with nine goals and 35 assists for 44 points. His career totals stand at 19 goals and 60 assists for 79 points in 102 career games.
HAVING A SEASON ON AND OFF THE ICE: Senior forward David Inman, has been named to the CCHA all-Academic team for the 2001-02 season. Inman has a 3.54 grade point average in finance. This marks the seventh consecutive season that the Irish have had at least one player on the all-Academic team. On the ice, Inman, an honorable mention all-CCHA selection, scored the biggest goal of his career on March 9, when he got the overtime game-winner in game two of the Nebraska-Omaha series. The goal was his career-high 18th of the season. On the year, Inman has a pair of four-point games – Feb. 2 versus Alaska Fairbanks (1 goal, 3 assists) and Nov. 2 at Northern Michigan (2 goals, 2 assists). The 1999 second round pick of the New York Rangers has career-bests in goals (18), assists (18), points (36) and power play goals (7). Inman has eight multiple point games this season, including a pair of two goal games (Nov. 2 at Northern Michigan and Jan. 4 vs. Michigan). His 21 career power play goals rank him 11th on the school’s all-time power play goal list.
NIFTY NIELSEN: Defenseman Evan Nielsen scored a goal in each of Notre Dame’s victories over Nebraska-Omaha. His power play goal on Saturday night gave the Irish a 1-0 lead. His second-period goal on Sunday proved to be the game-winning goal. For the season, Nielsen has career-highs in goals (7), assists (13) and points (20).
WINNING STREAKS: Notre Dame’s five-game winning streak (from Feb. 9 through Mar. 2) was the longest by the Irish since Jan. 3-16, 1999. The last time Notre Dame won six games in a row was Oct. 2-23, 1998 when the Irish started the year 6-0. The five-game CCHA winning streak equals the longest league win streak by the Irish in their 12 seasons as a member of the CCHA. The Irish have done it twice – Oct. 9-23, 1998 and Jan. 30-Feb. 13, 1982.
SHARE THE WEALTH: Notre Dame has had 12 different players score game-winning goals this season. With his overtime game-winner, David Inman joins Brett Lebda, Rob Globke and Kyle Dolder with two each while eight other players have had one game-winnerlead the team with two each, while eight others have one winning goal each.
GALVIN-IZED: Defenseman Tom Galvin has proven to be an offensive force on the Notre Dame blueline this season. The sophomore defenseman leads the Irish defensive corps with 23 points on four goals and 19 assists this season to rank sixth in team scoring. Galvin is seventh among CCHA defensemen in scoring. He picked up a pair of assists in the 6-5 loss to Alaska Fairbanks (2/2) and has four multiple-point games this season. As a freshman, Galvin recorded four assists in 26 games played.
IRISH HONORS: Three Notre Dame players have been honored by the CCHA this season:
Defenseman Evan Nielsen (Jr., Evanston, Ill.) – Defensive Player of the Week for week ending Dec. 2.
Defenseman Tom Galvin – Defensive Player of the Week for week ending March 3.
Goaltender Morgan Cey (Fr., Wilkie, Sask.) – Rookie of the Week for Dec. 30 and Feb. 24.
SCORING BY CLASS: The Notre Dame junior class leads the Irish in scoring through 37 games this season.
LONG TIME COMING: The Notre Dame sweep at Lake Superior (Feb. 22-23) marked the first Irish CCHA weekend sweep versus the same team since Feb. 12-13, 1982 when Notre Dame won two at Ferris State. That streak in CCHA play covers 42 series and 12 seasons in the league. The sweep was Notre Dame’s second road sweep this season as the Irish won twice at Princeton (Dec. 28-29).
PENALTY KILLING SUCCESS: Nebraska-Omaha snapped Notre Dame’s streak of seven games without giving up a power play goal in game two of the weekend series. Prior to Anthony Adams power play goal, the Irish had killed off 23 consecutive opponent power plays from Feb. 9 through Mar. 8. The Irish held the Mavericks to one power play goal in 15 chances for a 93.3% penalty killing rate in the three game series. Since Feb. 8, the Irish have given up just one power play goal in 28 opponent chances for a 96.4% success rate. For the season, the Irish have killed 157 of 187 for an 84.0% rate which is seventh in the CCHA and 16th in the nation.
TURNING ON THE POWER: The Irish power play was 2-for-13 in the three-game series versus Nebraska-Omaha. Since Feb. 1, the Irish are 7-for-40 on the power play for a 17.5% success rate. For the season, the Irish are 26 for 176 (14.8%). David Inman leads the team with seven power play goals while Aaron Gill, Michael Chin and Rob Globke have three each. John Wroblewski, Connor Dunlop and Brett Lebda each have two goals with the man-advantage while Yan Stastny, Alex Lalonde, Evan Nielsen and Jon Maruk each have one.
SCORING FIRST: The Irish have scored the first goal of the game in 22 of their 37 games and are 15-5-2 in those games. A year ago, the Irish scored the first goal in just 14 of their 39 games and were 7-3-4 in those games.
ROAD WARRIORS: Notre Dame finished the regular season with a 10-8-3 road record. The last time the Irish had a winning record on the road was 1997-98 when they were 12-11-0. Notre Dame was 6-8-2 at home this season.
WROBO-MATIC: Junior right wing John Wroblewski (Neenah, Wis.) continues putting together a career-year for the Irish. Wroblewski has four assists in his last four games to give him career highs in goals (10), assists (10) and points (20). Wroblewski is also one of the top defensive forwards in the CCHA and has won 54.9% of his face offs.
FRESHMAN FIRSTS: Freshman center Cory McLean scored the first goal of his Notre Dame career in the 3-1 Irish win over Lake Superior State … left wing Yan Stastny had the first two-goal game of his career in Notre Dame’s 6-0 win at Lake Superior on Feb. 23.
YOUNG GUN: Freshman forward Yan Stastny picked up the first multiple-goal game of his career when he scored the first two goals of the game in the 6-0 win over Lake Superior State (Feb. 2). The first goal of the game was also Stastny’s first career game-winner. He leads the Notre Dame freshmen with six goals and 11 assists for 17 points this season.
STREAK BUSTERS: Besides stopping Michigan State’s 33-game home unbeaten streak at Munn Arena (Feb. 9), the Irish also stopped several other streaks between the two schools. The Feb. 9, 3-2 win at Munn, snapped a six-game losing streak at East Lansing for the Irish. Their last win there came on Nov. 1, 1997. The Feb. 9 win was just the second for Notre Dame at Michigan State (2-14-0) since the Irish returned to the CCHA in 1992-93 and was only ND’s third in that same span (3-22-5). The win snapped a five-game winning streak and a seven-game Spartan unbeaten streak (6-0-1) versus the Irish. Notre Dame’s last win versus Michigan State came on Dec. 4, 1999 – a 1-0 Tony Zasowski shutout at the Joyce Center. The Spartans lead the all-time series 49-29-6.
ROOKIE OF THE WEEK, PART II: Notre Dame’s freshman goaltender Morgan Cey (Wilkie, Sask.) was selected as the CCHA’s Rookie of the Week for the week ending Feb. 10. The 6-3, 174-pound netminder stopped 75 of 78 shots in helping the Irish to a split at #3/#4 Michigan State. In the Feb. 8, 2-0 loss to the Spartans, Cey made a career-high 41 saves while giving up just a second-period power play goal. Michigan State added an empty net goal with 12 seconds left for the 2-0 final. In Saturday’s (Feb. 9) 3-2 win, Cey made 34 saves, 19 in the second period to help snap Michigan State’s 33-game (30-0-3) home unbeaten streak. On the weekend, Cey was 1-1 with a 1.51 goals against average and a .962 save percentage. The rookie goaltender was also named the CCHA Rookie of the Week for the week ending Dec. 31.
RIGHT ON THE CHIN: Junior left wing Michael Chin (Jr., Urbana, Ill.) has career-highs in goals (13), assists (8), points (21) and power play goals (3) this season. His 13 goals rank him second on the team in that category. Chin’s two-goal game at Miami (Jan. 25) was the second of Chin’s career as he had one his freshman year versus Nebraska-Omaha (2/12/00). Versus Miami (Jan. 25), he equalled his career-high with nine shots on goal.
DON’T LOOK NOW: Sophomore forward Rob Globke collected his third two-goal game of the season in Notre Dame’s 4-1 win over Bowling Green on March 2. Globke’s other two goal games have come versus Union College and Lake Superior State. On the season, the West Bloomfield, Mich. native has 11 goals and 11 assists for 22 points. He now has five multiple-point games this season including a three-point game (2g, 1a) versus Union in the second game of the season.
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 while center Yan Stastny is ranked 94th and forward Alex Lalonde is 240th.
OVERTIME GAME-WINNERS: Aaron Gill’s overtime game-winner versus Miami (Jan. 25) was the first by an Irish player in a CCHA game since Feb. 5, 2000 when Dan Carslon got the winning goal in overtime at Ohio State. The last time Notre Dame won a game in overtime was Oct. 17, 2000 when Connor Dunlop got the game-deciding goal in overtime at home versus Wayne State. Over the last three seasons, Notre Dame is 4-1-20 in overtime. The lone loss came during January of 2000 when the Irish lost at home to Ferris State.
PERANI CUP STANDINGS: Senior David Inman finished the year as Notre Dame’s team Perani Cup winner with 22 points, edging Morgan Cey by just one point. 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.
A CCHA OFFENSIVE: After 28 CCHA regular season league games, the Fighting Irish finished second in goals scored with 95 (3.39 per game). Only Michigan scored more in league play (97, 3.46 average). Individually, Connor Dunlop was second in the league in scoring with nine goals and 27 assists for 36 points. David Inman is fifth with 14 goals and 17 assists for 31 points. In 34 games overall, the Irish are seventh among CCHA teams with 110 (3.24 per game).
PUCK SLOWDOWN: The 16 shots on goal by Lake Superior State on Feb. 23 were the fewest shots given up by the Irish this season. The previous low was 19 by Nebraska-Omaha on Jan. 18, 2002.
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 (Dec. 2). 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). Zaswoski took the loss in relief of Morgan Cey on Feb. 1 versus Alaska Fairbanks when he played the final 27 muinutes giving up one goal on 11 shots. For the year, Zasowski is 1-1-2 with a 2.49 goals against average and a .901 save percentage.
KIMENTO IN ACTION: Senior goaltender Jeremiah Kimento (Palos Hills, Ill.) has seen action in two games this season. Kimento played 40 minutes at Miami (1/26) and gave up four goals on 19 shots to take the loss. On Feb. 2 versus Alaska Fairbanks, Kimento played 38:55, giving up two goals on 20 shots and was credited with the loss since he surrendered the eventual game-winning goal. For the year, Kimento is 0-2-0 with a 4.56 goals against average and a .846 save percentage.
SCORING EARLY: Senior David Inman and juniors Connor Dunlop and John Wroblewski have combined to score 11 of Notre Dame’s first goals of the game this season. Inman leads the team with five while Dunlop and Wroblewski have three each.
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 win was the largest margin of victory by an Irish goaltender against a CCHA team. Cey added his second shutout of the season on Feb.2 when he blanked Lake Superior 6-0 at the Joyce Center. He is the first freshman since Zasowski (’99-’00) to record two shutouts in his freshman season
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.
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.
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 (12/28-29). His streak was broken while he played for 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. Lebda has now played in 72 of 76 games in his career. 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.
SAM’S THE MAN: Senior left wing Sam Cornelius, playing in just his third game of the season, scored the winning goal in the 4-2 win over Princeton (Dec. 29). 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.
USA…USA…USA: Notre Dame’s Rob Globke and Brett Lebda represented the United States as members of the U.S. Junior National team that finished 4-1-2 (fifth place) at the World Championships in early January. In his second appearance with the team, Globke had two goals and one assist for three points in seven games while Lebda had a goal in 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 make this national team.
NOTRE DAME PLAYERS ON JUNIOR NATIONAL TEAM:
(since ’96-’97):
Ben Simon – 1996-97, 1997-98
Joe Dusbabek – 1997-98
Dan Carlson – 1998-99
Brett Henning – 1999-2000
Connor Dunlop – 1999-2000, 2000-01
David Inman – 1999-2000
Rob Globke – 2000-01, 2001-02
Brett Lebda – 2001-02
END OF THE LINE: Notre Dame goaltender Morgan Cey recorded a career-best shutout streak of 111:24 between Nov. 17 and Dec. 7. Cey stopped Western Michigan for 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.
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.
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 Notre Dame’s in the 7-0 shutout and a 5-2 win over Lake Superior State. He was also part of a penalty-killing unit that killed 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.
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.
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.
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.
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 16-0-1 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.
Bloodlines: Four current members of the Notre Dame hockey program – senior forward Jon Maruk, junior center Connor Dunlop, sophomore defenseman Neil Komadoski and freshman forward Yan Stastny – hold a unique connection, as each of their fathers enjoyed a lengthy career in the National Hockey League.
Dennis Maruk played 14 NHL seasons-with the California Golden Seals (’75-’76), Cleveland Barons (’76-’78), Minnesota North Stars (’78-’79, ’83-’88) andthe Washington Capitols (’78-’83)-and finished as the NHL’s fourth-leading scorer in 1982 (60G-76A) while compiling 878 career points (356G-522A) in 888 games.
Blake Dunlop played 11 seasons in pro hockey (’73-’84), including NHL stints with the Minnesota North Stars (’73-’77), Philadelphia Flyers (’77-’79), St. Louis Blues (’79-’84) and Detroit Red Wings (’83-’84), while totaling 130G-274A in 550 career NHL games.
Neil Komadoski, Sr., played eight NHL seasons as a defenseman with the Los Angeles Kings (’72-’78) and the St. Louis Blues (’77-’80), totaling 16G-76A and 632 penalty minutes in 501 career games.
Rounding out the quartet is Peter Stastny who played 15 seasons in the NHL with the Quebec Nordiques (’80-’90), the New Jersey Devils (’90-’93) and the St. Louis Blues (’93-’95) is currently the 23rd all-time scorer in league history with 450 goals, 789 assists and 1,239 points in 997 games. A six-time NHL all-star, Stastny is the highest scoring European-born player in NHL history and was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1998. The 1981 NHL rookie-of-the-year, Stastny is currently a special assignment scout for the St. Louis Blues and will serve as general manager for the 2002 Slovakia Olympic team.
Notre Dame’s NHL connection doesn’t stop there. Senior Brett Henning who suffered a career-ending neck injury last season is the son of former NHL player and coach Lorne Henning who played nine seasons with the New York Islanders (’72-’81) and has been involved in coaching over the last 15 years. An original member of the Islanders, Henning compiled 73 goals and 111 assists as a forward over his 543-game career and played a major role in a four-year Stanley Cup dynasty (’80-’83). Henning served as an assistant with the Islanders from ’80-84 and ’87-’94, as head coach for the Minnesota North Stars (’85-’87) and the Islanders (’94-’95), and as a Chicago Blackhawks assistant from ’95-’98 before returning in ’98-’99 to the Islanders, as associate coach.
Freshman forward Alexander “Newsy” Lalonde also has NHL lineage as he is a distant relative of NHL pioneer and Hall of Famer, Edouard “Newsy” Lalonde. Lalonde played for the Montreal Canadiens and the New York Americans between 1917 and 1927 for a total of six seasons in which he scored 124 goals and 41 assists for 165 points in 99 games.
WHERE ARE THEY NOW: Several former Notre Dame hockey players are playing professionally this season:
Mark Eaton – Nashville Predators (NHL)
Ben Simon ’00 – Chicago Wolves (AHL)/called up to the Atlanta Thrashers (NHL) on Nov. 10th. Returned to Chicago on Nov. 14.
Dan Carlson ’01 – Saint John’s Flames (AHL)/Johnstown Chiefs (ECHL)
Jamie Ling ’96 – Dayton Bombers (ECHL) – player-assistant coach.
Benoit Cotnoir ’99 – Richmond Renegades (ECHL)/traded to Mobile Mystics 11/24
Aniket Dhadphale ’99 – Trenton Titans (ECHL)/signed by Providence Bruins on Jan. 11.
Sean Molina ’00 – Trenton Titans (ECHL)
Joe Dusbabek ’00 – Roanoake Express (ECHL)
Ryan Clark ’01- Mississippi Seawolves (ECHL)
Matt Van Arkel ’01 – Pee Dee Pride (ECHL)/Trenton Titans (ECHL)/released by Trenton 11/25/signed by Fort Wayne Comets (UHL) 11/28/resigned by Trenton Titans (ECHL) 1/25.
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.
2001-02 Notre Dame Hockey
– By State or Province:
Illinois (6): Michael Chin, Jeremiah Kimento, Brett Lebda, Evan Nielsen, Tony Zasowski, Joe Zurenko
Minnesota (4): Sam Cornelius, Kyle Dolder, Aaron Gill, Jon Maruk
Michigan (3): Rob Globke, Jake Wiegand, Derek Smith
Missouri (3): Connor Dunlop, Neil Komadoski, Yan Stastny
Ontario (2): David Inman, Alex Lalonde
Alberta (1): Brad Wanchulak
Connecticut (1): Paul Harris
Maryland (1): T.J. Mathieson
New York (1): Tom Galvin
North Dakota (1): Cory McLean
Saskatchewan (1): Morgan Cey
Wisconsin (1): John Wroblewski
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’s senior forward David Inman joins the list of players named to the CCHA All-Academic team this season. With Inman named again this season, Notre Dame is the only school in the CCHA to have at least one player named to the team in each of the last seven seasons. He joins 2001 graduate, left wing Dan Carlson (Edina, Minn.) was named to the prestigious eight-player CCHA All-Academic Team for 2000-01. 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 52 goals and 41 assists for 93 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.