Jan. 22, 2002
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- Next Games: Notre Dame Fighting Irish (8-11-5/6-8-4) at Miami RedHawks (10-12-2/7-9-2)
- Date/Site/Times: Fri.-Sat., Jan. 25-26, 2002 – Goggin Arena (2,200) – 7:35 p.m.
- Broadcast Information: The games can be heard live on WDND South Bend’s ESPN Radio 1620 with Dave Mager calling the action.
TAKE THE HIGHWAY: Notre Dame returns to the road this weekend after finishing a six-game homestand versus Nebraska-Omaha (Jan. 18-19). The Irish will travel to Oxford, Ohio to face the Miami RedHawks in a pair of 7:35 p.m. games at Goggin Arena. The games will be the first for the Irish away from the Joyce Center since Dec. 28-29 when they played a pair at Princeton. During the six-game homestand, the Irish were 1-4-1 including last weekend’s sweep by Nebraska-Omaha, 3-2 and 4-2. Notre Dame’s two losses to the Mavericks marked the first time this season that the Irish failed to get a point in a weekend CCHA series. In the series, the Irish fired 90 shots at Nebraska-Omaha goaltender Dan Ellis, scoring just twice each game. The two losses dropped Notre Dame into an eighth-place tie with Miami. The Irish are 6-8-4 for 16 points while the RedHawks own a 7-9-2 league mark for 16 points. Both teams trail seventh-place Ferris State (17) by one point, sixth-place Northern Michigan (18) by two, fifth-place Nebraska-Omaha (19) by three points and fourth-place Ohio State (20) by four. Alaska Fairbanks (22) is in third while Michigan (24) holds second. Michigan State leads the league with 26 points. Both teams have to be wary of 10th-place Western Michigan as the Broncos are just one point out of the eighth spot. Just seven points separate eight teams between third and 10th-place in the CCHA race. Notre Dame’s three-game losing streak is its longest of the season. The Irish started the season with 12 of their first 18 games on the road and were 4-5-3 in those games. Notre Dame returns home next weekend (Feb. 1-2) for a pair of games with the Alaska Fairbanks Nanooks. Game time both nights at the Joyce Center is 7:05 p.m.
IRISH VERSUS REDHAWKS: Notre Dame and Miami have met 33 times in the all-time series with the Irish trailing 9-19-5. Since the Irish returned to the CCHA for the ’92-’93 season, they are just 5-15-5 in the 25 games played. At Oxford, the Irish are 4-8-1 in the all-time series and 3-7-1 since ’92-’93. Notre Dame last won at Goggin Arena on Nov. 3, 2000 by a 5-2 score. The Irish tied the RedHawks the next night, 1-1. Notre Dame is 2-1-1 in its last four games at Goggin Arena. Last season, the two teams played four times with Miami holding a 2-1-1 edge in the series. The Irish were 1-0-1 at Oxford, Ohio in November and the RedHawks swept the series in South Bend in December.
SCOUTING MIAMI: The RedHawks come into the weekend after splitting a series at Lake Superior State, winning on Jan. 18, 3-0 before dropping a 6-3 decision on Jan. 19. Miami is 2-3-0 in its last five games. After 24 games, the RedHawks are better on the road (6-5-0) than at home (3-6-2). They are led offensively by senior Jason Deskins (8-18-26) who has five goals and four assists in 10 career games versus the Irish. Sophomore Greg Hogeboom ranks second (11-8-19) and senior Mike Glumac (12-6-18) is third in scoring. Goaltender David Burleigh has appeared in 23 games and owns a 9-11-2 record to go with a 2.98 goals against average and a .898 save percentage. For more information on the RedHawks, check their website at www.muredhawks.com.
NEBRASKA-OMAHA RECAP: The Nebraska-Omaha Mavericks swept the Irish by 3-2 and 4-2 scores in the weekend series. In Friday’s game, the Mavericks’ Shane Glover scored on a rebound with 1:12 left in the game and goaltender Dan Ellis made 41 saves in the 3-2 win. The Irish outshot Nebraska-Omaha 43-19 in the game. Notre Dame took a 1-0 lead in the first period after John Wroblewski (Jr., Neenah, Wis.) scored at 15:10. The Irish had a 17-2 edge in shots in the opening stanza. David Brisson tied the game at 5:31 of the second period when he stole the puck between the face-off circles and beat Irish goaltender Morgan Cey (Fr., Wilkie, Sask.). Four seconds into a Maverick power play, Greg Zanon made it 2-1 when he ripped a shot past Cey from the right point for his sixth of the year at 10:34. Notre Dame evened the score at 13:02 of the third period when Connor Dunlop (Jr., St. Louis, Mo.) scored on the power play. With time winding down, Glover won a face-off inside the Notre Dame zone. Andrew Wong took the puck to the net with Cey making the stop, but Glover was there to score on the rebound for his 10th goal of the year. Cey finished the game with 16 saves. The Irish were 1-for-9 on the power play while Nebraska-Omaha was 1-for-5 with the man-advantage. On Saturday, the Mavericks jumped out to a 2-0 lead on goals by Scotty Turner and Anthony Adams. Notre Dame got back in the game 13 seconds after Adams’ goal when Rob Globke (So., West Bloomfield, Mich.) blasted a shot from the top of the right wing circle past Ellis for his seventh of the season. After a scoreless second period, Nebraska-Omaha’s Andrew Wong made it 3-1 just four minutes into the third period. Notre Dame used the power play to cut the lead to one goal at 12:55 when David Inman (Sr., Toronto, Ont.) scored his 13th goal of the year. Glover closed out the scoring at 17:37 tapping in a Jeff Hoggan centering pass for the final goal of the game. The Irish again outshot the Mavericks, 47-27, with Ellis making 45 saves on the night. Cped 23 for the Irish. UNO was two-for-three on the power play while the Irish were one-for eight.
HEAD COACH DAVE POULIN: Irish head coach Dave Poulin is now in his seventh season behind the Notre Dame bench. He owns an 89-132-34 (.416) overall record and is 63-98-30 (.408) in CCHA contests. Against Miami, Poulin-coached teams are 5-9-4.
OUT OF THE LINEUP: Freshman left wing Alex Lalonde (Newmarket, Ont.) has been ruled academically ineligible for the spring semester.
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 6-3-3. In the second game, Notre Dame is just 2-8-2.
FIRING THE BISCUIT: Notre Dame peppered Nebraska-Omaha goaltender Dan Ellis with 90 shots in last weekend’s two-game series, scoring just four goals, with two coming on the power play. In Friday’s 3-2 loss, the Irish outshot UNO 43-19 for the game including 17-2 in the first period. On Saturday, the shots were 47-27 in favor of the Irish. The 47 shots on goal equalled a season-high set at Bowling Green (12/8/01) and the 22 shots in the third period were the most by the Irish in a single period this season. Ellis’ 45-save night was also the most saves by an opposing goaltender this season.
CAREER YEAR: Senior forward David Inman is in the midst of the best season of his Notre Dame career. With 13 goals and 13 assists for 26 points, Inman leads the Irish in scoring and is tied for eighth in league scoring. He has equalled his career high in goals (13) and has career highs in assists (13), points (26) and power play goals (6). For the season, Inman has six multiple-point games. He collected his second two-goal game of the season and the sixth of his career on Jan. 4 versus Michigan. He has had one three-point game (1g, 2a) in the 4-1 win over Northern Michigan (Jan. 11) and a four-point night (2g-2a) at Northern Michigan (Nov. 2). His 20 career power play goals rank him 11th on the school’s all-time power play goal list.
WHAT’S MY LINE: Notre Dame’s line of David Inman, Rob Globke and Michael Chin collected three of four Irish goals (two on the power play) in the weekend series versus Nebraska-Omaha. In the eight games they have played together, the trio has combined for 12 goals and 16 assists for 28 points. Inman (4g, 7a) leads the group with 11 points while Globke (5g, 4a) has nine points and Chin (3g, 5a) has eight. They played together for the first time on Dec. 1 versus Lake Superior State. They did not play together in the Princeton and Michigan series as Globke was playing for the U.S. Junior National Team in the World Junior Championships. They were reunited on Jan. 11 versus Northern Michigan.
GETTING IT DUN(LOP): Irish center Connor Dunlop scored his sixth goal of the season and second on the power play in the 3-2 loss (Jan. 18) to Nebraska-Omaha. The two power play goals are a career-high in that department for the crafty centerman. Dunlop now has a career-highs in assists (19) and points (25). Dunlop is tied for 12th in the CCHA in scoring with 25 points on six goals and 19 assists. The 19 assists tie him for fifth in the league.
WROBO SCORES EARLY: Junior center John Wroblewski scored his career-high eighth goal of the season in the 3-2 loss to Nebraska-Omaha (Jan. 18). For Wroblewski, the goal also marked the third time this season that he had scored the game’s first goal. He now has career-highs in goals (8) and points (12). His previous best season came in 2000-01 when he had two goals and four assists for six points.
MAKING THE CEY-VE: Freshman goaltender Morgan Cey (Wilkie, Sask.) has started 10 straight games for the Irish and 11 of the last 12 going back to Dec. 1 versus Lake Superior State. Since that game versus the Lakers ( a 7-0 shutout), Cey has given up just 25 goals. In those 11 games, Cey is 5-5-1 with a 2.25 goals against average and a .924 save percentage. Over the last six games, Cey has stopped 183 of 199 shots (.920 save percentage). On the season, he is 7-11-3 with a 2.94 goals against average and a .902 save percentage.
IRISH STREAKS: Left wing David Inman has a two-game point scoring streak (1-1-2) and has points in three of his last four games (2-3-5) … defenseman Brett Lebda (So., Buffalo Grove, Ill.) has a two-game point streak (0-2-2) and has points in five of his last six games (0-5-5) … defenseman Evan Nielsen (Jr., Evanston, Ill.) has a two-game point streak (0-2-2).
SHOT STUFF: Prior to surrendering just 46 shots to Nebraska-Omaha over two games, the Irish had given up 154 shots on goal (38.3 shots per game) over a four-game span (Michigan and Northern Michigan series). 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 a game after being outshot. When the Irish outshoot their opponents, they are 7-4-1. When outshot, Notre Dame is 1-6-4.
PUCK SLOWDOWN: The 19 shots on goal by Nebraska-Omaha on Jan. 18 was the fewest shots the Irish have given up in a game. The previous low was 20 by Lake Superior State on Dec. 1, 2001.
A LITTLE CHIN MUSIC: Junior right wing Michael Chin has scored career-highs in goals (10) and points (17) in his junior season. His 10 goals tie him for 12th in the CCHA in that department. He also has three multiple-point games this season. Chin’s 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.
GALVIN-IZED: Defenseman Tom Galvin (So., Miller Place, N.Y.) has proven to be an offensive force on the Notre Dame blueline this season. The sophomore defenseman is fourth on the team in scoring with three goals and 12 assists for 15 points which ties him for seventh among CCHA defensemen in scoring. Galvin had the first two-goal game of his career on Dec. 7 versus the Falcons, getting the game-winner early in the second period.
ON THE OFFENSIVE: After 18 CCHA league games, the Fighting Irish are tied for the league lead in CCHA scoring with Michigan State and Michigan as all three teams have scored 58 goals for a 3.22 average per game. In 24 games overall, the Irish rank seventh among CCHA teams with 3.04 goals per game. After scoring just 12 goals in their first five games (2.40 gpg), the Irish have scored 61 goals in their last 19 games (3.21 gpg). Over their last 12 games the Irish have scored 36 goals (3.00 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 four of the last seven games he’s played for the Irish. On the year, Globke now has seven goals and seven assists for 14 points.
TURNING ON THE POWER: The Irish have struggled on the power play over the last five games scoring just three times in 36 chances (8.3%) after going 1-for-9 (Jan. 18) and 1-for-8 (Jan. 19) versus Nebraska-Omaha. For the season, the Irish are 18 for 127 (14.2%). 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, John Wroblewski and Connor Dunlop each have two goals with the man-advantage while Brett Lebda, Rob Globke and Alex Lalonde each have one.
PENALTY KILLING PROWESS: Irish penalty killers have killed 16 of 22 penalties in the first six games of January for a 72.7% success rate. Nebraska-Omaha scored three times in eight power play chances during last weekend’s series, including a two-for-three night on Jan. 19. That follows a month of December where Irish penalty killers killed 35 of 38 opponent power play chances for a 92.1% success rate. Over the last 12 games, the Irish have killed 51 of 60 penalties for an 85.0% penalty killing efficiency. For the season, the Irish have killed 111 of 131 for an 84.7% rate which ranks them fourth in the CCHA and 13th in the nation.
ROAD SWEEPS: Notre Dame’s two wins over Princeton marked the first time 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 returned to the Irish lineup versus Northern Michigan (Jan. 11-12) 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 win 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.
EVERYONE CONTIBUTES: Through 24 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 47 goals and 36 assists for 83 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.