March 16, 2011
Notre Dame, Ind. –
Complete Release in PDF Format
– The Games:#8/#8 Notre Dame (23-11-5) vs. #6/#6 Miami (21-9-6) #4/#4 Michigan (25-9-4) vs. #12/#12 Western Michigan (18-11-10)
– Date/Site/Time: Friday, March 18, 2011 – Joe Louis Arena (20,066) – 4:35 p.m./8:05 p.m. Saturday, March 19, 2011 – Joe Louis Arena (20,066) – 3:35 p.m./7:35 p.m.
– Broadcast Information: Radio: Notre Dame hockey can be heard live on Cat Country 99.9 FM in South Bend. WSBT Radio Sports Director Darin Pritchett will call all the action for the Irish.
– Television: All four games of the CCHA Championship will be televised live and can be seen on Fox Sports Detroit PLUS with Fred Pletch and John Vanbiesbrouck calling the action and Shannon Hogan serving as rinkside reporter.
– Internet: All Notre Dame hockey games can be heard live on the internet via the Notre Dame website at www.und.com. Livestats: All games of the CCHA Championship are available at ccha.com
RETURN TO THE JOE: Notre Dame returns to Joe Louis Arena and the CCHA Championship weekend after missing last year’s festivities. The Irish have now played in Detroit in four of the last five seasons, winning the championship in 2007 and 2009 while finishing fourth in 2008. All-time, this marks Notre Dame’s ninth trip to Joe Louis Arena for the CCHA championships in the 18th year that the Irish have been part of the CCHA. They advanced in 1982, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2007, 2008 and 2009. Notre Dame advanced to this year’s championship by defeating Lake Superior State, two games to one, in the best-of-three second round last weekend. The Irish won the opening game, 3-2 in overtime, then lost game two, 4-3, before winning the third contest, 4-2. Notre Dame is now 23-11-5 overall and 8-2-2 in the last 12 games, dating back to Jan. 22. Miami comes into Friday’s semifinal game with a 21-9-6 overall record. The RedHawks are 8-0-3 in their last 11 games since Jan. 22. The winner of the Notre Dame-Miami semifinal game will play the winner of the Michigan-Western Michigan game at 7:35 p.m. on Saturday, March 19. The two losers play for third place at 3:35 p.m. on Saturday.
IRISH VERSUS REDHAWKS: The two teams have met 61 times in the all-time series with Miami holding a 35-16-10 advantage. On neutral ice, the two teams have met three times with Miami winning all three games. The teams have met in the CCHA postseason twice for a total of four games. In 2002-03, the Irish won a three-game series at Miami, 2-1, to advance to Joe Louis Arena and in 2007-08, the teams met in the semifinals at the Joe with the RedHawks taking a 2-1 overtime win. This season, the teams met four times with the series being even, 1-1-2. On Dec. 3-4 at Miami, the teams split with the Irish winning 5-4 in the first game and Miami taking the second, 5-2. On Jan. 28-29 at the Joyce Center, the teams played to a pair of ties. On Jan. 28, it was a 5-5 tie with Miami winning the shootout, 3-2. The following night, the teams played to a 2-2 tie with the Irish taking the shoot out, 1-0.
IRISH VERSUS WOLVERINES: The Irish have faced Michigan more than any other team in the program’s history as the teams have met 124 times. The Wolverines have a 69-50-5 advantage in the series and are 8-4-0 against the Irish on neutral ice. Notre Dame has played Michigan six times in the postseason, meeting in four series and two CCHA championship games. The Irish won one series (1981-82) and both of the championship games (2007, 2009). Overall, Michigan has a 6-5 lead in CCHA postseason games against Notre Dame. The teams met twice in November with the Irish winning 3-1 and Michigan taking a 5-3 win the second night.
IRISH VERSUS BRONCOS: Notre Dame and Western Michigan have met 76 times in the series with the Broncos leading, 38-31-7. On neutral ice, the Broncos are 1-0 versus the Irish. The teams have met twice in CCHA playoff action with each team winning a series. In 1993-94, the Broncos swept the Irish, 2-0 and in 2003-04, Notre Dame took a 2-1 series to advance to the Joe. The Broncos are 3-2 versus the Irish in the postseason. This year, the teams met four times with Notre Dame winning the series, 2-1-1. On Oct. 29, the Irish won 3-2 at the Joyce Center and the two teams tied in Kalamazoo the following night, 2-2, with Notre Dame winning the shootout. On Feb. 25 at Lawson Arena, Notre Dame took a 3-2 decision and the following night in South Bend dropped a 2-0 game to the Broncos.
THE RANKINGS: Four of the top 12 teams in the nation will meet in this weekend’s CCHA Championship. Notre Dame enters its game with Miami, ranked eighth in both the USA Today/American Hockey Magazine poll and the USCHO.com poll. Miami is ranked sixth in both polls while Michigan is fourth and Western Michigan is 12th.
LAKE SUPERIOR STATE RECAP: Game 3 – March 13 – Notre Dame scored three times in the first period and made it stand up on the way to a 4-2 win over Lake Superior State in game three of the second round series. The win sends Notre Dame on to the CCHA Championships at Joe Louis Arena. Riley Sheahan (So., St. Catharine’s, Ont.), Jeff Costello (Fr., Milwaukee, Wis.), Joe Lavin (Sr., Shrewsbury, Mass.) and Bryan Rust (Fr., Novi, Mich.) scored for the Irish while the Lakers got goals from Fred Cassiani and Colin Campbell in the loss. The Irish out shot Lake Superior, 28-15, in the game. Sheahan gave Notre Dame the early lead, netting his fourth of the season, just 3:14 into the contest. Costello made it 2-0, 22 seconds later when he slapped a shot past Laker goaltender Kevin Kapalka from the top of the left circle for his 11th of the season. Lavin closed out the first period with a power-play goal that proved to be the game winner at 19:17. In the second period, Cassiani got Lake Superior on the scoreboard with a goal at 17:19 on the power play. Rust answered that with his sixth of the season, on a highlight reel goal at 18:00. Campbell scored 42 seconds later at 18:42 for his fourth of the season to make it 4-2 but that would be it for the scoring. Mike Johnson (So, Verona, Wis.) stopped 13-of-15 shots for the win. Kapalka had 24 saves for the Lakers.
Game 2 – March 12 – Lake Superior State got two goals from Fred Cassiani, including the game winner at 7:40 of the third period and goaltender Kevin Kapalka made 37 saves as the Lakers defeated Notre Dame, 4-3, in game two of the series to even it at 1-1. The Irish had 2-0 and 3-2 leads in the game but could not hold them. T.J. Tynan (Fr., Orland Park, Ill.) and Nick Larson (So., Apple Valley, Minn.) scored 1:20 apart in the first period for a 2-0 lead. Kellan Lain scored on the power play for the Lakers at 18:37 of the first to cut the lead to 2-1. Cassiani would tie the game with his first of the night at 16:07 of the second stanza only to see Calle Ridderwall (Sr., Stockholm, Sweden) get the lead back for the Irish 23 seconds later at 16:30 with his 13th goal of the season. Chad Nehring answered back at 18:55 for the Lakers to send the game to the second intermission tied at 3-3. That set up Cassiani’s game winner at 7:40. The two teams traded 79 shots with the Irish having a 40-39 edge. Mike Johnson made 35 saves in the loss for Notre Dame.
Game 1 – March 11 – Freshman Jeff Costello scored at 4:52 of overtime to give Notre Dame a 3-2 win over Lake Superior in game one of the series on Saturday night. Costello, who also had two assists for a career-high three-point game, whipped a shot/pass from the left boards that found its way past Lakers’ goaltender Kevin Kapalka for his 10th of the season. Fellow freshmen T.J. Tynan and Anders Lee (Edina, Minn.) also scored for the Irish. Chad Nehring and Rick Schofield had Lake Superior’s goals. Tynan gave Notre Dame a 1-0 lead at 6:48 of the first period scoring a power-play goal, his 20th goal of the season. Nehring answered with a Laker power-play tally at 9:28 of the second period when he tucked the rebound of a Fred Cassiani shot past Irish goaltender Mike Johnson for his seventh of the year. Lake Superior took the lead at 11:14 when Schofield lifted a back hander from the low slot past Johnson’s glove for his 17th and a 2-1 lead. Notre Dame was able to tie the game at 17:42 with Lee getting his team-high 22nd goal of the season to make it 2-2. In the OT, defenseman Joe Lavin picked up a loose puck at center and carried it in to the Lakers’ zone, leaving a pass for Costello. The freshman left wing carried down the left boards and threw a shot at the net that went in to give the Irish the win. Notre Dame out shot Lake Superior, 37-26 in the game. Kapalka finished with 34 saves while Johnson had 24. Both teams were 1-for-5 on the power play.
THE LAST TIME: Prior to Jeff Costello scoring in overtime to defeat Lake Superior in game one of the second round series, the last time a Notre Dame player scored in overtime in the postseason was April 10, 2008 when Calle Ridderwall scored in overtime to beat Michigan, 5-4, in the Frozen Four semifinal game in Denver, Colo. Ridderwall was a freshman that season.
CAPTAIN CLUTCH: Mild-mannered team captain Joe Lavin had two points in the series versus Lake Superior State, scoring a goal with an assist. Both proved to be important points. In the 3-2 overtime win in game one, Lavin picked up a loose puck in the neutral zone and drove into the Lake Superior zone, leaving a drop pass for Jeff Costello. Costello fired a shot on goal that eluded goaltender Kevin Kapalka for the game winner. In Sunday’s game three win, Lavin scored on the power play in the first period for the eventual game winner in the 4-2 win.
THE KIDS ARE ALRIGHT: Notre Dame’s freshman class has played a key role in Notre Dame’s success this season. The “rookies” accounted for two goals and three assists in the 4-2 win in game three of the series with Lake Superior. In the three games, they had six goals and 10 assists for 16 points. Through 39 games, the freshman class has accounted for 76 of the team’s 138 goals (55.1%), 117 of the 242 assists (48.3%) and 193 of team’s 384 points this season (50.3%). Freshman goaltender Steven Summerhays has five of the team’s 23 wins in goal.
CLOSE ONES: With the 4-2 win over Lake Superior State in game three of the second round series, Notre Dame added to its list of wins in close games. So far this year, the Irish have played in 13 games decided by one goal and a total of 21 decidec by two goals or less. In one-goal games, Notre Dame is 8-5 for the year. In the 21 “close” games, the Irish are 14-7 on the year, going 6-2 in games decided by two goals.
40 AND OVER: With a goal and an assist in the 3-2 win over Lake Superior on March 11, freshman center T.J. Tynan now has the third-best freshman season in the 43-year history of the Irish hockey program. His 21 goals and 28 assists give him 49 points on the season and move him past Paul Regan `74, who had 47 in his freshman year. Only Dave Poulin `82 and John Noble `74, who had 59-point seasons are ahead of Tynan. He is the first Irish freshman to record over 40 points in his rookie year since the 2006-07 season when Ryan Thang `10 finished that year with 41 points. Fellow freshman Anders Lee joined him as the 12th Irish freshman to reach 40 points as he now has 41 points on 22 goals and 19 assists. Lee and Tynan are just the eighth and ninth Notre Dame freshmen to score 20 or more goals in a season. Lee’s 22 goals are the sixth-best rookie goal-scoring mark.
Notre Dame Freshman Scoring LeadersDave Poulin (`78-'79) 28-31-59John Noble (`69-'70) 24-35-59T.J. Tynan (`10-'11) 21-28-49Paul Regan (`69-'70) 27-20-47Kevin Hoene (`68-'69) 24-22-46Greg Meredith (`76-'77) 23-22-45David Bankoske (`88-'89) 11-34-45Mike McNeill (`84-'85) 16-26-42Anders Lee (`10-'11) 22-19-41Ryan Thang (`06-'07) 20-21-41Ian Williams (`70-'71) 15-26-41Jamie Ling (`92-'93) 14-26-40
DYNAMIC DUO: With T.J. Tynan scoring his 21st goal in Saturday’s 4-3 loss to Lake Superior, the Irish have two, 20-goal scorers (Anders Lee – 22) for the first time since the 1990-91 season. That year, Lou Zadra `92 had 24 goals and Mike Curry `92 added 20 for the Irish. Lee’s 22 goals are the most by a Notre Dame player since Aniket Dhadphale `99 scored 25 during the 1997-98 season. Tynan’s 49 points are the most for an Irish player since the 1991-92 season when Curtis Janicke `93 scored 50 points.
THE COACH AND THE PLAYOFFS: Irish head coach Jeff Jackson has had his share of success in the CCHA playoffs. In his 11 previous CCHA seasons (six at Lake Superior State and five at Notre Dame), Jackson is 36-10 (.783) in conference postseason play. At Lake Superior, his teams were 24-2 while at Notre Dame, he is 12-8. His teams have advanced to the finals in 10 of the 12 seasons (six at LSSU and four at Notre Dame). In those previous 11 seasons, his teams won six CCHA titles (four at LSSU and two at Notre Dame).
IRISH CCHA PLAYOFF HISTORY: The Irish have played 56 games in CCHA playoff history and are 25-31 in those games. Notre Dame was swept in the opening round last season at Ohio State. Under coach Jeff Jackson, the Irish are 12-8 in the CCHA postseason, winning the championship in 2007 and 2009.
1981-82 Michigan W, 6-5Michigan W, 5-3vs. Bowling Green (@JLA) W, 8-5vs. Michigan State (@JLA) L, 1-4
1982-83at Bowling Green L, 3-8at Bowling Green L, 2-7
1992-93at Michigan L, 2-13at Michigan L, 1-8
1993-94at Western Michigan L, 3-6at Western Michigan L, 1-7
1994-95at Bowling Green L, 2-7at Bowling Green L, 4-5
1997-98at Michigan W, 4-2at Michigan L, 1-2 (ot)at Michigan L, 3-4
1998-99Northern Michigan W, 3-2Northern Michigan L, 1-7Northern Michigan L, 2-3
1999-2000Ferris State W, 4-3Ferris State L, 1-6Ferris State W, 4-2vs. Michigan State (@JLA) L, 0-4
2001-2002at Nebraska-Omaha L, 2-3 (2ot)at Nebraska-Omaha W, 2-1 (ot)at Nebraska-Omaha W, 2-1vs. No. Michigan (@JLA) L, 1-3
2002-03at Miami (OH) L, 2-4at Miami (OH) W, 1-0at Miami (OH) W, 5-0vs. Ohio State (@JLA) L, 2-3
2003-04Western Michigan W, 4-2Western Michigan L, 0-4Western Michigan W, 5-4 (ot)vs. Ohio State (@JLA) L, 5-6 ot
2004-05at Michigan L, 1-10at Michigan L, 0-1 (ot)
2005-06Alaska L, 1-3Alaska L, 0-1
2006-07Alaska W, 7-1Alaska W, 3-1vs. Lake Superior (@JLA) W, 3-0vs. Michigan (@JLA) W, 2-1
2007-08Ferris State L, 1-2Ferris State W, 6-3Ferris State W, 2-1vs. Miami (@JLA) L, 1-2 (ot)vs. Northern Michigan (@JLA) L, 1-2
2008-09Nebraska-Omaha W, 5-0Nebraska-Omaha W, 1-0vs. Northern Michigan (@JLA) W, 2-1vs. Michigan (@JLA) W, 5-2
2009-10at Ohio State L, 1-3at Ohio State L, 2-8
2010-11Lake Superior State W, 3-2 (ot)Lake Superior State L, 3-4Lake Superior State W, 4-2vs. Miami (@JLA)
EXTRA HOCKEY: The overtime tie with Lake Superior on March 11 was the sixth overtime game of the year for Notre Dame (1-0-5) and the first overtime win for the Irish since Nov. 27, 2009 when they knocked off Bowling Green, 2-1. It also extend the Irish unbeaten streak in overtime games to 20 as they are now 4-0-16 in games that need extra time. The last time that Notre Dame lost in overtime was on March 21, 2008, a 2-1 overtime loss to Miami at the CCHA semifinals. During the `09-’10 season, the Irish were involved in nine overtime contests, finishing 1-0-8 in those games.
THE PUCK STOPS HERE: During Notre Dame’s last 12 games, the Irish have gone 8-2-2, since Jan. 22. Sophomore netminder Mike Johnson has appeared in nine of the 12 games, making seven starts and is 6-1-1 with a 2.16 goals-against average and a .918 save percentage. On the season, Johnson is 18-8-4 on the year with a 2.48 goals against average and a .907 save percentage. His 18 wins are a career high for the sophomore puck stopper. Behind Johnson is freshman Steven Summerhays (Anchorage, Alaska) who has played in four of the nine games and is 2-1-1 with a 2.05 goals-against average and a .907 save percentage. His four-game streak started on Jan. 29 in a 2-2 tie with Miami. In that game, he made just 13 saves, but in the shootout, stopped three of the nation’s top scorers – Andy Miele, Carter Camper and Reilly Smith – to earn the Irish the extra point in the standings. For the year, Summerhays has played in 10 games, making nine starts. His is 5-3-1 with a 3.14 goals-against average and a .859 save percentage.
POSTSEASON HONORS: The CCHA began handing out its postseason awards lastweek. Freshmen T.J. Tynan and Anders Lee were unanimous selections to the CCHA all-rookie team. Defenseman Stephen Johns (Wampum, Pa.) was honorable mention. Senior left wing Calle Ridderwall was Notre Dame’s choice for the CCHA all-academic team. He is now one of 11 candidates for the CCHA’s Scholar-Athlete of the Year. Tynan and Lee also were chosen second team all-CCHA. Defenseman Sam Calabrese (So., Park Ridge, Ill.) was an honorable mention all-CCHA selection and senior right wing Ryan Guentzel (Woodbury, Minn.) was the only other Notre Dame player to receive votes. Three members of the Irish hockey program are finalists for the CCHA’s major awards. Freshman T.J. Tynan is one of three candidates for the rookie of the year award. Defenseman Sean Lorenz (Jr., Littleton, Colo.) is one of three finalists for the league’s best defensive, defenseman award and coach Jeff Jackson is a finalist for coach of the year honors.
NATIONAL LEADERS: Freshman center T.J. Tynan enters the CCHA playoffs ranked ninth in the nation in scoring with 21 goals and 28 assists for 49 points. Fellow freshman Anders Lee is tied for 24th in the nation in points (40) and is tied for ninth with 22 goals.
National Scoring Race (by points): GP G A PTSAndy Miele (MU) 36 21 44 65Paul Zanette (NIA) 35 29 26 55Matt Frattin (UND) 39 33 21 54Jack Connolly (UMD) 37 15 39 54Paul Thompson (UNH) 36 28 24 52Carter Camper (MU) 36 17 35 52Justin Fontaine (UMD) 37 20 31 51Gustav Nyquist (ME) 36 18 33 51T.J. Tynan (ND) 39 21 28 49Cam Atkinston (BC) 36 28 20 48Reilly Smith (MU) 35 26 22 48Mike Connolly (UMD) 37 25 23 48Chase Polacek (RPI) 37 21 27 48Justin Schultz (UW) 41 18 29 47Carl Hagelin (UM) 38 17 30 47Brian Gibbons (BC) 36 16 31 47Mike Sislo (UNH) 36 13 33 46Bryan Haczyk (NIA) 35 28 17 45Craig Smith (UW) 41 19 24 44Drew Shore (DU) 36 22 21 43Andrew Favot (RIT) 35 13 30 43Nathan Longpre (RMU) 33 14 28 42Corban Knight (UND) 39 13 29 42Anders Lee (ND) 39 22 19 41
MR. CLUTCH: Freshman left wing Anders Lee has had a banner freshman year for the Irish in 2010-11. He leads the team with 22 goals and is tied for the team lead with six power-play goals. His six game winners are tops on the team and tie him for first in the CCHA and fourth on the national level.
ROAD WARRIORS: Notre Dame’s sweep at Ferris State was the second road sweep for the Irish this season (Jan. 7-8 at Northern Michigan) and the 3-2 win at Western Michigan (2/25) improved them to 9-5-2 on the road. A year ago, Notre Dame was 3-10-4 away from the Joyce Center. The Irish are 6-1-0 in their last five road games, dating back to Jan. 7th versus Northern Michigan. At home this season, Notre Dame is 13-4-2.
COMEBACK KID: Sophomore defenseman Sam Calabrese leads Notre Dame defensemen in scoring with six goals and 12 assists for 18 points. As a freshman in 2009-10, Calabrese saw action in just three games all season, suffering a broken leg on Dec. 4, 2009 at Miami. Of Calabrese’s six goals this season, two have come short-handed. He is second on the team with a +24 and capped his great comeback year by being named honorable mention all-CCHA for the `10-’11 campaign.
20-WIN SEASON: Notre Dame enters the CCHA Championships with a 23-11-5 record, an improvement of 10 wins from last season’s 13-17-8 record. The 20-win season is the 11th in the 43-year history of the program. Notre Dame has now won at least 20 games in four of the last five years. The 23 wins are the fifrh-highest win total for the Irish.
IN GOOD COMPANY: For the past seven weeks, the Notre Dame hockey team has been in good company with the Notre Dame men’s and women’s basketball teams. All three programs are ranked in the top 10 in the nation in their respective polls, making Notre Dame the only school in the country with a top 10 program in all three sports. The Irish hockey team is ranked eighth in both the USA Today/American Hockey Magazine and USCHO.com polls. With a 26-6 overall record, the Irish men’s basketball team entered the week ranked fifth in the Associated Press poll and the ESPN/USA Today rankings. The Notre Dame women’s team is 26-7 and ranked ninth in the Associated Press poll and seventh in the ESPN/USA Today rankings. The week of Jan. 31, 2010 marked the first time since Dec. 9, 2002 that both basketball programs were ranked in the top 10 at the same time.
PUT THE BISCUIT IN THE BASKET: Notre Dame is fourth in the nation in goals scored with 138 through 39 games of the season. The Irish trail North Dakota (159), Union College (144) and Boston College (139). Per game, Notre Dame is 10th overall with a 3.54 average. Yale is tops in the nation with 4.25 per game. The 3.54 goals-per-game is the most for the Irish since 1990-91 when they averaged 4.06 per game.
FABULOUS FRESHMEN: Freshmen T.J. Tynan and Anders Lee come into the series against Western Michigan ranked first and second in the nation and the CCHA in rookie scoring. Tynan has 21 goals and 28 assists for 49 points while Lee has 22 goals and 19 assists for 41 points. The 22 goals are tops among freshmen goal scorers in the conference. Fellow freshman Mike Voran (4g, 15a, 19 pts) is seventh and is followed by Jeff Costello (11g, 6a, 17 pts) and Bryan Rust (6g, 11a) who are tied eighth with 17 points. Defenseman Stephen Johns is tied for 19th with 12 points (1g, 11a)and center David Gerths (8g, 3a, 11pts) and defenseman Kevin Lind (1g, 10a) each have 11 points. Costello’s 11 goals rank him fifth among league freshmen.
HOBEY BAKER NOMINEE: Freshman center T.J. Tynan is one of 68 Division I college hockey players that have been nominated for the 2011 Hobey Baker Award. The first phase of the voting is now underway at hobeybakeraward.com. The fan voting phase will run through March 6. On March 17, the list of 10 finalists will be announced followed by the Hobey Hat Trick (3 finalists) on March 31. The winner of the award will be announced at the Frozen Four on April 8. Award criteria include candidates emulating the exceptional character traits exhibited by the award’s namesake, Hobey Baker, a World War I flying star better known as America’s greatest amateur athlete in his day. Award candidates must demonstrate strength of character both on and off the ice, contribute to the integrity of his team and display outstanding skills in all phases of the game. Consideration should be given to scholastic achievement and sportsmanship.
FATHER’S DAY GIFTS: When Notre Dame and Miami settled for 5-5 and 2-2 ties at the Joyce Center on Jan. 28-29, it marked the first time that the Irish had back-to-back ties in a weekend series since Nov. 6-7, 1987 when they battled Kent State to 5-5 and 6-6 ties.
SHORT-HAND SUCCESS: Freshman left wing Anders Lee scored Notre Dame’s 12th short-handed goal of the season in the Jan. 14, 2-1 win over Alaska. The 12 short-handed goals are tied for tops in the nation with Boston College. With his goal, Lee became the ninth Notre Dame player to get a short-handed goal this season. Defensemen Joe Lavin (Sr., Shrewsbury, Mass.) and Sam Calabrese join T.J. Tynan with two each while Lee, Bryan Rust (Fr., Novi, Mich.), Riley Sheahan, Ryan Guentzel (Sr., Woodbury, Minn.), Billy Maday and Sean Lorenz (Jr., Littleton, Colo.) all have one each. The 12 short-handed goals are the most for the Irish since setting a school record with 19 during the 1981-82 season.