Dec. 8, 2005
Notre Dame, Ind. –
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• The Series: Notre Dame (5-9-1/3-6-1) vs. Minnesota State (3-10-3/2-7-3 in WCHA)
• Date/Site/Times: Sat., Dec. 10, 2005 – 7:05 p.m. – Joyce Center (2,713)
• Broadcast Information: Radio: Notre Dame hockey can be heard live on ESPN Radio 1580, South Bend’s SportsCenter. Mike Lockert, “the voice of Irish hockey” will bring you all the play-by-play action.
• Internet Broadcast: At the Notre Dame website – www.und.com.
GAME TWO WITH THE MAVERICKS: Notre Dame and Minnesota State wrap up their non-conference home-and-home series on Saturday, Dec. 10 at the Joyce Center. Game time is set for 7:05 p.m. The two teams met on Tuesday, Dec. 6 at Mankato, Minn., in the opening game of the series with Notre Dame taking a 3-2 win over the Mavericks. The win gives the Irish their first road win since Nov. 26, 2005 and snapped a 17-game Irish road winless streak. With two wins in a row, Notre Dame is now 5-9-1 overall with a 3-6-1 mark in CCHA play. Minnesota State falls to 3-10-3 with Tuesday night’s loss. The contest is Notre Dame’s final non-conference game of the season. Following Saturday’s game, the Irish break for a week of finals before closing out the 2005 portion of the schedule on Sat.-Sun., Dec. 17-18 with a visit from the Lake Superior Lakers. Saturday’s game will start at 7:05 p.m. and will be televised by Comcast Local. Sunday’s game has a 2:05 p.m. starting time at the Joyce Center.
IRISH VERSUS MAVERICKS: Notre Dame and Minnesota State (formerly Mankato State) have met six times in the all-time series with the Irish holding a 5-1-0 edge. At the Joyce Center, Notre Dame is 2-1-0 while in Mankato, the Irish are now 3-0-0 all-time. The Irish opened this year’s series with a 3-2 last-second win on Tues., Dec. 6 at the Midwest Wireless Center. That game was the first meeting between the two schools since a home-and-home series during the 1996-97 season. On Nov. 17, 1996, the Irish lost a 4-3 overtime verdict at the Joyce Center to the Mavericks. On Jan. 7, 1997, the two teams played in Minnesota with the Irish taking a 3-2 win. The last time the Irish won at home against MSU was Dec. 2, 1989, a 5-3 victory.
TUESDAY NIGHT RECAP: The Irish snapped their 17-game road winless skid (0-15-2) with a 3-2 win over Minnesota State on Tuesday night in Mankato, Minn., at the Midwest Wireless Civic Center. Freshman right wing Erik Condra (Livonia, Mich.) scored on a deflection with just 00:09 left on the clock to give the Irish their first one-goal win of the year. The goal was originally credited to senior defenseman Chris Trick (Troy, Mich.) who fired the shot from the left point. Following the game, Trick said the goal should go to Condra who was parked in front of goaltender Mike Zacharias. The goal was the second of the night for Condra and gave him three points (2g, 1a) in the game. Irish special teams played a key role in the victory as Notre Dame’s first two goals – by Condra and Josh Sciba (Jr., Westland, Mich.) – came on the power play. Rob Rankin and Mick Berge scored for the Mavericks with Berge’s game-tying goal coming at 5:57 of the third period, making it a 2-2 game. On the night, the Irish killed six of seven Minnesota State power-play chances while scoring on two-of-seven chances of their own. Goaltender David Brown (Jr., Stoney Creek, Ont.) continued his strong play by stopping 27 of 29 shots to record his second consecutive win on. Notre Dame was out shot, 29-22, in the game. Defenseman Wes O’Neill (Jr., Essex, Ont.) assisted on all three Irish goals on the night.
ROAD HAPPINESS: Tuesday night’s win at Minnesota State snapped a 17-game road winless skid (0-15-2) for the Irish. It had been over a year since the last Notre Dame road win. That came on Nov. 26, 2004, a 3-2 win at Alaska Fairbanks. This season, the Irish are now 1-5-1 on the road and 4-4-0 at home.
DOWNTOWN David Brown: After a slow start, junior goaltender David Brown (Jr., Stoney Creek, Ont.) is rounding into the form that he showed during his standout freshman season in 2003-04. Brown stopped 27 of 29 shots in Tuesday’s 3-2 win at Minnesota State, giving him back-to-back wins for the first time since Feb. 27-28, 2004, when he beat Michigan in back-to-back games. Brown had a scoreless streak of 91:20 snapped in the second period of the MSU game when Rob Rankin scored for the Mavericks. Tuesday’s game followed a 25-save shutout performance by Brown against Western Michigan on Dec. 3. The Irish puckstopper has now appeared in eight straight games for Notre Dame, making seven starts. In that span, Brown is 3-3-1, giving up 17 goals on 217 shots for a 2.40 goals-against average and a .922 save percentage. For the season, the 2004 draft pick of the Pittsburgh Penguins is 3-6-1 with a 3.20 goals-against average and a .893 save percentage.
NEW KID ON THE BLOCK: Freshman right wing Erik Condra turned in his third three-point game of the season in Notre Dame’s 3-2 win over Minnesota State. Condra scored the first Irish goal of the game (ppg) and then got the game winner on the deflection of a Chris Trick shot with nine seconds left. In between, he assisted on Josh Sciba’s second-period power-play goal. Condra leads the Irish in scoring with three goals and 11 assists for 14 points on the year. His other three-point games came at Denver (10/22) and versus Bowling Green (11/11). He had three assists in both of those games. His two-goal game against Minnesota State was the first multiple-goal game of his career.
THE QUICKEST AND THE LATEST: Tim Wallace’s goal at 00:09 of the first period versus Western Michigan on Dec. 2 was the quickest goal at the start of a game in Notre Dame history. It broke the mark of 12 seconds set by Sterling Black on Jan. 6, 1990 versus Arizona. Erik Condra’s goal with nine seconds left on the clock versus Minnesota State (Dec. 6) was the latest regulation-time, game-winning goal ever for the Irish, edging T.J. Jindra’s (Jr., Faribault, Minn.) short-handed game winner against Boston College last season by six seconds (19:45).
POWER-PLAY PRODUCER: Defenseman Wes O’Neill is on a tear over his last two games with a goal and four assists for five points. The big defenseman recorded the first three-point game of his career at Minnesota State (Dec. 6) with three assists on the night. On the year, O’Neill has four multiple-point games and for his career, he now has nine with two or more points. On the season, the 2004 New York Islander draft choice has two goals and 10 assists for 12 points. Of his 12 points, 11 have come on the power play (2g, 9a). In his two-plus seasons with the Irish, O’Neill now has 10 goals and 34 assists for 44 points with 27 of those coming via the power play (8g, 19a).
ANOTHER CAREER YEAR: Junior forward Josh Sciba added to his career high in the goal-scoring department with his ninth goal of the year in the 3-2 win at Minnesota State (Dec. 6). The goal was his fifth of the year on the power play, also a career best. Sciba now has nine goals and four assists for 13 points in 15 games. His previous career highs came as a freshman (2003-04) when he had seven goals and seven assists for 14 points in 38 games. Of Sciba’s 22 career goals, 10 have come via the power play.
POWER SURGE: Notre Dame has scored two power play goals in three of their last four games, going 6-for-26 (23.1%) in that span. After going 4-for-45 (8.9%) on the power play through the first six games of the season, the Irish have now scored 14 times on 61 chances (23.0%) with the man advantage in the last nine contests. Overall, the Irish are 18-for-106 (17.0%) through the first 15 games of the season.
PENALTY-KILLING PROBLEMS: On the season, the Irish have given up at least one power-play goal to their opponents in 13 of the team’s 15 games. On the year, Notre Dame has surrendered 24 power-play goals in 107 chances for a 77.6% penalty-killing success rate. The Irish have given up two power-play goals in a game six times, three ppg’s once and four ppg’s once so far this season. Over the last two games, the Irish have killed 12 of 13 opponent chances for a 92.3% success rate.
FIVE AND COUNTING: David Brown’s 3-0 shutout versus Western Michigan (Dec. 3) was the fifth of his career and first this season. The junior puck stopper had four in his freshman year of 2003-04. The shutout moves him into sole possession of second place in the Irish record book for shutouts with five. Only Morgan Cey `05, with six, has more shutouts than Brown in Notre Dame history.
TWO AT A TIME: Senior left wing Mike Walsh (Sr., Northville, Mich.) recorded his second multiple-point game of the season on Dec. 3 in the 3-0 win over Western Michigan. He now has a two-game scoring streak (1g, 2a) over the last two games. In 15 games this season, Walsh has three goals and three assists for six points. His other two-point game (1g, 1a) came in Notre Dame’s 9-4 win over Bowling Green on Nov. 10.
CAREER YEAR: Mark Van Guilder’s three-point game (three assists) versus Western Michigan (Dec. 3) was the first of his Irish career and the third multiple-point game of his career. With two goals and eight assists for 10 points, Van Guilder already has career highs in assists (8) and points (10) in the first 14 games this season.
THE RIGHT PAIGE: After going the first 12 games of the season without scoring a goal, junior center Jason Paige (Jr., Saginaw, Mich.) has now scored goals in two of his last three games.
WALLY’S WORLD: Tim Wallace (Sr., Anchorage, Alaska) is off to the best start of his Notre Dame career with six goals and six assists for 12 points in 15 games this season. His six goals equal his career best set as a freshman in 2002-03. His personal-best five-game point streak (3-4-7) was snapped in the 3-0 shutout at Miami on Nov. 19. He got on the scoresheet on Nov. 25 with an assist on Matt Amado’s goal versus Ohio State. He now has points in seven of his last 11 games (4-5-9). The senior right wing has three two-point games on the year. His two-goal game versus Princeton on Oct. 28 was the second of his career. His other came on March 14, 2004 in the first round of the CCHA playoffs when he had a pair of goals in game three versus Western Michigan in Notre Dame’s 5-4 overtime win. Wallace continues to add to his “Iron Man” streak as he has now played in 132 consecutive games for the Irish. His best season point-wise came last year when he had five goals and nine assists for 14 points.
ON A TEAR: Senior left wing Matt Amado (Surrey, B.C.) has scored a career-high seven goals in the first 15 games of the season for the Irish. In each of his first three seasons, the speedy winger had just five goals. Amado scored a goal in each game of the Ohio State series and has now scored goals in six of his last 11 games (7g, 2a). His three-game point streak (2-1-3) was snapped on Dec. 3 versus Western Michigan. His two-goal game versus Bowling Green on Nov. 11 was the first multiple-goal game of his Notre Dame career.
NO COINCIDENCE: Notre Dame held Western Michigan without a power-play goal in the 3-0 shutout win on Dec. 3. It marked just the second time this year that the Irish had prevented a team from scoring on the power play. The previous time came on Oct. 29 when the Irish shutout Princeton, 2-0. Opponents have scored at least one power-play goal in 12 of Notre Dame’s 14 games this season.
LOOKING FOR GOALS: After scoring 13 goals in the weekend series versus Bowling Green (Nov. 10-11), the Irish have been held to just 14 goals in the last seven games (2.00). For the season, the Irish have 43 goals in 15 games (2.87).
BAD NEWS BUCKEYES: The two losses to Ohio State (Nov. 25-26) gives the Irish a 1-12-3 record versus the Buckeyes in the last 16 meetings since the 2000-01 season. Notre Dame has now dropped six straight to Ohio State. The two teams will meet in Columbus on Jan. 27-28, 2006.
MOVING ON: Notre Dame coach Jeff Jackson announced on Sunday (Nov. 27) that sophomore Victor Oreskovich (Oakville, Ont.) has left the program to play major junior hockey in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL). He is currently playing for the Kitchener Rangers.
THE LAST TIME: The last time the Irish were shutout in a game previous to the 3-0 loss at Miami was March 12, 2005. That was a 1-0 overtime loss to Michigan in game two of the first round of the CCHA playoffs. Notre Dame was shutout five times during the 2004-05 season.
ALL TIED UP: The Nov. 19 tie with Miami gives Notre Dame 50 overtime games that the Irish have been involved in since the start of the 1999-2000 season. In those games, they are 7-6-37. During the 2004-05 season, Notre Dame played in nine overtime contests, going 1-2-6 in those games. The lone overtime win came on Dec. 10 versus Michigan State and was the first regular-season overtime win since Jan. 25, 2002, snapping a 16-game winless (0-2-14) skid in regular-season overtime games.
IRON MEN: Junior right wing Tim Wallace (Anchorage, Alaska) has played in all 132 games during his three-plus seasons at Notre Dame. He became Notre Dame’s all-time “Iron Man,” passing former defenseman Evan Nielsen (`03) who held the record with 114 games between 2000-03. Other Irish consecutive game streaks of 35 games or more include:
Chris Trick – 54 games
Mark Van Guilder – 53 games
Mike Walsh – 48 games
Van Guilder has not missed a game in his career. Wes O’Neill (Jr., Essex, Ont.) saw his streak of 82 consecutive games snapped at Michigan on Nov. 5. Noah Babin’s (Jr., Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.) streak of 51 straight games was snapped on Nov. 4 versus Michigan. T.J. Jindra saw his streak of 79 consecutive game streak snapped due to a shoulder sprain. Michael Bartlett (Jr., Morton Grove, Ill.) had his 78-game streak snapped on Oct. 22 when he did not play against Denver.
SCORING BY CLASS: Here's how Notre Dame scoring breaks down by classes this season.
Class (Skaters) Goals Assists PointsSeniors (5) 16 15 31Juniors (7) 17 26 43Sophomores (8) 4 15 19Freshmen (4) 6 13 19Totals 43 69 112
GETTING INVOLVED: The Notre Dame defense had a big hand in the Irish win at Minnesota State, picking up four assists in the game. Wes O’Neill assisted on all three goals and Chris Trick’s shot was deflected by Erik Condra with nine seconds left for the game winner. In the series sweep versus Bowling Green (Nov. 10-11), the defense contributed 11 points (all assists). Noah Babin and Brock Sheahan (So., Lethbridge, Alb.) led the way with three assists each. Chris Trick and Wes O’Neill had two points each while Tom Sawatske (Jr., Duluth, Minn.) had one assist in the two games. For Trick and Sheahan, the two-point games were the first multiple-point games of their careers. In 15 games this season, the Irish defense has three goals and 25 assists for 29 points.
NO. 1 TEAMS: Through the first 14 games of the season, the Irish have played six of them versus ranked teams. The Irish opened with No. 4 Colorado College and then played No. 9 Denver. The second week of the season, the Irish played No. 3 Michigan in a pair of games. All three of those teams have been ranked No. 1 in the nation at one time or another this season. On Nov. 18-19, the Irish played a pair of games versus No. 11/12 Miami at Oxford, Ohio.
IRISH ADD FOUR: Head coach Jeff Jackson has annouced that Christian Minella (Aurora, Colo.) has signed a national letter-of-intent to attend Notre Dame beginning in the fall of 2006. Minella is a 6-2, 200-pound right wing who is currently playing for the USHL’s Sioux City Musketeers. In 20 games for the Stampede, Minella has five goals and four assists for nine points. Minella joins Kevin Deeth (Gig Harbor, Wash.), Kyle Lawson (New Hudson, Mich.) and Ryan Thang (Edina, Minn.) who signed national letters-of-intent to attend Notre Dame but deferred to the 2006-07 season. Deeth, a center, is currently the leading scorer for the Green Bay Gamblers (21 gp, 6-13-19); Lawson, a defenseman, is a member of the Tri-City Storm (20gp, 5-4-9) and Thang, a right wing, is in his second season with the Sioux Falls Stampede (18gp, 6-5-11).
A SERIES SWEEP: Notre Dame’s sweep of Bowling Green on Nov. 10-11 (9-4 and 4-2) marked the first time since Feb. 27-28, 2004, that the Irish recorded a CCHA series sweep or a sweep of any kind. The two wins in a row were the first for the Irish since Nov. 13 and Nov. 26, 2005 when Notre Dame won back-to-back at Western Michigan (3-2) and at Alaska Fairbanks (3-2).
CCHA DEFENSEMAN OF THE WEEK: For the second time this season, a Notre Dame player was honored by the CCHA for his play. Junior defenseman Noah Babin (Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.) was chosen as the league’s defenseman of the week for the week ending Nov. 13. The former Green Bay Gambler had three assists and was +3 on the weekend as the Irish took 9-4 and 4-2 decisions versus Bowling Green. Babin was part of a defensive corps that recorded 11 assists in the two-game series. In seven games this season, Babin has one goal and three assists for four points. Goaltender Jordan Pearce (Fr., Anchorage, Alaska) was the league’s rookie of the week on Nov. 1.
THE LAST TIME: Notre Dame’s 9-4 win over Bowling Green on Nov. 11 was the first CCHA win for the Irish since Dec. 10, 2004 when they defeated Michigan State, 3-2 in overtime at the Joyce Center. The win snapped a 17-game (0-15-2) conference regular-season winless skid and a 19-game (0-17-2) winless skid versus CCHA teams (includes two playoff games versus Michigan).
HATS OFF: Junior center Josh Sciba recorded the first hat trick of his career in the 9-4 win over Bowling Green on Nov. 10. Sciba scored two goals on the power play and then added a short-handed marker to cap his evening. He followed that with a third power-play goal of the weekend when he scored in Friday’s 4-2 win over the Falcons. Sciba’s hat trick was the first for a Notre Dame player since March 18, 2004 when Aaron Gill `04 scored three goals in a 6-5 Irish loss to Ohio State in the first round of the CCHA Super Six. His hat trick was also the first for a Notre Dame player at the Joyce Center since Aniket Dhadphale `99 scored three on November 13, 1998 in a 6-2 win over Bowling Green. Before Sciba’s hat trick, the last five Irish three-goal efforts came on the road.
LUCKY 13: Notre Dame scored 13 times in its two games last weekend versus Bowling Green. To put that number in perspective for the Irish and the goal-scoring woes they suffered in 2004-05, during January of 2005, the Irish played 11 games and scored just 12 goals.
LOOK AT THE IRISH: After finishing last in the nation in scoring last season (1.58 goals per game), the Irish go into this week versus Minnesota State tied for 38th in the nation in scoring with 2.87 goals per game. In CCHA action a year ago, Notre Dame scored 48 goals in 28 games (1.71 goals per game). This year, the Irish have 31 goals in their first 10 CCHA games (3.10 per game).
NINE IS FINE: Notre Dame’s nine goals versus Bowling Green on Nov. 10 were the most by the Irish since Nov. 20, 1998, a 9-5 win over Western Michigan at the Joyce Center.
PLAYING LIKE VETERANS: Notre Dame freshmen Erik Condra (Livonia, Mich.) and Garrett Regan (Hastings, Minn.) have stepped right into the Notre Dame lineup and played like they belong there. Condra leads the team in scoring with 14 points on three goals and 11 assists and is fourth in the CCHA and 14th in the nation among freshman scorers. Regan has played in 12 games and has two goals and two assists for four points. Christian Hanson (Venetia, Pa.) broke through versus Bowling Green on Nov. 10 when he scored his first career goal.
MULTIPLE-POINT NIGHTS: Nine different Notre Dame players had multiple-point games in the win over Bowling Green. Josh Sciba (3g, 0a) and Erik Condra (0g, 3a) led the way with three-point games. Chris Trick (0g, 2a), Noah Babin (0g, 2a), Brock Sheahan (0g, 2a), Matt Amado (1g, 1a), Mike Walsh (1g, 1a), Victor Oreskovich (1g, 1a) and T.J. Jindra (1g, 1a) each had two-point nights.
HIGH-SCORING AFFAIRS: After struggling to score goals in 2004-05, the Fighting Irish have now been involved in two games this season where they combined with their opponent to score 13 goals in a game. On Nov. 4, Notre Dame dropped an 8-5 decision to Michigan. On Nov. 10, the Irish prevailed, 9-4, versus Bowling Green. Previously, the last time Notre Dame and its opponent combined for 13 goals in a game was Dec. 5, 2003 when the Irish lost and 8-6 decision to Western Michigan.
HIGH FIVES: The last time that Notre Dame won a game by five goals was on March 16, 2003 when the Irish defeated Miami, 5-0, in game three of the first round of the CCHA playoffs. The Irish had five goals in the third period of the win over Bowling Green. The last time they scored five goals in a period came on Oct. 20, 2000 when they scored five second-period goals in a 6-4 win over Northeastern at the Joyce Center.
FAST START: Freshman Erik Condra’s three-point game (0g, 3a) versus Denver was the first three-point game by an Irish rookie since Brett Lebda `04 had five points (1g, 4a) versus Nebraska-Omaha on Dec. 20, 2000. His three-point game was the first for the Irish since Nov. 5, 2004 when both Mike Walsh (Sr., Northville, Mich.) and Cory McLean `05 had three points versus Bowling Green in a 4-4 tie. The speedy right wing picked up his second three-point game of the year with three assists against Bowling Green on Nov. 10.
FLUSHING AWAY THE LOSSES: When new Irish head hockey coach Jeff Jackson met with his team for the first time in the 2005-06 school year, they went over team rules, regulations, set up schedules and met with other administrators. At the end of the meeting, he gave the team’s returning players an index card to write down everything that they hated from the previous season (a 5-27-6 year that ended in a 19-game winless skid – 0-17-2). After doing that, the team went to where center ice would be at the Joyce Center rink and threw the cards into a waste basket to burn them, symbolizing that the previous year was done and it was time to move on. Jackson had the ashes placed in a jar that was kept in the locker room to remind everyone about the previous season. “I thought that it was would be good to keep them as a reminder of what happens when you’re not committed,” said Jackson. On Saturday night (Oct. 29) following the first period at home versus Princeton, after starting the season at 0-3 and coming off a bad second period performance the night before (in a 5-3 loss to the Tigers), Jackson walked into the locker room and before talking to the team, took the ashes into the restroom and flushed them down the toilet. “With the first three games, our second periods were horrible, so we flushed last year away,” said Jackson. “They (the players) laughed a little, but the toilet flushed and last year is behind us. Those losses from last year were still lingering over the team and I’m just glad it’s behind them and that now we can move on.” The Irish went out and scored two goals in the second period in the 2-0 win and the winless skid was over.
BACK BEHIND THE BENCH: Notre Dame head coach Jeff Jackson returns to collegiate coaching this season for the first time since leaving Lake Superior State following the 1995-96 season. In six years with the Lakers, Jackson compiled a 182-52-25 career record with two national championships, two CCHA regular-season titles and four CCHA tournament championships. He came into the season as the NCAA’s winningest active coach with at least five years experience with a .751 winning percentage. His 182 career wins (at the start of the year) ranked him 26th among active coaches. Included in his 182 wins are 36 postseason victories and a .837 winning percentage (36-7 in postseason). In CCHA postseason action, Jackson’s teams were 24-2 (.923).
GOING FOR THE GOLD: For the first time since the 1975-76 season, the Notre Dame hockey team will wear gold helmets. When head coach Jeff Jackson took over the program he wanted the hockey program to have an identity. Most people identify Notre Dame with the Golden Dome and the gold football helmets worn by the football team. Irish equipment manager Dave Gilbert contacted the various hockey equipment companies during the summer and Bauer was able to recreate the Irish helmets with the same gold metallic paint that is used on the helmets of the Notre Dame football team. These helmets feature white cages (except for players who wear visors) and like the football helmets have no other markings except for an American flag on the back.
OPENING NIGHT STAND OUT: Senior right wing Tim Wallace has come up big on “Opening Night” for the Irish in his four seasons. On Oct. 21 at Colorado College, he continued a personal “Opening Night” streak with an assist versus the Tigers. During his four seasons at Notre Dame, Wallace has now scored a point in the first game of every year. In 2002, as a freshman, he scored a goal on his first shot at Minnesota-Duluth. As a sophomore in 2003, he had a pair of assists in a 5-2 win at Ohio State. Last season, he set up Notre Dame’s first goal of the season (by Josh Sciba) and this year he assisted on Victor Oreskovich’s goal versus Colorado College. In four season openers, Wallace has a goal and four assists for five points.
FOR OPENERS: After losing their season opener at Colorado College, Notre Dame is now 19-17-2 in season openers and 14-20-3 in road openers. With the 5-3 loss to Princeton on Oct. 28, the Irish are now 20-17-1 in home openers.
LATE START: Notre Dame’s Oct. 21 opener at Colorado College was the latest the Irish have started a season since the 1991-92 campaign. That year, the Irish opened with a pair of games on Oct. 25-26 at Air Force where they split, losing 8-3 and winning, 5-3.
IRISH CAPTAINS: Notre Dame head coach Jeff Jackson named his captain and alternates for the 2005-06 season on Oct. 5. Junior T.J. Jindra (Faribault, Minn.) was selected as the team’s captain, making him the first junior captain since Evan Neilsen `03. Jindra is the 13th junior in the program’s history to be selected captain. He will be assisted by seniors Mike Walsh (Northville, Mich.) and Chris Trick (Troy, Mich.) along with junior Jason Paige. Walsh and Paige are in their second seasons as alternate captains for the Irish.
FIRST TIMERS: Freshman left wing Garrett Regan became the first Irish freshman to score a goal this season when he notched his first career goal at 3:59 of the second period. The goal was also the game winner. After getting no points in the first game of the season, Erik Condra burst on the scene with three assists in his second game of the year and now has five assists. Condra added his first career goal versus Michigan on Nov. 4 Goaltender Jordan Pearce had his first win and first shutout of the season on Oct. 29 versus Princeton. Christian Hanson scored his first goal and point with a third-period goal against Bowling Green. Defenseman Tom Sawatske (Jr., Duluth, Minn.) picked up his first assist on Nov. 5 at Michigan and has played in 12 of the first 15 games. Justin White (Fr., Traverse City, Mich.) has seen action in five game and is still looking for his first career points.