March 2, 2004
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- The Games: Notre Dame (17-11-4/13-10-3) at Lake Superior State Lakers (8-17-7/6-15-5)
- Date/Site/Times: Fri.-Sat., March 5-6, 2004 – Taffy Abel Arena (4,000) – 7:35 p.m./7:05 p.m.
- Broadcast Information: Radio: All Notre Dame games can be heard live on ESPN Radio 1620, South Bend’s SportsCenter. Mike Lockert, “the voice of Irish hockey” calls all the action with Tom Nevala handling the color commentary. Irish hockey can also be heard live via the internet at www.und.com.
SECURING HOME ICE: Notre Dame closes the regular season with a weekend series at Lake Superior State, looking to wrap up home ice in the first round of the CCHA playoffs for the first time since the 1999-2000 season. The Irish go into the series having won four straight games and are 17-11-4 on the year, 13-10-3 in CCHA play. That gives Notre Dame 29 points and a tie for fifth place with Alaska Fairbanks. The Nanooks CCHA schedule is finished and they have clinched a home first-round series. The Irish need just one point to eliminate Western Michigan from contention for home ice. The Broncos have 27 points and one game (at home versus Bowling Green) left on the season. Notre Dame goes into the weekend one point behind fourth-place Ohio State and four points behind third place Michigan State. The best the Irish can do for third place is tie Michigan State with the Spartans taking the third seed and Notre Dame the fourth. MSU takes the first tiebreaker with 16 league wins while the most the Irish can have is 15 if they sweep Lake Superior. The Lakers enter the weekend with an 8-17-7 overall mark and a 6-15-5 record in the CCHA and are in 11th place, four points behind 10th-place Ferris State. Lake Superior is 2-1-2 in its last five games. The best-of-three first round of the CCHA playoffs begins on Friday, March 12 at home campus sites. Michigan, Miami, Michigan State, Ohio State and Alaska Fairbanks have all clinched home ice.
CCHA TIE-BREAKERS: To break ties in the CCHA standings, the procedures are as follows: 1. greater number of CCHA regular-season wins; 2. head-to-head winning percentage; 3. total goals between tied teams; 4. records versus remaining highest ranked teams; 5. coin flip.
IRISH VS. LAKERS: The two teams have already met once this season at Notre Dame. The Irish won 5-3 on Nov. 21 and then tied Lake Superior, 2-2, on Nov. 22. Notre Dame is unbeaten in its last eight games with the Lakers (7-0-1). All-time, Lake Superior leads the series with a 20-15-3 record in 38 meetings. At Sault Ste. Marie, the Lakers have an 11-5 edge in the series. The last time the two teams played at Lake Superior was the 2001-02 season with the Irish taking 3-1 and 6-0 wins. The last time the Lakers beat the Irish was at Taffy Abel Arena on Dec. 2, 2000 with a 4-1 win. They swept that weekend series, winning the previous night, 2-1. In the last 10 games between the two schools, the Irish have a 7-2-1 edge.
BACK IN THE RANKINGS: For the third time this season, Notre Dame is back in the national rankings as the Irish are tied for 15th with Colorado College in the USA Today/American Hockey Magazine poll and are 15th in the U.S. College Hockey Online poll to start the week. Inside College Hockey.com (INCH) has the Irish ranked 13th in their top 20. This is the third time this season that the Irish have been selected to the top 15 by USA Today and U.S. College Hockey Online. The Irish also were ranked in the top 15 on Dec. 1 and Jan. 19. The Irish have been in the INCH top 20 in all but one week this season.
BEATING MICHIGAN: Notre Dame’s home sweep of Michigan marked the first time the Irish had swept the Wolverines since the weekend of March 5-6, 1982, when they took 6-5 and 5-3 decisions at the Joyce Center. The sweep also gives the Irish three straight wins versus Michigan, including the 4-3 win at Yost Arena last season. The last time Notre Dame won three in a row versus the Wolverines was the sweep at the end of the 1981-82 season and the first game of the series in the 1982-83 season. Since that 9-5 win on Oct. 2, 1982, the Irish had defeated Michigan just four times in the next 42 meetings (4-35-3).
MICHIGAN RECAP: Notre Dame got balanced scoring, strong defense and outstanding goaltending in sweeping the fourth-ranked Michigan Wolverines for the first time in 22 years last weekend. On Friday night, the Irish jumped out to a 3-0 lead on the way to a 4-1 win. Jason Paige (Fr., Saginaw, Mich.) scored a pair of power-play goals, senior defenseman Brett Lebda had three assists and goaltender David Brown (Fr., Stoney Creek, Ont.) had 23 saves in the win. T.J. Jindra (Fr., Faribault, Minn.) scored just 1:17 into the second period to give the Irish the 1-0 lead. Cory McLean (Jr., Fargo, N.D.) made it 2-0 at 10:41 of the second period and Paige got his first goal of the night at 14:35 for the 3-0 lead. The Wolverines cut the lead to 3-1 at 3:15 of the final period when Eric Nystrom scored on a deflection on a Michigan power-play but Paige answered right back just 1:12 later to up the lead to 4-1. Notre Dame outshot Michigan, 26-24. Al Montoya made 14 saves in goal for the Wolverines before leaving with a leg injury following Notre Dame’s third goal. Noah Ruden made eight saves in just over 25 minutes of playing time. The Irish were 2-for-3 on the power play while Michigan was 1-for-5. On Saturday night, the Irish again scored first. Sophomore Mike Walsh (Northville, Mich.) gave the Irish the lead at 8:44 of the first period on the power play. Michigan scored twice in the first 2:19 of the second period on goals by Jeff Tambellini (00:20) and Andrew Ebbett (2:19) before the Notre Dame offense came to life. Neil Komadoski (Sr., Chesterfield, Mo.) scored on a blast from the left point at 15:43 and just 17 seconds later, Matt Amado (So., Surrey, B.C.) took a feed from T.J. Jindra and beat Noah Ruden in the Michigan goal to give the Irish a 3-2 lead. Rob Globke (Sr., West Bloomfield, Mich.) and Cory McLean added third period goals for the 5-2 win. On the night, Michigan outshot Notre Dame by a 41-16 margin. David Brown made 39 saves to record his fourth straight win. Ruden made 11 saves for the Wolverines. The Irish were 1-for-5 with the man-advantage and killed all six Michigan power-play attempts.
ROOKIE OF THE WEEK: Notre Dame goaltender David Brown was selected the CCHA’s rookie of the week for the week ending Feb. 29. The award marked the fourth time this season that Brown was selected rookie of the week. He has also been named the CCHA’s defensive player of the week once on the year. Versus Michigan, Brown stopped 62-of-65 Michigan shots for a .954 save percentage and a 1.50 goals-against average. The 4-1 and 5-2 wins over the Wolverines marked the first time the Irish had swept Michigna in a series since March 5-6, 1982, a span of 22 seasons.
HALL OF FAMER: The Philadelphia Flyers will induct Notre Dame hockey coach Dave Poulin into their Hall of Fame on Wednesday, March 3 prior to the start of their game with the Nashville Predators. Poulin played eight seasons with the Flyers (1982-83 to 1989-90) and served as captain of the team from 1984-85 to 1989-90. In his eight seasons, Poulin recorded 161 goals with 233 assists for 394 points and was a three-time all-star (1986, 1987 and 1988). During his six seasons as captain, Poulin helped lead the Flyers to three Patrick Division titles and two Wales Conference championships. “”I am thrilled. It really came very unexpectedly,” said Poulin. “Certainly when you read the names of the players that are in there, I am certainly flattered and humbled to be included in that group. I’m the fourth player from my peer team so to speak to be there – with Mark Howe, Timmy Kerr and Brian Propp being the other three. We had such a great run and had so much fun while we were doing it, that to be joining those guys in that grouping is a tremendous, tremendous honor.”
LATE BLOOMERS: Since Feb. 14 of this season, the Irish are 4-0-0. Strong finishes have been the trend for the Irish over the last four seasons. Going back to the 2000-01 season, Notre Dame is 23-7-2 after Feb. 9th of each year. In 2002-03, the Irish were 8-4-0, 2001-02, 7-2-0 and in 2000-01, the Irish finished with a 4-1-2 run, but did not make the playoffs.
SPECIAL SPECIAL TEAMS: Eric Nystrom’s third-period power-play goal for Michigan on Feb. 27, snapped Notre Dame’s streak of 36 consecutive opponent power plays killed by the Irish. That streak started at 10:26 of the first period at Northern Michigan on Jan. 23. Following that goal, the Irish killed 36 consecutive power plays (a total of 66:14 minutes) over an nine-game, one-period span. Notre Dame started a new streak on Feb. 28 when they blanked Michigan on six power-play chances. For the season, the Irish have killed 131 of 146 opponent chances. Of the 16 power-play goals surrendered, 10 have come in five games (two in each game). Over the remaining 27 games, the Irish have given up just six other power-play goals. Notre Dame has killed 89.1% of opponent power plays this season to lead the CCHA and rank third-best in the nation. Notre Dame’s all-time best penalty killing rate at the Division I level is 86.1% and was set during the 1969-70 season. The Irish have now killed seven consecutive opponent power plays and 39 of the last 40 going back to Jan. 23.
HOT GOALTENDER: Freshman goaltender David Brown is back in his early-season groove over his last nine starts. The talented puckstopper has given up just 12 goals in those nine games (beginning on Jan. 10 vs. Bowling Green). In the nine games, Brown is 7-1-1, has played 543:06 minutes with a 1.33 goals-against average and a .958 save percentage, stopping 271 of 283 shots. For his strong month of January, Brown received honorable mention for Hockey Commissioners Association (HCA) rookie-of-the-month honors. For the year, Brown is 13-5-3 with a 2.03 goals-against average and a .933 save percentage.
HOME SWEET HOME: The Irish have now won four-in-a-row at home to extend their home unbeaten streak to 14 games (12-0-2). The last time the Irish lost on home ice came on Oct. 17, a 5-3 loss to Bowling Green. For the year, the Irish are 12-1-2 at the Joyce Center. The 12 wins are the most for the Irish at home since the 1998-99 campaign when Notre Dame was 12-3-3 at the Joyce Center. The longest home unbeaten streak for the Irish is 15 games (15-0-0) and was set between Dec. 11, 1987 and March 5, 1988.
300 AND COUNTING: Notre Dame’s 4-2 win on Feb. 13 over Ferris State was the 300th win in the history of the Joyce Center. Notre Dame is now 303-245-42 (.551) on home ice.
THE WEEK AFTER: In each of the last four seasons following the February bye week, the Irish have had successful weekends upon their return to action. Last year, the Irish swept a pair of games at Bowling Green. In 2001-02, the Irish swept a series at Lake Superior State. In 2000-01, the Irish tied and won at Alaska Fairbanks. A schedule change that year had the Irish play one game at Michigan in the off-week, where they tied the Wolverines at Yost Arena. In 1999-2000, the Irish followed the bye week with a home tie versus Michigan State and a loss at Michigan State. With the sweep of Michigan this year, the Irish are now 7-1-2 in games following the bye week since 1999-2000.
ON THE RIGHT PAIGE: Center Jason Paige turned in the first two-goal game of his Notre Dame career in the 4-1 win over Michigan (2/27). Paige scored a pair of power-play goals in the game, giving him four on the season. He then added an assist in Saturday’s 5-2 win to give him the freshman scoring lead for the Irish with eight goals and six assists for 14 points.
TWO FOR THE CENTURY MARK: Seniors Rob Globke and Aaron Gill each went over the 100-point mark in their careers during the 2003-04 season. This marks the first time since the 1998-99 season that two Notre Dame players crashed the Irish “Century Club.” That season, Brian Urick and Aniket Dhadphale each recorded the 100th point of their careers. This season, Globke became the 40th player in Notre Dame hockey history to go over 100 points in his career with two assists versus Western Michigan (Dec. 6). He is currently 32nd on the all-time scoring list with 116 points. Globke is just one of 18 players in school history to have 60 or more goals in a season and now is 16th all-time with 66 career goals. Gill made it 41 players on the list with his goal on Feb. 6 at Miami. For his career, Gill now has 44 goals and 59 assists for his 103 career points.
GOLDEN GLOBKE: Senior right wing Rob Globke is tied for third in the CCHA with 17 goals this season and leads the Irish with 17 goals and 15 assists for 32 points. He is just four points off his career-high of 36 (21g, 15a) set last season. He has led the Irish in goals in two of his first three seasons. Globke was named the CCHA offensive player of the week for the week ending Jan. 18. At Wisconsin, Globke accounted for two goals and two assists and was +2 for the weekend as the Irish tied (2-2) and downed the fourth-ranked Badgers (3-1). Globke was the first Notre Dame player to receive offensive player of the week honors since Dan Carlson (’01) was named on Feb. 7, 2000.
GAME-WINNING GLOBKE: Rob Globke picked up his CCHA-leading fifth game-winning goal of the season in the 3-1 win over Wisconsin on Jan. 18. He ranks second in the country with the five game-winners. For his career at Notre Dame, Globke now has 13 game-winning goals. That ties him for first on the all-time game-winning goal list with Brian Urick (’99) and current head coach Dave Poulin who recorded 13 game winners from 1978-82.
ON THE SIDELINES: Notre Dame defenseman Derek Smith (Jr., Marysville, Mich.) is sidelined indefinitely with post-concussion syndrome. He has not played since suffering a concussion on Jan. 4, 2003.
LEBDA’S LINE: Brett Lebda turned in a four-point weekend (all assists) in Notre Dame’s sweep of Michigan. The four-point weekend included three assists in the 4-1 win on Feb. 27 for the third three-assist or more game of his career. He also has now moved into 10th on Notre Dame’s all-time scoring list for defensemen with 81 career points on 25 goals and 56 assists. For the season, Lebda leads all Notre Dame defensemen in scoring with five goals and 15 assists for 20 points.
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Defenseman Tom Galvin was selected as the CCHA’s defensive player of the week for the week ending Feb. 15. Galvin had a goal and three assists and was +3 on the weekend as the Irish swept Ferris State. The senior blueliner was on the ice for six Notre Dame goals in the series and just one for Ferris State. He assisted on one goal in the 4-2 win on Feb. 13 and then had a career-high three-point game (1g, 2a) in the 4-1 win on Feb. 14. He also played a key role in helping Notre Dame’s penalty killers kill all nine Ferris State power plays on the weekend.
GILL GOALS: Senior center Aaron Gill has established career highs in assists (18) and points (30) this season. His 12 goals are the second highest total of his career as he had 13 goals last season. He also leads the Irish with seven power-play goals on the year, also a career high. For his career, Gill now has 17 power-play goals.
TWO-FOR-TWO: Freshman T.J. Jindra’s (Faribault, Minn.) short-handed goal in the Feb. 13 game versus Ferris State was his second goal of the season and also was his second game-winning goal of the year. His previous game-winning goal came on Nov. 21 versus Lake Superior State. He added his third goal of the year in the 4-1 win over Michigan.
TERRIFIC TRIO: Notre Dame’s corp of senior defensemen continues to have a strong final season for the Irish. Brett Lebda (5-15-20) took over the team lead in defensive scoring with three assists versus Michigan. Neil Komadoski (5-14-19) and Tom Galvin (1-18-19) follow with18 points. Not surprisingly, during their Notre Dame careers, all three defenders have led the Irish defensemen in scoring in one season. Lebda (7-19-26) led as a freshman, Galvin (4-19-23) led as a sophomore and Komadoski (1-23-24) led last year.
BARN BURNERS: Three of Notre Dame’s games in January came down to final-second decisions. On Jan. 31, Brett Lebda scored with 28.5 seconds left for a 2-2 tie with Alaska Fairbanks. On Jan. 23, Northern Michigan’s Darin Olver scored with 34 seconds left in overtime to give the Wildcats a 4-3 win. On Jan. 9, Bowling Green’s James Unger scored with 28 seconds left in overtime to give the Falcons a 5-4 win.
POWER-PLAY POINTS: The Irish are five-for-12 (41.6%) on the power play over the past three games and have had two power-play goals in two of those three games. The Irish have scored at least one power-play goal in 23 of their 32 games this season.
DYNAMIC DUO: Notre Dame’s defensive duo of Neil Komadoski and Tom Galvin turned in career-high three-point games in the 4-1 win over Ferris State on Feb. 14. Komadoski recorded a pair of power-play goals (his first two-goal game) and added an assist for his three points. Galvin had one goal and two assists for his three-point night. On the weekend, Komadoski was on the ice for seven of Notre Dame’s eight goals and just one for Ferris State. Galvin was on the ice for six of eight Notre Dame goals and just one for the Bulldogs. On the year, the duo is tied for second on the team in scoring among defensemen with 19 points. Komadoski has five goals and 14 assists while Galvin checks in with one goal and 18 assists.
ONE-GOAL GAMES: Five of Notre Dame’s games in January were decided by one goal with the Irish going 2-3-0 in those games. After winning their first three one-goal games (all three being 1-0 wins), the Irish dropped three in a row (two in overtime and one by a 1-0 score). The Irish are 4-3 this season in one-goal decisions. Notre Dame has been involved in four 1-0 games this season and is 3-1 in those contests.
OVERTIME HEARTBREAK: Notre Dame is now 0-2-4 this season in six games that have gone to overtime. Prior to the Jan. 9, 5-4 overtime loss at Bowling Green, the Irish had gone eight straight overtimes with the game ending in a tie (0-0-8) between last season and the early part of the current campaign. Notre Dame’s last regular-season overtime win was Jan. 25, 2002 at Miami, a 4-3 win. Since that win, the Irish are 1-3-10 in overtime with the one win and one of the losses coming in the CCHA playoffs. Since the start of the 1999-2000 season, the Irish have been involved in 39 overtime games and are 5-4-30 in those contests.
PUTTING THE “P” IN POWER: Sophomore left wing Mike Walsh is quickly emerging one of the top power forwards in the CCHA. He scored his 11th goal of the season in the 5-2 win over Michigan. On the season, Walsh has four game-winning goals and five for his career. The four game winners ties him for third in the CCHA and 10th in the nation. Walsh believes that the quickest way to get from point A to point B is a straight line as he barges and charges to the net. After battling through an injury and illness filled freshman year, Walsh has become a key contributor to the Irish attack. With11 goals and nine assists, he is tied for third on the team with 20 points. Four of his 11 goals this season are game winners. For his career, Walsh has scored 12 goals with five of them being game-winning goals.
MR. STEADY – CORY’S STORY: Junior right wing Cory McLean is third in scoring for the Irish this season with nine goals and 12 assists for 21 points. His previous best was last season when he picked up 10 goals and seven assists for 17 points. McLean currently has a two-game goal-scoring streak after scoring once in each of the wins over Michigan. His goal on Friday, Feb. 27, snapped a 15-game scoreless drought. McLean had not scored a goal since Dec. 6 versus Western Michigan.
2003-04 IRISH AWARD WINNERS:
David Brown – CCHA rookie of the week
(Oct. 19, Nov. 1, Dec. 2, Feb. 29)
CCHA defensive player of the week
(Jan. 12)
HCA rookie of the month (October)
Honorable mention HCA rookie of the
month (January)
Morgan Cey – All-tournament team at Everblades
Collegiate Hockey Classic (Dec. 28)
Tom Galvin – CCHA defensive player of the week
(Feb. 15)
Rob Globke – CCHA offensive player of the week
(Jan. 19)
Neil Komadoski – Nominee for college hockey’s
Humanitarian Award
LEAGUE LEADERS: Notre Dame and Michigan are one-two in the CCHA for the fewest goals given up per game. Notre Dame has given up just 74 goals in 32 games for a 2.313 goals-against per game. Michigan has given up 85 goals in 34 games for a 2.50 goals-against per game.
OFFENSIVE DEFENSEMEN: In 32 games this season, Notre Dame defensemen Brett Lebda, Tom Galvin, Neil Komadoski and Wes O’Neill (Fr., Essex, Ont.) have combined for 13 goals and 55 assists for 68 points. Lebda (5g, 15a) is followed by Komadoski (5-14-19) and Galvin (1-18-18). O’Neill has two goals and eight assists for 10 points on the year.
BEATING THE BEST: Notre Dame’s 1-0 shutout win at Boston College on Oct. 24 came versus the Eagles while they were ranked first in the nation in the USA Today/American Hockey Magazine poll. The last time the Irish beat a top-ranked team came on Jan. 3, 1999 when they won 4-3 at North Dakota.
IRISH WINS VERSUS #1 TEAMS:
10/24/03 – at Boston College, 1-0
1/3/99 – at North Dakota, 4-3
11/10/78 – at Minnesota, 3-2
1/13/78 – vs. Denver, 5-3
1/18/74 – vs. Michigan Tech, 7-1
2/24/73 – vs. Wisconsin, 8-5
2/23/73 – vs. Wisconsin, 4-3
The last time the Irish faced a top-ranked team prior to Oct. 24 was on Nov. 10, 2000 when they played Boston College. Notre Dame lost that game by a 5-3 score.
IRISH SHUTOUTS: Prior to last season’s CCHA playoffs when Morgan Cey recorded back-to-back shutouts versus Miami, Notre Dame had never recorded back-to-back shutouts. Since Cey did it last March, both freshman David Brown (three in a row) and Cey have turned the trick this year. Notre Dame’s six shutouts are a single-season school record. The previous best was 1999-2000 when the Irish had three shutouts (Tony Zasowski had two and Jeremiah Kimento had one).
SCORELESS STREAKS: Morgan Cey (Jr., Wilkie, Sask.) saw his consecutive minutes of scoreless hockey come to an end at 158:53 when D’Arcy McConvey scored at 10:27 of the second period on Jan. 9. The streak was the longest of Cey’s career, passing his previous best of 149:17 (set between Mar. 14-20, 2003 in the CCHA playoffs). Cey’s 158:53 is the second longest in Irish history behind David Brown’s mark of 193:27 set this past October between Oct. 17-Nov. 8.
RISING TO THE OCCASION: With Morgan Cey sidelined twice this season due to knee injuries, freshman goaltender David Brown has played in 22 games with outstanding results. In 20 starts, Brown is 13-5-3 with a CCHA-leading 2.03 goals-against average and a .933 save percentage. Four of his 12 wins have been shutouts. He had an eight-game unbeaten streak (6-0-2) snapped on Dec. 6 in a 6-4 loss at Western Michigan. During his streak which covered nine games, Brown had a 1.96 goals against (17 goals in 521:30 minutes and a .932 save percentage (232 saves). Included in those nine games were three consecutive shutouts between 10/18 and 10/31. For good measure, Brown also threw in a fourth shutout on Nov. 14 versus the U.S. Under-18 team that does not count in the statistics. He also was named CCHA rookie of the week three times, CCHA defensive player of the week once, the Hockey Commissioner’s Association (HCA) national rookie of the month for October and an honorable mention pick for HCA rookie of the month in January.
ALL GOOD THINGS MUST END: Irish goaltender David Brown saw his streak of three consecutive shutouts end in the Nov. 8 game versus Michigan State. Jim Slater’s goal at 7:12 of the first period ended his consecutive-minute streak at 193:27. That is a new Notre Dame record. The last time Brown had given up a goal was on Oct. 17 versus Bowling Green with 4:22 left in the third period. He followed with shutouts versus Bowling Green (Oct. 18), Boston College (10/24) and Nebraska-Omaha (10/31).
HCA ROOKIE OF THE MONTH: Notre Dame freshman goaltender David Brown was selected as the Hockey Commissioner’s Association (HCA) national collegiate rookie of the month for the month of October. Brown had an October to remember as he recorded a Notre Dame school record three consecutive shutouts in his first four career starts and a school-record shutout string of 193:27 consecutive minutes. His three shutouts also set a Notre Dame record for shutouts in a season. For the month, the 5-11, 188-pound puck stopper was 3-2-0 with a CCHA-leading 1.15 goals-against average and a .946 save percentage to go with the three shutouts. Among his three shutouts was a 1-0, 27-save performance on Oct. 24 versus the top-ranked Boston College Eagles at Conte Forum in Chestnut Hill, Mass. The three shutouts came versus Bowling Green (10/18), Boston College (10/24) and Nebraska-Omaha (10/31). He has been selected as the CCHA rookie of the month three times this season (10/19, 11/2, 12/1) and defensive player of the week once (1/12). Brown was also received honorable mention for HCA rookie of the month honors in January.
IRISH ON TV: Notre Dame’s February 27th game marked the eighth game this season that the Irish appeared on television. For the year, Notre Dame is 6-1-1 in televised games. The Irish have appeared on CSTV four times and are 3-1-0. They are 1-0-1 on Wisconsin television, 1-0 on Fox Sports Net Fairbanks and 1-0 on Fox Sports Net Detroit.
HUMANITARIAN NOMINEE: Irish defenseman Neil Komadoski was one of 14 nominees for the prestigious College Hockey Humanitarian Award that goes to college hockey’s “top citizen.” The award for community service and leadership is presented along with the Hobey Baker Award at the NCAA Frozen Four each year. On Jan. 15, the five finalists – Patrick Foley (UNH), Dan Boeser (Wisconsin), Chanda Gunn (Northeastern), Derek Nisula (Babson) and Mark Persick (Canisius) – were selected. Komadoski has been involved in Notre Dame’s community service programs since his freshman year. He is a member of the school’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) for three years and is chairman of the SAAC community service sub-committee since the fall of 2002. He represented Notre Dame at the NCAA’s Student-Athlete Leadership Conference last May. His community service work has included participation in SAAC’s Pediatric Christmas Party in all four years since joining the Irish hockey program. He has also participated in Christmas in April (2001, 2002), Habitat for Humanity (2003) and the Downs Syndrome Buddy Walk in the fall of 2002 and 2003. He has also worked with the Robinson Community Learning Center’ Children’s Ice Skate Day in the fall of 2002 and 2003.
OH CANADA: Freshman defenseman Wes O’Neill was a member of Canada’s Under-18 Select team that played in last summer’s Under-18 Select World Cup tournament. O’Neill had a goal and four assists in helping Canada to a fourth-place finish. The former Green Bay Gambler also played for Team Ontario at the Under-17 World Championships in Feb. of 2003. There he had three goals and nine assists in six games. O’Neill was the second pick in the 2002 Ontario Hockey League (OHL) Draft by the Kingston Frontenacs. He is the highest-drafted OHL player to decide to play college hockey.
CENTRAL SCOUTING RANKINGS: The National Hockey League’s (NHL) Central Scouting has released it’s mid-term report that ranks the top 270 draft eligible skaters and the top 30 goaltenders for the 2004 NHL Entry Draft next June. Irish defenseman Wes O’Neill is ranked 19th overall, third among U.S. College players behind North Dakota’s Drew Stafford (9th) and Michigan State’s A.J. Thelen (16). Freshman forward Michael Bartlett (Morton Grove, Ill.) was ranked 211th overall and 36th among collegiate players. Goaltender David Brown is ranked 29th overall and second among collegiate goaltenders behind top-ranked Al Montoya of Michigan.
IRISH VERSUS HOCKEY EAST: For the first time since Hockey East started in 1984-85, Notre Dame has recorded a pair of wins over Hockey East conference teams. On Oct. 24, the Irish defeated Boston College at Chestnut Hill, Mass. On Dec. 28, Notre Dame took a 1-0 decision versus Maine at the Everblades College Classic. In both 1-0 shutouts, sophomore left wing Mike Walsh got the game-winning goal.
CONSECUTIVE GAME STREAK: Graduated defenseman Evan Nielsen (’03) set Notre Dame’s record for consecutive games played last season with 114 in a row from 2000-03. Coming into this weekend at Northern Michigan, seniors Rob Globke and Brett Lebda have each played in 90 consecutive games and are the leaders among active players. The only games Lebda has missed in his career came in 2001-02 when he missed four games while playing at the World Junior Championships. He has played 145 of 149 career games.
RIVALRY CLUSTERS: Notre Dame has split the first eight games played between cluster rivals Bowling Green and Northern Michigan, going 4-4-0. Overall, the Irish are 5-4-1 versus teams in their cluster. They are 1-0-1 versus Lake Superior State, 2-2 versus Northern Michigan and 2-2 versus Bowling Green. A year ago, the Irish were 7-4-1 in their cluster that included Bowling Green, Western Michigan and Ferris State.
DOWN BY TWO: Prior to the Nov. 29 comeback versus Northern Michigan (the Irish trailed 2-0 in a 4-2 win), last time the Irish rebounded from a two-goal deficit to win a game was on Oct. 12, 2002 when the Irish fell behind Minnesota-Duluth, 2-0, and rallied for a 5-3 win at Duluth.
SOME TRICK: Sophomore defenseman Chris Trick (Troy, Mich.) recorded his first collegiate goal in the Nov. 28, 5-1 win over Northern Michigan. He made the most of it too, as the goal came short-handed in the second period and proved to be the game winner. Trick came out of the penalty box after a Wildcat centering pass eluded the point men. Trick beat Craig Kowalski with a backhander for his first goal in 36 career games.
DIRECTOR’S CUP STANDINGS: The University of Notre Dame stands 12th in the 2003-04 United States Sports Academy Division I Director’s Cup all-sports competition sponsored by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (formerly known as Sears Directors’Cup). Fall NCAA competition earned the Irish 199 points. Michigan is first (413 points), followed by UCLA, Stanford, Maryland, BYU, North Carolina, Penn State, Washington, USC, and Wake Forest round out the top 10.
FUTURE IRISH: Dave Poulin and his hockey staff announced that four players have signed national letters-of-intent in the early-signing period to attend Notre Dame next season. The group includes three defensement and one forward.
CEY IT AIN’T SO: Goaltender Morgan Cey missed the first five games of the season after having knee surgery in July. He then missed seven games after re-injuring his knee on Nov. 7, requiring arthroscopic surgery. Prior to this season, Cey had started 71 of Notre Dame’s 79 games as a freshman and sophomore. He was 15-15-6 last season with a 2.87 goals-against average and a .912 save percentage with two shutouts. Career-wise, Cey is 33-34-10 with a 2.73 goals-against average and a .912 save percentage with six shutouts. He is sixth on Notre Dame’s all-time wins list with 33. His 2.73 goals-against average, .912 save percentage and six shutouts make him the leader in all three categories at Notre Dame.
NHL DRAFTEES: Notre Dame has three players on the 2003-04 roster that have been selected in the National Hockey League Entry Draft. Senior Rob Globke was a second-round choice of the Florida Panthers in the 2002 NHL Entry Draft. Selected 40th overall, Globke’s selection was the earliest any Notre Dame player has ever been chosen. Senior defenseman Neil Komadoski was selected in the third round of the 2001 draft by the Ottawa Senators. Sophomore left wing Mike Walsh was selected in the fifth round in 2002 by the New York Rangers.
BRAIN POWER: Senior defenseman T.J. Mathieson (Clarksville, Md.) is a candidate for Rhodes, Mitchell and Marshall Scholarships for postgraduate studies. Mathieson owns a 3.812 grade-point average in aerospace engineering in Notre Dame’s School of Engineering. He is a two-time winner of Notre Dame’s Rockne Scholar-Athlete Award. He spent the past summer working at General Electric Aircraft Engines in Cincinnati. There, he worked doing stress analysis of high-pressure turbines for commercial aircraft engines.
THE CAPTAINS: Senior center Aaron Gill will serve as the team captain for the Irish in 2003-04. As a junior, he finished fourth in scoring with 13 goals and 12 assists for 25 points. Four of his 13 goals came on the power play and he recorded his first career hat trick on Oct. 19 in an 8-5 win over Western Michigan. Serving as alternate captains this season are senior right wing Rob Globke and senior defenseman Neil Komadoski. Globke led the Irish in scoring last season with 21 goals and 15 assists for 36 points. Komadoski was Notre Dame’s top scorer from the blue line last year as he scored a goal and added 23 helpers. His 23 assists and 24 points were career-highs for the veteran defenseman.
FOURTH TIME: Morgan Cey’s back-to-back shutouts (1-0 and 5-0) versus Miami in the first round of last season’s CCHA playoffs made him the fourth goaltender to turn the trick. The others are:
1988-1989 –
Bruce Hoffort, LSSU beat Ferris State, 5-0, 3-0.
1993-94 –
Blaine Lacher, LSSU beat Ohio State, 5-0, 8-0
1999-00 –
Ryan Miller beat Notre Dame, 4-0 in semis and Nebraska-Omaha, 6-0 in finals.
PENALTY SHOTS: Notre Dame goaltender Morgan Cey has faced four penalty shots in his Irish hockey career, including three last season. On Feb. 28, in a 4-2 loss to Western Michigan, Cey stopped Bronco VinceBellissimo at 14:06 of the third period. A month earlier, Jan. 25, in a 3-3 tie with Michigan State, Cey stopped Jim Slater at 16:23 of the second stanza. His first stop in 2002-03 came on Nov. 22 at Michigan, in a 4-2 loss to the Wolverines. There, he stopped Milan Gajic at 12:36 of the second period. The first penalty shot Cey faced came during his freshman season when he stopped Bowling Green’s Greg Day on Dec. 8, 2001. That stop came in a 4-2 loss to the Falcons.
FAMILY MATTERS: After having as many as four players whose fathers played in the National Hockey League, only one remains for the 2003-04 season. That would be Neil Komadoski, Jr., whose father, 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.
ALL IN THE FAMILY: Two Irish sophomore hockey players – Rory Walsh (So., Milton, Mass.) and Mike Walsh – have fathers who attended Notre Dame. Rory Walsh’s father, Brian (’77), was an all-American hockey player for the Irish. A center iceman, the elder Walsh is Notre Dame’s all-time leading scorer after recording 234 career points on 89 goals and 145 assists. Mike Walsh’s father, Max, (’74) was an offensive lineman on the Notre Dame football team and a member of the 1973 national championship team.
FROZEN TUNDRA: The Irish have developed a pipeline with the Green Bay Gamblers of the United State’s Hockey League. Three members of the current Notre Dame team have played in the Land of Lombardi. Junior defenseman Joe Zurenko (Arlington Heights, Ill.) played there during the ’00-’01 season and freshmen blueliners Noah Babin (Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.) and Wes O’Neill were teammates there last year. Assistant coach Layne LeBel also spent the past two seasons with the Gamblers.
GOLD MEDAL ASSISTANT: Irish assistant hockey coach, Andy Slaggert, served as an assistant coach with USA Hockey’s gold-medal winning Under-18 Select Team in August at the World Under-18 Select tournament in the Czech Republic. The 11-year assistant at Notre Dame has been involved in coaching with USA Hockey since the 1996-97 season. This was his first time for coaching on the international level.
PATRIOTIC GROUP: Notre Dame’s current roster includes eight players who have past experience with USA Hockey, as members of the National Team Development Program (NTDP) and/or the National Junior Team. Since the program began, the Irish have had a total of 13 NTDP alums grace their roster. The current contingent includes seniors Rob Globke, Neil Komadoski and Brett Lebda, junior Derek Smith (Marysville, Mich.), sophomore Tim Wallace (Anchorage, Alaska) and freshmen Noah Babin (Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.), Michael Bartlett (Morton Grove, Ill.) and Josh Sciba (Westland, Mich.)
Former Irish players Brett Henning, Paul Harris, Michael Chin, Connor Dunlop and John Wroblewski are all alums of the U.S. Developmental Program.
HOMETOWNS: The 2003-04 Notre Dame hockey team features players from 10 states and four Canadian provinces – Alberta, British Columbia, Ontario and Saskatchewan. In the eight-year tenure of head coach Dave Poulin, the Notre Dame hockey letterwinners have hailed from 20 different states and provinces those listed below, plus: Colorado, Delaware, New Jersey, Wisconsin, Prince Edward Island and Quebec.
2003-04 Notre Dame Hockey
– By State or Province:
Michigan (6): Rob Globke, Derek Smith, Chris Trick, Mike Walsh, Jason
Paige, Josh Sciba
Illinois (3): Brett Lebda, Joe Zurenko, Michael Bartlett
Minnesota (3): Aaron Gill, Tony Gill, T.J. Jindra
Alberta (2): Brad Wanchulak, Matt Williams-Kovacs
Ontario (2): David Brown, Wes O’Neill
Alaska (1): Tim Wallace
British Columbia (1): Matt Amado
Florida (1): Noah Babin
Maryland (1): T.J. Mathieson
Massachusetts (1): Rory Walsh
Missouri (1): Neil Komadoski
New York (1): Tom Galvin
North Dakota (1): Cory McLean
Saskatchewan (1): Morgan Cey