Red-hot Calle Ridderwall scored two power-play goals and added a pair of assists in Notre Dame's 4-1 win over Western Michigan.

Irish Hockey Faces Bowling Green In Home-And-Home Series

Nov. 19, 2008

Notre Dame, Ind. –

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• The Game: #6/#5 Notre Dame (7-3-1/3-2-1-1) vs. Bowling Green (5-5-2/4-3-1-0)

• Date/Site/Time: Friday, Nov. 21, 2008 • Joyce Center (2,713) • 7:35 p.m.

• The Game: #6/#5 Notre Dame (7-3-1/3-2-1-1) at Bowling Green (5-5-2/4-3-1-0)

• Date/Site/Time: Saturday, Nov. 22, 2008 • BGSU Ice Arena (5,000) • 7:05 p.m.

• Broadcast Information: Radio: Notre Dame hockey can be heard live on Cat Country 99.9 FM in South Bend. Mike Lockert, now in his seventh season, will call all the action for the Irish.

• Internet: All Notre Dame hockey games can be heard live on the internet via the Notre Dame website at www.und.com. Friday’s game against Bowling Green will be streamed live at und.com. All Notre Dame home games and all CCHA games are available via gametracker.

A NOVEMBER ROLL: Rivalry partners, Notre Dame and Bowling Green, meet for the first time this season when the Irish and Falcons tangle in a home-and-home series this weekend. On Friday, November 21, the two teams will meet at the Joyce Center for a 7:35 p.m. tilt. The following night, the teams will meet in Bowling Green, Ohio at the BGSU Ice Arena in a 7:05 p.m. contest. Notre Dame is in the midst of a six-game unbeaten streak (5-0-1) and is 4-0-1 in the month of November after getting a 3-3 tie (shootout win) and a 5-2 victory against Lake Superior State last weekend. The shootout was the first ever for the Irish and they gained the extra point on the strength of goals by Billy Maday (Fr., Burr Ridge, Ill.) and Calle Ridderwall (So., Stockholm, Sweden). Notre Dame goes into the weekend with Bowling Green with a 7-3-1 overall mark and a 3-2-1-1 record in the CCHA, good for eight points. The Falcons are coming off a home weekend series with Northern Michigan that saw them win a pair of 2-1 victories. Bowling Green is now 5-5-2 overall and 4-3-1-0 in the conference, good for nine points in the standings. The Falcons are tied for fourth in the CCHA, one point ahead of the Irish but have played two more games.

IRISH VERSUS FALCONS: Notre Dame and Bowling Green have met 83 times in the all-time series with the Irish holding a 43-34-6 edge. At the Joyce Center, they are 24-12-4 all-time against the Falcons. At the BGSU Ice Arena, Bowling Green is 22-18-2 versus the Notre Dame. The teams met four times last season with the Irish winning all four games. Notre Dame has won eight straight games in the series and is 11-0-1 against the Falcons in the last 12 meetings since the start of the 2005-06 season. The last time Notre Dame lost to the Falcons was Jan. 29, 2005, a 6-2 loss at the Joyce Center. The last loss at the BGSU Ice Arena was on Jan. 28, 2005 by a 4-1 score as the Irish were swept in that home-and-home series. The two teams will meet again in three weeks when they play their second home-and-home series on Dec. 12-13.

LAKE SUPERIOR RECAP: Saturday, November 15 – Sophomore Calle Ridderwall had a career-high three-point game (1g, 2a) and the Irish got single goals from Billy Maday, Erik Condra (Sr., Livonia, Mich.), Christiaan Minella (Jr., Aurora, Colo.) and Teddy Ruth (So., Naperville, Ill.) in the 5-2 win over the Lakers. Josh Sim and Zac MacVoy (shg) scored for Lake Superior. The Irish also got two-assist games from Brett Blatchford (Jr., Temperance, Mich.), Christian Hanson (Sr., Venetia, Pa.) and Kevin Deeth (Jr., Gig Harbor, Wash.) in the win. Notre Dame out shot the Lakers, 39-22, in the game. Jordan Pearce (Sr., Anchorage, Alaska) made 20 saves in the Notre Dame goal while Brian Mahoney-Wilson had 34 for the Lakers. The two teams traded first period goals for a 2-2 tie after one period of play. Minella notched his third of the season at12:14 of the middle period for the game winner and Ruth (first of year) and Ridderwall (third) closed out the scoring in the third period.

Friday, November 14 – Notre Dame goaltender Jordan Pearce stopped a career high 40 shots and the Irish got goals from Christiaan Minella, Ben Ryan (So., Brighton, Mich.) and Ryan Guentzel (So., Woodbury, Minn.) to battle Lake Superior to a 3-3 tie after 65 minutes of play. In the CCHA shootout, the Irish got goals from Billy Maday and Calle Ridderwall to grab the extra point in the conference standings with a 2-1 shootout win. The Lakers got goals from Simon Gysbers (ppg), Nathan Perkovich (ppg) and Josh Sim in regulation. In the shootout, Steven Kaunisto scored on the first shot but Lake Superior saw its next three shots stopped by Pearce and was forced to settle for one point. The Lakers fired 43 shots on goal while Notre Dame had 38. Brian Mahoney-Wilson finished with 35 saves on the night. Lake Superior was 2-for-5 on the power play while Notre Dame was 0-for-5.

CCHA DEFENSEMAN OF THE WEEK: Irish defenseman Brett Blatchford was selected as the CCHA’s defenseman of the week after playing a key role in Notre Dame’s shootout win and regulation win over Lake Superior State (Nov. 14-15). The junior blueliner had three assists in the two games and was even for the weekend with three blocked shots. In Friday’s shootout win, Blatchford set up Ben Ryan’s second-period goal. On Saturday, he had a hand in Christiaan Minella’s game-winning goal and Calle Ridderwall’s late power-play tally.

ON A ROLL: With the win and tie versus Lake Superior State, Notre Dame extended its current unbeaten streak to six games (5-0-1). The unbeaten streak is the longest for the Irish since a nine-game winning streak set last season between Nov. 16 and Dec. 8.

MR. RELIABLE: Senior goaltender Jordan Pearce has been a regular in the Notre Dame goal over the last two seasons. Since Jan. 5, 2008, Pearce has appeared in 33 of the last 34 Irish games. Of those 33 games, 32 have been starts. Pearce saw his personal streak of 21 consecutive starts snapped on Oct. 18 of this season when junior Tom O’Brien (Mokena, Ill.) made his first career start versus Sacred Heart. Pearce has appeared in 10 of Notre Dame’s first 11 games this season and is 6-3-1 with a 2.10 goals-against average and a .920 save percentage. In his current six-game unbeaten streak (5-0-1), Pearce owns a 1.81 goals-against average and a .934 save percentage. His 40-save performance against the Lakers on Friday night, was the most saves in his career, surpassing the previous high of 34 set on Feb. 17, 2006 versus Bowling Green in a 7-4 win.

SHARE THE WEALTH: Through the first 11 games of the season, Notre Dame has just one player – Kevin Deeth – with 10 points (2g, 8a) and one player – Billy Maday – with five or more goals. The Irish do have 10 players with two or more goals and 15 players with three or more points.

MINELLA MAGIC: Junior right wing Christiaan Minella scored his first career goal, on his first shot in his first collegiate game against Bowling Green on Nov. 11, 2006. It would be 46 games before he would score again, getting the second goal of his career on Oct. 18 of this season against Sacred Heart. The 6-2, 216-pound forward didn’t wait as long to score again as he had his second and third goals of the season last weekend, getting one in each game against Lake Superior. On the season, Minella has three goals in nine games.

ROAD WARRIORS: As a team, the Irish have now won four games in a row on the road and are 4-1-0 this season away from the Joyce Center. The current four-game road streak is the first for Notre Dame since Feb. 2 – Feb. 17, 2007 when the Irish won weekend series at Bowling Green and Alaska as part of a five-game road winning streak.

SHOOTOUT SUCCESS: Notre Dame was involved in its first shootout in CCHA play this season in the Nov. 14 game against Lake Superior State. The shootout went to sudden death after three rounds with the Irish taking a 2-1 verdict.

Notre Dame Shooter         Lake Superior ShooterBen Ryan (save)            Steven Kaunisto (goal)Dan Kissel (save)          Rick Schofield (save)Billy Maday (goal)         Troy Schwab (save)Calle Ridderwall (goal)    Nathan Perkovich (save)
Goaltenders:LSSU: Brian Mahoney-Wilson (2 goals/2 saves)ND: Jordan Pearce (1 goal/3 saves)

STREAK STOPPED: The Irish saw their streak of killing penalties stopped at 25 when Lake Superior scored on its second and third power-play chances in the 3-3 tie on Friday night. Notre Dame had not given up a power play goal since Oct. 25 in the third period against Miami. So far this season, the Irish have given up six power-play goals in 62 chances for a 90.3% success rate. Notre Dame has given up those six power-play goals in just three games, surrendering two to Denver on Oct. 11, two to Miami on Oct. 25 and two to the Lakers on Nov. 14.

HOW SWEDE IT IS: Sophomore left wing Calle Ridderwall reached deep into his bag of tricks and pulled out a magnificent goal-scoring effort to score in the shootout against Lake Superior State, giving Notre Dame its first-ever shootout victory on November 14. He followed that with a career-best three-point night on Nov. 15, getting a power-play goal and two assists in the contest. For the year, Ridderwall now has three goals and four assists for seven points to equal his freshman totals of last season (5g, 2a).

CHILL(ING) REUNION: When sophomore Calle Ridderwall and freshman Billy Maday were put on the same line with center Kevin Deeth in the second game of the Miami series, it marked the first time that Ridderwall and Maday played together at Notre Dame. The two aren’t strangers as they spent the 2005-06 season as linemates with the Chicago Chill Midget AA program, helping the Chill to a second-place finish at the USA Midget AA championships. Maday had 38 goals and 87 assists for 125 points in 74 games with the Chill while Ridderwall had 52 goals and 66 assists for 118 points that season. In seven games together the duo has combined for six goals and and seven assists with Maday having three goals and four assists and Ridderwall three goals and three assists for six points.

SCORING MACHINE: Through the first eight games of the season, Notre Dame’s trio of Garrett Regan (Sr., Hastings, Minn.), Justin White (Sr., Traverse City, Mich.) and Ryan Guentzel had just one point, a goal by White. In the last four games, the trio has combined for four goals and eight assists for 12 points. Regan has three goals with one assist while White has chipped in five assists. Guentel, who scored his first career goal against Lake Superior has one goal and two assists for three points in the last four games.

GOOD FOR GUENTZEL: Ryan Guentzel’s third-period goal on November 14 tied the game against Lake Superior State and was the final goal of the game in Notre Dame’s 3-3 tie and shootout win against the Lakers. The goal also was the first of the sophomore right wing’s collegiate career and snapped a 35-game goal-less drought.

THE KID’S ALRIGHT: Freshman right wing Billy Maday was held off the regular scoresheet on Friday (Nov. 14) night (snapping a season-high five-game point streak) in the 3-3 tie with Lake Superior but had the biggest goal of the game for the Irish in the shootout. Trailing 1-0 in the shootout with one shot left, Maday beat the Lakers’ Brian Mahoney-Wilson to tie the shootout at 1-1 and send it to sudden death where Ridderwall won it. He found his goal-scoring touch again on Saturday (Nov. 15) when he scored his team high fifth goal of the season. In 11 games this season, Maday is tied for second in scoring with five goals and four assists for nine points. He ranks second in scoring among freshmen in the CCHA.

ON THE SIDELINES: The Irish will be without the services of sophomore goaltender Brad Phillips (Farmington Hills, Mich.) for the entire season. Phillips injured his right knee in the preseason and will be out of action for the year. He was 4-1-0 as a freshman with a 1.53 goals-against average and a .923 save percentage.

BACK ON TRACK: Senior captain Erik Condra scored a power-play goal to tie the game at 2-2 in the first period of the November 15, 5-2, win over Lake Superior. The goal snapped a seven-game goal-less drought for Condra and was his first goal since scoring on Oct. 18 versus Sacred Heart. After scoring six points (2g, 4a) in his first five games, Condra has been held to just two points (1g, 1a) in his last six contests.

MULTIPLE POINTS: After the first 11 games of the season, juniors Kevin Deeth and Brett Blatchford lead the Irish with three multiple-point games each. The duo each had two assists in the 5-2 win over Lake Superior on Nov. 15. For the season, they rank 1-2 in scoring as Deeth has 10 points (2g, 8a) to Blatchfords nine points (9a). Deeth has 15 multiple-point games in his Notre Dame career while Blatchford has five.

HOME AWAY FROM HOME: Notre Dame’s 4-1 win at Boston College’s Kelley Rink on Nov. 7 was the third consecutive win for the Irish on BC’s home ice. In 2003-04, the Irish handed the then-No.1 Eagles a 1-0 loss. Two years ago (2006-07), Notre Dame downed the top-ranked Eagles, 7-1 and this year, they handed the second-ranked Eagles the 4-1 loss. In the last three wins at Kelley Rink, Notre Dame has outscored Boston College, 12-2. In the last six meetings between the two schools, the Irish are 4-1-1 against the Eagles.

GOING ON THE OFFENSIVE: Notre Dame’s defense has gone on the offensive during the first nine games of the 2008-09 season. Irish defensemen have scored six goals and 20assists this year for 26 of the team’s 97 points. Brett Blatchford leads the defensemen with nine points (all assists). He is followed by sophomore Ian Cole (Ann Arbor, Mich.) with eight points on three goals and five assists. Junior Kyle Lawson (2g, 5a) is third with seven points while sophomore Teddy Ruth (one goal) and and freshman blueliner Sean Lorenz (Littleton, Colo.) have one point each (one assist).

FIRST TIMERS: Notre Dame’s weekend sweep at Northern Michigan (Oct. 31-Nov. 1) marked the first time that the Irish have ever won a two-game series in Marquette, Mich., since the teams began playing during the 1981-82 season. Last weekend’s sweep coupled with a 2-1 win on Jan. 5 of last season gives Notre Dame three straight wins at Northern Michigan.

CLIMBING THE CHARTS: Erik Condra is tied for third on the team in scoring with three goals and five assists for eight points. That has moved him into 25th on the all-time points list with 128 career points. Condra now has 38 goals and 90 assists for his 128 points. He is all alone in 14th place on the all-time assists list with 90.

POWER SURGE: After going 0-for-16 on the power play in the Miami series (Oct. 24-25), Notre Dame got back on track with the extra man versus Northern Michigan (Oct. 31-Nov. 1) as the Irish were 5-for-15 (33.3%) and scored once with the goaltender pulled and a delayed penalty called on the Wildcats. This season, the Irish are 12-for-48 (25.0%) on the power play in their six victories and 0-for-29 in the three losses and one tie, going 0-for-8 in each game versus Denver and two with Miami and 0-for-5 versus Lake Superior in the tie. On the season, the Irish are 12-for-77 (15.6%) with the man advantage.

MOVING UP THE LIST: With his 3-0 shutout of Sacred Heart on Oct. 17, Jordan Pearce recorded the fifth shutout of his career, making 18 saves against the Pioneers. The shutout moves him into third on the all-time shutout list as he trails Morgan Cey `05, who has six, and David Brown `07, who finished his career with 12. Pearce’s shutout was the first at the Joyce Center since Dec. 1, 2007 when he whitewashed Nebraska-Omaha, 5-0.

LOTS OF RUBBER: Notre Dame’s 42 shots on goal against Sacred Heart on Oct. 17 were the most in a game for the Irish since a 40-shot game against Northern Michigan on March 22, 2008 in the CCHA third-place game. Notre Dame lost that contest, 2-1. Pioneer goaltender Stefan Drew’s 39-save night was the most for an opposing goaltender since Western Michigan’s Riley Gill had 42 saves on Feb. 29, 2008, a 3-0 shutout for the Broncos.