Feb. 10, 2011
Notre Dame, Ind. –
Complete Release in PDF Format
– Date/Site/Time: Friday, February 11, 2011 – 7:35 p.m. – Joyce Center (2,713) – Notre Dame, Ind. Saturday, February 12, 2011 – 7:05 p.m. – Joyce Center (2,713) – Notre Dame, Ind.
– The Teams: #10/#10 Notre Dame (16-9-5/13-6-3-2) vs. Bowling Green (8-19-3/3-16-3-1)
– Broadcast Information: Radio: Notre Dame hockey can be heard live on Cat Country 99.9 FM in South Bend. Darin Pritchett, the voice of the Irish will call the action with the pregame show beginning 20 minutes before the opening face off.
– Internet Broadcast: Audio/Video: The Notre Dame – Bowling Green series will have live audio and video streaming at the Notre Dame website – und.com. Livestats: Available at und.com.
BACK TO ACTION: The Notre Dame hockey team returns to action this weekend as the 2010-11 season heads into the home stretch. The Irish return from their bye to face the Bowling Green Falcons in a two-game series at the Joyce Center, Feb. 11-12. Friday’s game has a 7:35 p.m. start time with Saturday’s contest set to start at 7:05 p.m. Notre Dame enters February action with a 16-9-5 overall record and is 13-6-3-2 in the CCHA, good for 44 points and second place in the conference title race. The Irish trail first-place Miami (45) by one point with two games in hand on the RedHawks. The Irish have six games left on the regular-season schedule with two this weekend versus Bowling Green, two at Ferris State (Feb. 18-19) and a home-and-home series with Western Michigan on Feb. 25-26. The Irish lead third-place Michigan (43) by one point, fourth-place Western Michigan (39) by five points and fifth-place Ferris State (38) by six in the race for a first-round bye in the CCHA playoffs. Bowling Green comes into the weekend with an 8-19-3 overall mark and the Falcons are 3-16-3-1 in conference play, good for 13 points in the league standings.
IRISH VERSUS FALCONS: Notre Dame and Bowling Green have met 93 times in the all-time series with the Irish holding a 49-36-8 advantage heading into this weekend’s games. At the Joyce Center, Notre Dame is 27-12-5 all-time against the Falcons, including 9-0-1 in the last 10 meetings. The last time that Bowling Green won at the Joyce Center was Jan. 29, 2005, a 6-2 win over the Irish. The two teams met twice at Bowling Green this season on Nov. 5-6 with that series ending in a split. The Falcons won the opener, 3-2, and Notre Dame took the second game by a 6-3 verdict. In the last five meetings between the two schools, Bowling Green is 2-1-2 versus the Irish.
WHILE WE WERE AWAY: Notre Dame senior left wing Calle Ridderwall (Stockholm, Sweden) was named one of 10 finalists for the Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award that honors student athletes who excel both on and off the ice and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence – community, classroom, character and competition. An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School, the Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student athlete and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities. Ridderwall is fifth on the team in scoring with 11 goals and eight assists for 19 points. Former Notre Dame goaltender David Brown `07 won the award in 2007.
THE RANKINGS: Notre Dame enters the series with Bowling Green ranked 10th in both the USA Today/American Hockey Magazine poll and the USCHO.com poll.
IN GOOD COMPANY: For the past two weeks, the Notre Dame hockey 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. With a 20-4 overall record, the Irish men’s basketball team entered the week ranked eighth in the Associated Press poll and seventh in the ESPN/USA Today rankings. The Notre Dame women’s team is 21-4 and ranked eighth in both the Associated Press and ESPN/USA Today rankings. The week of Jan. 31 marked the first time since Dec. 9, 2002 that both basketball programs were ranked in the top 10 at the same time.
OFFENSIVE IRISH: Notre Dame continues to lead the nation in goals with 110 in the first 30 games of the season. The Irish lead Union (109), Miami (108) and North Dakota (106) going into this weekend’s action. The Irish are ranked fifth in the nation in goals per game with 3.67 per contest. Yale currently leads the nation with 4.35 goals per game and is followed by Boston College and Merrimack with 3.81 per game. New Hampshire leads the Irish with 3.69 per contest.
CCHA ROOKIE OF THE WEEK: Freshman left wing Anders Lee (Edina, Minn.) was named CCHA rookie of the week for the second time this season following Notre Dame’s series with Miami. For the weekend, Lee had two goals and three assists for five points and was +3 in the two games. In the Jan. 28, 5-5 tie, Lee had three assists on the night and helped the Irish rally from a 5-3 deficit in the third period by setting up goals by Riley Sheahan (So., St. Catharine’s, Ont.) and T.J. Tynan (Fr., Orland Park, Ill.) to even the score. In the Jan. 29, 2-2 tie, Lee scored both Notre Dame goals for his third multiple-goal game of the season.
A LOOK BACK AT MIAMI: Friday, Jan. 28 – Notre Dame rallied with two goals in the final 7:13 of the third period to tie Miami, 5-5, at the Joyce Center in front of a sellout crowd of 2,957. The RedHawks took the extra point in the CCHA standings as they won the shootout, 3-2, in four rounds. Freshmen T.J. Tynan and Anders Lee sparked the comeback with Tynan getting two goals and one assist and Lee three assists for three-point nights each. Riley Sheahan, Billy Maday (Jr., Burr Ridge, Ill.) and Jeff Costello (Fr., Milwaukee, Wis.) each had single goals for the Irish. Miami was led by senior center Andy Miele, the nation’s leading scorer, who had a goal and three assists for a four-point night. Reilly Smith added two goals with Pat Cannone and Justin Vaive scoring single goals. The RedHawks were three-for-four on the power play in the contest. In the shootout, Notre Dame got goals from Ben Ryan (Sr., Brighton, Mich.) and Tynan while Miami matched those two with markers by Smith and Miele. Cannone ended the extra session in the fourth round with the shootout game winner against Irish goaltender Mike Johnson (So., Verona, Wis.). Notre Dame outshot Miami, 32-28, in the game. Connor Knapp had 27 saves for the RedHawks while Johnson had 23 for Notre Dame.
Saturday, Jan. 29 – Freshman Anders Lee scored both Notre Dame goals as the Irish battled Miami to a 2-2 overtime tie in the second game of the weekend series. T.J. Tynan scored the only goal of the shootout to give Notre Dame a 1-0 win for the extra point in the standings. Irish goaltender Steven Summerhays (Fr., Anchorage, Alaska) made 13 saves in regulation and in overtime before stopping three of the CCHA and the nation’s top scorers -Andy Miele, Carter Camper and Reilly Smith – in the shootout. Lee scored the game’s first goal at 11:08 of the first period to give the Irish an early advantage. Alden Hirschfeld tied the game at 11:11 of the second period for the RedHawks only to see Lee get his second of the night, this one on the power play to give Notre Dame a 2-1 lead after two periods. Smith would then get the equalizer at 13:50 of the third period on a Miami power play to tie the game at 2-2. The Irish out shot the RedHawks, 26-15, in the game. Cody Reichard had 24 saves for Miami.
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.
EXTRA HOCKEY: Notre Dame’s back-to-back ties with Miami on Jan. 28-29 were the fourth and fifth ties of the season for the Irish. That extended their unbeaten streak in overtime to 19 games as they are now 3-0-16 in games that have gone to overtime since their last overtime loss on March 21, 2008, a 2-1 overtime loss to Miami at the CCHA semifinals. Notre Dame is now 0-0-5 in overtime this season. During the `09-’10 season, the Irish were involved in nine overtime contests, finishing 1-0-8 in those games. The eight ties equaled a Notre Dame record set during the 1999-2000 season. All eight ties in `09-’10 went to a shootout where the Irish were 3-5 in those games. The lone overtime win came on Nov. 27, 2009 versus Bowling Green (2-1) and was the first for the Irish since Feb. 20, 2009 at Nebraska-Omaha, a 4-3 win.
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.
THE KIDS ARE ALRIGHT: Notre Dame’s freshman class has played a key role in the 16-9-5 start for the Irish. In the first 30 games of this season, the freshman class has accounted for 60 of the team’s 110 goals (54.5%), 87 of the 196 assists (43.9%) and 148 of team’s 306 points this season (48.4%). Freshman goaltender Steven Summerhays (Anchorage, Alaska) has three of the team’s 16 wins in goal.
JOIN THE CLUB: Senior center Ben Ryan (Brighton, Mich.) is on the verge of becoming the 46th player in the history of the Notre Dame hockey program to score 100 or more points in his career. Going into the series with Bowling Green, Ryan needs just five more points to reach the “Century Club” as he has 34 goals and 61 assists for 95 points in 145 career games. Following Ryan, senior Calle Ridderwall also has a shot at the 100-point mark. He has 52 goals and 33 assists for 85 points in 142 career games.
"Century Club"Name (Seasons) G A Pts1. Brian Walsh (1973-77) 89 145 2342. John Noble (1969-73) 81 145 2263. Eddie Bumbacco (1970-74) 103 117 220
40. Tim Reilly (1981-86) 43 65 10841. Aniket Dhadphale (1995-99) 61 44 10542. Bob Thebeau (1982-86) 40 63 10343. Kevin Hoene (1968-71) 50 51 101 Matt Hanzel (1985-89) 50 51 10145. Paul Clarke (1973-77) 38 62 100 -- Ben Ryan (2007- ) 34 61 95 -- Calle Ridderwall (2007- ) 52 33 85
COMEBACK KID: Sophomore defenseman Sam Calabrese (Park Ridge, Ill.) has bounced back from a season he’d love to forget to become Notre Dame’s top scorer from the blue line this year. 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. This season, Calabrese has five goals (two short-handed) with nine assists for 14 points to lead all Irish defensemen in scoring. He also leads the team and the CCHA with a +21.
WARMING UP: After struggling through most of the season, Notre Dame’s power play started to click prior to the bye week. In the four games prior to the break, the Irish had six power-play goals on 20 attempts for a 30.0% success rate. On the year, Notre Dame is now 25-for-147 with the man advantage for a 17.0% rate.
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 tops in the nation with two teams – Boston College and Army – second with eight. 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.
SHOOTOUT FACTS AND FIGURES: So far this season, the Irish have had three CCHA games go to the shootout and a fourth, the third-place game at the Shillelagh Tournament go to penalty shots. The Irish are 2-1 in the CCHA in the shootout and 3-1 on the year after winning the one against Boston University for third place in the Shillelagh Tournament. In the three seasons that the CCHA has had the shootout, the Irish are 7-6 all-time (3-0 in `08-’09; 2-5 in `09-’10 and 2-1 in `10-’11).
2010-11 Results10/30/10 - Win, 1-0, vs. WMU (three rounds)1/2/11 - Win, 1-0, vs. Boston Univ. (three rds.)1/28/11 - Lose, 3-2 vs. Miami (four rounds)1/29/11 - Wom. 1-0 vs. Miami (three rounds)
HOT IRISH: Three members of the Notre Dame hockey team carry scoring streaks into this weekend against Bowling Green. T.J. Tynan has a four-game streak with three goals and three assists for six points in those games. Anders Lee checks in with four goals and three assists for seven points in his three-game streak and Riley Sheahan has a goal and three assists for four points over his three-game point streak.
CAREER YEAR: Senior right wing Ryan Guentzel had the best game of his career with three goals and an assist in the win over Canisius (Dec. 29). He is currently third on the team in scoring with six goals and 24 assists for 30 points, all career highs. Earlier this season, Guentzel had a career-best, and a season high for the Irish, seven-game point streak (1g, 9a). His previous best season was 2008-09 when he had four goals and seven assists for 11 points. He is currently tied for eighth in the CCHA in scoring with 30 points and his 24 assists are third in the conference.
NATIONAL LEADERS: Freshman center T.J. Tynan has burst on to the national scene as he finds himself tied for seventh in the nation in points (35) and is tied for seventh with 18 goals on the year. Fellow freshman Anders Lee also is tied for seventh with 18 goals and has 15 assists for 33 points.
FABULOUS FRESHMEN: Freshmen T.J. Tynan and Anders Lee come into the series against Miami ranked first and second in the CCHA in rookie scoring. Tynan has 18 goals and 21 assists for 39 points while Lee has 18 goals and 15 assists for 33 points. The 18 goals tie them for tops among freshmen goal scorers in the conference. Fellow freshman Mike Voran (4g, 13a, 17 pts) is tied for sixth and is followed by Bryan Rust (4g, 7a) who is tied for 13th with 11 points. Jeff Costello (7g, 3a, 10 pts) and defensemen Stephen Johns (1g, 9a) are tied for 16th with 10 points. David Gerths (7g, 2a, 9 pts) is tied for 20th with his nine points.
ALL-JOYCE CENTER VOTING: Fans can vote for the All-Joyce Center Team at und.com to select the top players to play at the Joyce Center over the 43-year history of the building. Teams were selected to cover four decades – 1968-80, 1980-90, 1990-2000 and 2000-10. Those players then went on the ballot that includes eight goaltenders, 17 defensemen and 24 forwards. Fan voting will select three goaltenders, six defensemen and nine forwards who will be named to the All-Joyce Center team that will be announced on Feb. 26 at the final regular-season home game versus Western Michigan.
THE PUCK STOPS HERE: Sophomore goaltender Mike Johnson has now appeared in 19 of Notre Dame’s last 21 games, making 18 starts in that span that began on Nov. 12 versus Michigan. In his last seven CCHA starts, Johnson is 4-2-1 with a 2.49 goals-against average and a .914 save percentage, dating back to Jan. 7 at Northern Michigan. Johnson is 13-7-4 on the year with a 2.63 goals against average and a .902 save percentage. His 13 wins are a career high for the sophomore puck stopper. As a freshman, Johnson took CCHA all-rookie team honors, playing in 29 games in `09-’10, going 10-13-5 with a 2.60 goals-against average and a .910 save percentage. Behind Johnson are a pair of freshmen – Steven Summerhays and Joe Rogers (Marysville, Mich.). Summerhays is now 3-2-1 with a 3.55 goals-against average and a .829 save percentage. He made his first start in a month (since Dec. 29) when he faced Miami on Jan. 29 in a 2-2 tie. Summerhays made 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. The freshman goaltender owns wins over Canisius, Bowling Green and Western Michigan while his losses have been to Boston University (10/10) and Miami (12/4). Summerhays joined the Irish after playing the last two seasons with the USHL’s Green Bay Gamblers. In `09-’10, Summerhays was a first team all-USHL selection and the USHL goaltender of the year after going 31-2-3 with a 2.17 goals-against average and a .914 save percentage. Joe Rogers made his first career appearance in the Canisius game, playing the final 20 minutes while stopping eight-of-nine shots. He is 0-0-0 with a 3.00 goals-against average and a .889 save percentage. Rogers joins the Notre Dame roster after playing last season in the North American Hockey League (NAHL) with the Albert Lea Thunder. Rogers was 13-19-2 with a 3.97 goals-against average and a .891 save percentage.
SHOOTING THE PUCK: Through the first 30 games of the season, Notre Dame has out shot the opposition in 23 of those games. The Irish are 14-6-3 when they out shoot their opponent. In games the opposition has the most shots, Notre Dame is 2-3-2. For the year, the Irish are averaging 32.8 shots per game while giving up 26.1 per contest.
ROAD SWEEP: Notre Dame’s back-to-back road wins at Northern Michigan (Jan. 7-8) marked the first sweep for the Irish this season since Nov. 19-20, 2010 against Michigan State. The CCHA road sweep was the first for the Irish since winning twice at Nebraska-Omaha on Feb. 20-21, 2009, taking a 4-3 overtime win and a 1-0 victory over the Mavericks. Since that sweep, the Irish went 10 road series overall and nine CCHA road series, covering a year-and-a-half, without winning consecutive games on the road.
ROAD WARRIORS: Notre Dame’s road win at Ohio State on Jan. 22 improved the Irish to 6-5-2 on the road this season. A year ago, Notre Dame was 3-10-4 away from the Joyce Center.
CAREER NIGHT: Sophomore center Riley Sheahan (St. Catharines, Ont.) had the best game of his Notre Dame career on Jan. 7 against Northern Michigan when he scored his first goal of the season (shg) and added three points for the first four-point game of his career. Sheahan now has two goals and 13 assists for 15 points in 26 games this season.