Feb. 15, 2006
Notre Dame, Ind. –
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• The Series: Notre Dame (11-16-3/9-12-3) at Bowling Green (13-18-1/8-15-1)
• Date/Site/Times: Fri.-Sat., Feb. 17-18, 2006 – 7:05 p.m. – Bowling Green Ice Arena (5,000)
• 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.
FINAL COUNTDOWN: The Notre Dame Fighting Irish head into their final four games of the regular season looking to make a move on one of the final home-ice playoff spots. The Irish travel to Bowling Green this weekend, Feb. 17-18, for a pair of 7:05 p.m. games with the Falcons. Notre Dame enters the weekend with an 11-16-3 overall record and a 9-12-3 mark in the CCHA, good for 21 points and a tie with Alaska Fairbanks for ninth place. The Irish are just one point behind Ohio State and Northern Michigan, who are tied for seventh-place with 22 points. Ferris State, in sixth place, is just two points ahead of the Irish. Not to look to far ahead, Bowling Green enters the weekend with a 13-18-1 record and is 8-15-1 in the CCHA for 17 points and 11th place, just four points behind the Irish. The CCHA playoffs start on March 3-5 at campus sites. The first four teams get a bye with No. 5 hosting No. 12, No. 6 vs. No. 11, No. 7 against No. 10 and No. 8 getting the final home spot versus No. 9 in a best-of-three series. The four bye teams then host the four winners in a best-of-three series from March 10-12. The four winners advance to Joe Louis Arena.
REMAINING GAMES: Here’s the remaining schedules for the 12 CCHA teams (current points in parentheses – all teams have four games left):
**Miami (38): at MSU (2), at BG, BGMichigan (29): at UNO (2), at FSU, FSUMichigan St. (28): MIA (2), at LSSU, vs. LSSU (at JLA)Lake Superior (26): NMU, at NMU, MSU, vs. MSU (at JLA)Nebraska-Omaha (26): UM (2), at WMU (2)Ferris State (23): at OSU, UM, at UMOhio State (22): FSU (2), at NMU (2)No. Michigan (22): at LSSU, LSSU, OSU (2)Notre Dame (21): at BGSU (2), UAF (2)Alaska Fairbanks: (21): WMU (2), at ND (2)Bowling Green (17): ND (2), MIA, at MIAWestern Michigan (15): at UAF (2), UNO (2)
** Miami clinched regular-season title
IRISH VERSUS FALCONS: Notre Dame and Bowling Green have already met twice this year and 73 times in the all-time series that is tied at 34-34-5. In November, the two teams played twice at the Joyce Center with the Irish taking 9-4 and 4-2 wins. At the Bowling Green Ice Arena, the Irish are 13-22-1 all-time and 9-13-1 since rejoining the CCHA in 1992-93. Last season, Notre Dame dropped 3-1 and 4-1 games at BGSU. The last Irish win there came on Oct. 18, 2003, a 3-0 shutout by David Brown (Jr., Stoney Creek, Ont.). Since then, Notre Dame has lost three in a row at the BGSU Ice Arena.
CCHA GOALTENDER OF THE WEEK: Junior goaltender David Brown was named the RBK/CCHA goaltender of the week for the week ending Feb. 13. Brown stopped 55-of-58 shots (.948) in leading the Irish to a home-and-home sweep of Ferris State. In Friday’s 4-1 win, Brown made 26 saves, including a game-saving stop on FSU’s Greg Rallo in the third period with the Irish leading just 2-1. On Saturday, at Ferris State, Brown stopped 29-of-31 Bulldog shots on the way to a 3-2 win. All three goals he surrendered on the weekend came on the power play.
THE PUCK STOPS HERE: Goaltender David Brown has now seen action in 23 consecutive games for the Irish, starting 22 of them. In his last six games, Brown is 3-3-0, but has a 1.51 goals-against average and a .949 save percentage. In those six games, the Irish have scored just 11 goals (four in Friday’s win). In his 23-game streak, Brown is 8-10-3 with a 2.32 goals-against mark and a .921 save percentage. On the season, Brown is 8-13-3 with a 2.65 goals against and a .909 save percentage.
FERRIS STATE RECAP: The Irish made it a sweep of Ferris State on Saturday night at Ewigleben Arena with a 3-2 victory. Goaltender David Brown turned in his second strong effort of the weekend with 29 saves, including 16 on nine Bulldog power-play chances. The Irish scored first in the game, just 46 seconds in, when Jason Paige (Jr., Saginaw, Mich.) collected his fourth goal of the season. Notre Dame would make it 2-0 at 16:02 when Josh Sciba (Jr., Westland, Mich.) scored his 14th of the year via the power play. Ferris State would tie the game in the second period with power-play goals by Mark Bomersback (13th) and Eric Vesely (7th) at 12:23 and 16:21 respectively. The Irish would get the eventual game winner with just seven seconds left in the second period when Mark Van Guilder (So., Roseville, Mich.) redirected an Erik Condra (Fr., Livonia, Mich.) centering pass for his fifth goal of the year. Ferris State out shot the Irish by a 31-23 margin. The Bulldogs were 2-for-9 on the power play while Notre Dame converted 2-of-8 chances. On Friday night at the Joyce Center, senior left wing Mike Walsh (Northville, Mich.) turned in the first two-goal game of his career, including his fourth game-winning goal, and goaltender David Brown continued his hot play with 26 saves to lead Notre Dame to a 4-1 win in front of a sellout crowd of 2,763. Freshman Erik Condra and defenseman Wes O’Neill (Jr., Essex, Ont.) had the other two goals for Notre Dame in the win. O’Neill (1g, 1a) and Mark Van Guilder with two assists, each had two-point nights for the Irish. Adam Welch scored Ferris State’s lone goal of the game on a second-period power play. Ferris State out shot Notre Dame by a 27-24 margin. Mitch O’Keefe made 20 saves for the Bulldogs. Both teams were 1-for-4 on the power play.
ROOKIE SUCCESS: With six goals and 23 assists for 29 points, freshman Erik Condra (Livonia, Mich.) leads the Irish in scoring. His 29 points are the most by a Notre Dame freshman since rookie defenseman Mark Eaton had 29 points (12g, 17a) in his only year at Notre Dame in 1997-98. The last freshman to get more than 29 points in a rookie season was Jamie Ling `96, with 40 points, in 1992-93. Condra currently has a five-game scoring streak (2-4-6).
A SERIES SWEEP: Notre Dame’s sweep of Ferris State on Feb. 10-11 came three months to the day of the last Irish sweep. Notre Dame took two from Bowling Green (9-4 and 4-2) at home on Nov. 10-11 for their first series sweep of any kind and first back-to-back wins since Nov. 13-26, 2004 when the Irish won at Western Michigan and then at Alaska Fairbanks. The last time the Irish swept a road CCHA series came on Feb. 14-15, 2003 with a pair of 3-2 wins at Bowling Green, a span of three years and 11 two-game road series.
ON A ROLL: Notre Dame’s weekend sweep of Ferris State was the second CCHA series sweep for the Irish this season and the first since Nov. 10-11 when Notre Dame took two from Bowling Green at home. Since Dec. 3, the Irish are 8-7-2 going into the final two weeks of the regular season.
ROAD WARRIORS: With the win on Feb. 11 at Ferris State, Notre Dame is now 5-3-1 on the road in its last nine road contests since a Dec. 6 win at Minnesota State. The Irish played six of their eight games in January on the road and finished the month with a 3-3-2 record. In the six road games, Notre Dame was 3-2-1. The Irish are 1-1-0 on the road in February.
PACKING THE HOUSE: Notre Dame played in front of its third consecutive sellout crowd (2,763) at the Joyce Center in the Feb. 10 4-1 win over Ferris State. The standing room only crowd was the fourth of the year for the Irish. Capacity crowds have watched the Irish on Jan. 14 (vs. Miami), Feb. 3 (vs. Michigan State) and last night. The first sellout came on Nov. 4 (vs. Michigan). The last time Notre Dame played in front of three consecutive sellouts was Feb. 14-28, 2004 when the Irish had a sellout crowd for Ferris State and two versus Michigan.
A WALSH FIRST: Senior Mike Walsh collected the first two-goal game of his career on Feb. 10 in the 4-1 win over Ferris State. His first goal of the game proved to be the game winner, his team-best fourth of the season. For his career, the game winner moved him into a tie for ninth on the all-time game winning goal list with Dan Carlson `01 and Kirt Bjork `83. Three of his game winners have been the lone goals in 1-0 Irish wins. Nine of Walsh’s 25 career goals have been game winners.
Name GWG1. Rob Globke (2000-04) 13 Brian Urick (1995-99) 13 Dave Poulin (1978-82) 134. David Bankoske (1988-93) 125. Paul Regan (1969-73) 116. Tim Kuehl (1986-90) 10 Tom Mooney (1984-88) 10 Greg Meredith (1976-80) 109. Mike Walsh (2002-Present) 9 Dan Carlson (1997-01) 9 Kirt Bjork (1979-83) 9
DOUBLE-DIGIT SCORERS: With two goals on Feb. 10 versus Ferris State, left wing Mike Walsh now has 10 goals on the season to join Josh Sciba (13) and Tim Wallace (10) as double-digit goal scorers for the Irish. Last year, Notre Dame’s top goal scorer had just six goals. The last time the Irish had three or more players with 10 or more goals was the 2003-04 season when five players had 10 or more goals on the year.
OPENING NIGHT TURNAROUND: The Feb. 10 win over Ferris State (4-1) was just the third of the year for the Irish in the opening game of a CCHA series and the first since Jan. 6 when they won 4-1 at Nebraska-Omaha. Notre Dame is just 3-7-2 in the opening game of CCHA series this year. In game two of a weekend series in conference play, the Irish are 6-5-1.
NEW KID ON THE BLOCK: Freshman right wing Erik Condra leads Notre Dame in scoring with six goals and 23 assists for 29 points in 30 games during his rookie year. He currently leads all CCHA rookies in scoring and is two points ahead of Michigan’s Jack Johnson (7-20-27). Nationally, Condra is seventh among rookie scorers. His two-assist game on Feb. 11 versus Ferris State was his seventh game with two or more points (4- three-point games and two with two points). He also is tied for 17th in the CCHA scoring race and his 23 assists tie him for fifth in the league in that category.
TOP CITIZEN: Notre Dame senior defenseman Chris Trick (Troy, Mich.) is one of seven finalists for college hockey’s Humanitarian Award that is awarded each year to college hockey’s top citizen. An assistant captain with the Irish, Trick oversees the team’s community service projects. He has been a two-year member of Notre Dame’s Student-Athlete Advisory Council (SAAC) and has been the team’s organizer for various community service projects the last two seasons. Away from Notre Dame, Trick has worked with the Michigan Amateur Hockey Association’s (MAHA) Great Lakes Sled Dogs, a sled hockey program in Fraser, Mich, playing for the team, coaching and helping in fund-raising efforts. The Hockey Humanitarian Award is awarded every year at the NCAA Frozen Four in April.
PLAYING WITH THE LEAD: Notre Dame scored the first goal of the game in each of its games with Ferris State last weekend and held the lead after one period for the fifth and sixth times this season. The Irish are 6-0-0 when leading after one period. They are 10-0-3 when leading after two periods and have now scored the first goal in a game 15 times this year, going 10-2-3 in those games
SIX AND COUNTING: David Brown’s 1-0 shutout at Ohio State (Jan. 28) was the sixth of his career and second of the season for the junior goaltender. He had four in his freshman year to set the single-season record. He is now tied for first on the career shutout list with Morgan Cey `05, as both now have six in their Notre Dame careers.
POWER-PLAY LEADER: Junior center Josh Sciba (Westland, Mich.) collected his team leading 14th goal of the season on Feb. 11 and his ninth power-play tally in the 3-2 win at Ferris State. Sciba’s nine power-play goals this year tie him for first in the CCHA. They are the most for a Notre Dame player since Aaron Gill `04 had nine in 2003-04. On the year, Sciba has career highs in goals (14), assists (12), points (26) and power-play goals (9). For his career, Sciba has 27 goals with 14 of them coming on the power play.
CAREER YEAR: Mark Van Guilder’s (So., Roseville, Minn.) five goals and 16 assists on the season for 21 points gives him a career highs in all three categories. He recorded the fourth multiple-point game of his career with a goal and two assists versus Nebraska-Omaha on Jan. 6. He is currently third in scoring on the Irish roster. He recorded his first career game winner in the 3-2 win at Ferris State.
FAN FAVORITES: During their six road games in January, the Irish helped the opposition draw some of its biggest crowds of the year. On Jan. 6-7 at Nebraska-Omaha, the Mavericks drew back-to-back season-high crowds of 6,366 and 7,642. On Jan. 21 at Northern Michigan, the game drew the Wildcats’ third biggest crowd of the year, 3,992. Last weekend at Ohio State, the two games drew the biggest crowds of the year with 10,857 on Friday and 11,141 on Saturday at Value City Arena. At the Joyce Center, the Irish have played in front of sellout crowds (2,763) in each of their last three games.
POWER-PLAY PRODUCER: Wes O’Neill leads Notre Dame’s defense in scoring with five goals and 15 assists for 20 points, tying his career high in points set last season (6g, 14a). His 15 assists are now a career high. Four of his five goals this season have come on the power play. 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 five multiple-point games and for his career, now has 10 games with two or more points. The 2004 New York Islander draft choice has seen 15 of his points (4g, 11a) come on the power play. In his two-plus seasons with the Irish, O’Neill now has 13 goals and 39 assists for 52 points with 32 of those coming via the power play (10g, 22a).
POWER-PLAY POWER: After struggling early in the season on the power play, Notre Dame has now scored at least one power-play goal in 11 of its last 13 games, including five with two or more. In those 13 games, the Irish are 17-for-75 on the power play for a 22.7% success rate. For the year, Notre Dame has 35 power-play goals in 191 chances (18.2%) in 30 games. Last season, the Irish had 23 power-play goals in 238 chances (9.8%) in 38 games. The Irish power play currently ranks third in the CCHA.
Here are Notre Dame’s top five scorers on the power play this season:
Name Goals Assists PointsJosh Sciba 9 9 18Wes O’Neill 4 12 16Erik Condra 3 13 16Mark Van Guilder 4 11 15Noah Babin 3 6 9
IRON MEN: Senior right wing Tim Wallace has played in all 147 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:
Mark Van Guilder – 68 games
Mike Walsh – 63 games
Van Guilder joins Wallace as the only two players with two or more years experience on the Irish roster who have not missed a game during their careers. Chris Trick saw his streak of 61 consecutive games snapped on Jan. 20 when he did not play at Northern Michigan.
BACK-TO-BACK SHUTOUTS: Notre Dame has been involved in back-to-back 1-0 shutouts three times in their history. Last weekend marked the first time the two teams involved split the games. On Feb. 12-13, 1999, the Irish lost back-to-back 1-0 games at Michigan State and then at home with Ferris State. On Dec. 28-Jan. 3, 2003-04, the Irish won 1-0 games versus Maine and Findlay.
NOTRE DAME’S RECORD WHEN….When Notre Dame scores first …………….. 10-2-3When opponents score first ………………. 1-14-0When Notre Dame leads after one period ……. 6-0-0When Notre Dame trails after one period …… 0-8-0When score is tied after one period ………. 5-8-3When Notre Dame leads after two periods …… 10-0-3When Notre Dame trails after two periods ….. 1-15-0When score is tied after two periods ……… 0-1-0When Notre Dame outshoots opponent ……….. 3-4-0When opponent outshoots Notre Dame ……….. 8-10-3When shots are even …………………….. 0-2-0In Game 1 of CCHA weekend series …………. 3-7-2In Game 2 of CCHA weekend series …………. 6-5-1In one-goal games ………………………. 5-6-0In two-goal games ………………………. 2-4-0Notre Dame at home ……………………… 6-8-1Notre Dame on the road ………………….. 5-8-2Notre Dame on neutral ice ……………….. 0-0-0Notre Dame in overtime ………………….. 0-0-3Notre Dame in October …………………… 1-3-0Notre Dame in November ………………….. 2-5-1Notre Dame in December ………………….. 3-3-0Notre Dame in January …………………… 3-3-2Notre Dame in February ………………….. 2-2-0