Nov. 21, 2012
Notre Dame, Ind. –
North Dakota Hockey Game Notes
– The Teams: #6/#6 Notre Dame (8-3-0/5-1-0-0) vs. #7/#7 North Dakota (5-3-2/3-1-2 in WCHA)
– The Games: Friday, November 23, 2012 – Compton Family Ice Arena (5,022) – 7:35 p.m. Saturday, November 24, 2012 – Compton Family Ice Arena (5,022) – 5:05 p.m.
– Broadcast Information: Radio: The Notre Dame-North Dakota series will be broadcast live on Real Country 99.9 FM in South Bend. Darin Pritchett, the voice of the Irish, will call the action.
– Internet: Audio/Video: Live audio/video streaming for the North Dakota series is available on the Notre Dame website at UND.com free of charge.Statistics: Gametracker is available on the Notre Dame website at UND.com. Livestats can be found at ccha.com or collegehockeyinc. com. Twitter: Follow Irish hockey on Twitter at ND_hockey.
BATTLE OF THE ND’s: The two hockey-playing schools who use ND or UND as an abbreviation will meet this weekend at the Compton Family Ice Arena, when the University of Notre Dame squares off against the University of North Dakota in a non-league series. The two teams will meet at 7:35 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 23 in a post-Thanksgiving tilt and then for dessert, play a second game at 5:05 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 24. The two teams, once co-members of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association (1971-81), have not played in South Bend since Jan. 16-17, 1981. Notre Dame brings an 8-3-0 overall record into the series and is ranked sixth nationally in both the USAToday/American Hockey Magazine and USCHO.com polls. The Irish are coming off a weekend sweep at Michigan, taking 3-1 and 4-1 wins on Nov. 15-16. North Dakota, is 5-3-2 on the young season and is right behind Notre Dame in the rankings, checking in at seventh in both polls. Last weekend, North Dakota hosted Minnesota Duluth, getting a 4-4 overtime tie in game one before taking the second game by a 4-3 margin. Notre Dame and Minnesota Duluth split a series at the Compton Family Ice Arena in October.
IRISH VERSUS NORTH DAKOTA: Notre Dame and North Dakota have met 35 times in the all-time series with the series even at 16-16-3. At Notre Dame, the Irish have a 9-6-1 advantage. The two teams played a majority of the games as members of the WCHA (28) from 1971-81 with the Irish holding a 14-13-1 edge in those games. They met twice in 1970-71 before the Irish joined the conference and five times since. The teams split the games in `70-’71 and North Dakota is 2-1-2 in the last five non-WCHA games. The two teams split a pair of contests at Grand Forks, N.D., in 1998-99, then battled to a 3-3 tie in the 2009-10 Shillelagh Tournament title game. The Irish were awarded the championship in a shootout win. The last meeting between the two schools came on Nov. 26-27 at Grand Forks with North Dakota winning the opener, 6-3. The Irish battled back for a 2-2 tie the following night.
IRISH VERSUS WCHA: Notre Dame has six games on its schedule this season versus teams from the WCHA and is 2-1 so far. The Irish opened with a 3-2 win over Nebraska Omaha in the championship game of the Ice Breaker Tournament (Oct. 13). Notre Dame then opened the home schedule with two games against Minnesota Duluth (Oct. 18-19), splitting those two games, losing 3-1, and then taking a 4-1 decision. After the two games with North Dakota this weekend, the Irish travel to Minneapolis, Minn., on Jan. 8 to play the University of Minnesota.
NEXT FOR THE IRISH: Notre Dame will continue its six-game homestand next week, returning to CCHA play with a home series versus Lake Superior State on Nov. 30 and Dec. 1. Friday’s game starts at 7:35 p.m. and Saturday has a 7:05 p.m. start.
UPCOMING TIME CHANGE: Notre Dame’s game on Friday, Dec. 7 versus Michigan State has had the start time changed from 7:35 p.m. to 7:05 p.m. The game will be televised live by the NBC Sports Network.
TOUGH STRETCH: This weekend’s series for Notre Dame against seventh-ranked North Dakota concludes a stretch of 11 consecutive games for the Irish against nationally ranked teams. The streak started on Oct. 18 versus Minnesota Duluth. The Irish are currently 6-3-0 in that streak after sweeping #13/#13 Michigan, 3-1 and 4-1 last week. Here is a look at Notre Dame’s recent schedule against ranked teams. (Rankings are USA Today/USCHO.com. Rankings listed for games played are team’s rankings on the day of the game. Rankings for games to be played are from 11/19 polls).
10/18 vs. #13/#13 Minnesota Duluth L, 1-310/19 vs. #13/#13 Minnesota Duluth W, 4-110/26 at #15/#16 No. Michigan W, 5-210/27 at #15/#16 No. Michigan W, 3-211/2 vs. #11/#11 Western Michigan L, 2-311/4 vs. #11/#11 Western Michigan W, 4-011/9 at #1/#1 Boston College L, 1-311/15 at #13/#13 Michigan W, 3-111/16 at #13/#13 Michigan W, 4-1
11/23 vs. #7/#7 North Dakota11/24 vs. #7/#7 North Dakota
MICHIGAN RECAP: Thursday, Nov. 15 – Third-period goals by Bryan Rust (Jr., Novi, Mich.) and Peter Schneider (So., Vienna, Austria) snapped a 1-1 tie to give Notre Dame a 3-1 win over Michigan at Yost Arena. Mike Voran (Jr., Livonia, Mich.) scored a short-handed goal in the second period to offset a first-period Michigan goal by Justin Selman. Steven Summerhays (Jr., Anchorage, Alaska) stopped 24-of-25 Wolverine shots to get the win for the Irish. Notre Dame fell behind at 4:38 of the opening stanza when Selman scored off an Irish turnover, snapping a shot from the left circle past Summerhays for his first collegiate goal. Notre Dame tied things in the second on Voran’s short-handed tally at 4:04. T.J. Tynan (Jr., Orland Park, Ill.) tracked down a long clearing pass by Shayne Taker (Jr., Surrey, B.C.) at the Michigan blue line and combined with Voran on a 2-on-1 versus goaltender Steve Racine. Tynan made the pass across the slot to Voran who one-timed a shot from the bottom of the left circle for his first goal of the season. The game would remain tied until the 14:22 mark of the third when Rust took the rebound of a Robbie Russo (So., Westmont, Ill.) shot off the back boards and tucked it inside the left post for a wrap-around goal to make it 2-1. The goal was Rust’s third of the season. Schneider added the insurance goal at 18:28 when his deflection of a Stephen Johns (Jr., Wampum, Pa.) shot from the right point went in off defenseman Mike Chaisson’s skate for the final score of 3-1. Notre Dame out shot Michigan, 32-25, in the game. Racine finished with 29 saves. Both teams were 0-for-2 on the power play.
Friday, Nov. 16 – Defenseman Robbie Russo scored two goals while Jeff Costello (Jr., Milwaukee, Wis.) and Mario Lucia (Fr., Plymouth, Minn.) scored solo goals to lead Notre Dame to a 4-1 win over Michigan at Yost Arena. Steven Summerhays stopped 28-of-29 shots on the night, giving up just one goal to Jacob Trouba in the second period. The sweep at Yost Arena was the first for the Irish since Feb. 3-4, 1978. Russo staked the Irish to a 1-0 lead with a power-play goal at 11:41 of the first period. An Irish turnover in the second helped Trouba even the score as he blasted a shot past Summerhays at 13:12 of the second period to make it 1-1. Despite being out shot, 14-7, in the third, Notre Dame outscored Michigan, 3-0. Bryan Rust forced a turnover behind the Wolverine goal and fed Costello in front who beat Steve Racine for his third goal of the season at 11:03 and the eventual game winner. Lucia made it 3-1 with his first goal of the year in his second game back from an injury as he took a feed from Stephen Johns and beat Racine at 13:30. Russo closed the scoring, with a 160-foot shot into an empty net at 19:17 to close the scoring at 4-1. The two-goal game was the first of Russo’s career at Notre Dame. Michigan out shot the Irish, 29-19 in the game. The Irish were 1-for-4 on the power play while the Wolverines were 0-for-5.
RARE SWEEP: Notre Dame’s back-to-back wins at Michigan on Nov. 15-16 marked just the fourth all-time sweep for the Irish at Yost Arena in the program’s history. The last time that Notre Dame won a series at Michigan came on Feb. 3-4, 1978 when the two teams were members of the WCHA, 35 seasons ago. The previous sweeps came in 1970-71, 1972-73 and 1977-78. This marked the 22nd, two-game series played between the two programs in the 45-year history of the program.
PLAYERS OF THE WEEK: Sophomore defenseman Robbie Russo and junior goaltender Steven Summerhays were honored by the CCHA for their play in the Michigan series. Russo was named the Gladiator defensive player of the week as he had two goals and one assist for three points. He had five shots in the two games was +2 and added two blocked shots. Summerhays held the No. 2 ranked offense (4.22 goals per game) to just two on the weekend and stopped 52-of-54 shots for a .963 save percentage and two wins.
SEEMS LIKE OLD TIMES: When Notre Dame swept Michigan in the 1977-78 season, two members of that team were forward Kevin Nugent, Sr. `78 and defenseman Don Lucia `81. It would take 35 seasons for the Irish to duplicate the sweep feat at Yost Arena and again the Notre Dame roster had a Nugent and a Lucia on it. Senior forward Kevin Nugent, Jr. (New Canaan, Conn.) and freshman forward Mario Lucia (Plymouth, Minn.) were members of this year’s team with Lucia scoring a goal in the victory.
MOVEMBER MOMENTS: Members of the Notre Dame hockey team are participating in the annual “Movember” event that encourages men to grow a “Mo” (moustache) during the month of November to raise awareness and funds for men’s health, specifically prostate and testicular cancer inititiaves. The fund-raising efforts are being spearheaded by junior defenseman Stephen Johns (Wampum, Pa.). The entire Irish team is involved in the effort and various fundraising efforts will be underway during the North Dakota series and on Nov. 30 versus Lake Superior State. To make a donation to the Notre Dame hockey team, check the team site http://us.movember.com/mospace/5672569.
WELCOME BACK: Freshman left wing Mario Lucia returned to the Notre Dame lineup against Michigan after missing the first nine games of the season with a broken leg. Lucia was injured on August 29 in preseason conditioning. The son of University of Minnesota head hockey coach and Notre Dame alum, Don Lucia `81, Mario played last season for the Penticton Vees of the British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL) where he was a teammate of current freshman center Steven Fogarty (Edina, Minn.). With Penticton, Lucia was second in scoring with 42 goals and 52 assists for 94 points in 56 games, helping the Vees to the BCHL regular-season and postseason titles and the RBC Cup as the Canadian Junior A champions. Lucia scored his first collegiate goal in his second game back, the 4-1 win over Michigan.
FINALLY: Junior center T.J. Tynan snapped a five-game scoring drought, the longest of his Notre Dame career, with an assist versus Michigan on Nov. 15. That point was the 100th of his Irish career and makes him the 47th player in the program’s history to reach the “Century Club.” He now has 38 goals and 62 assists for his 100 points in 94 career games. Junior center Anders Lee (Edina, Minn.) is the next Irish player in line as he has played in 95 career games and has 46 goals and 41 assists for 87 points.
"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 2204. Ian Williams (1970-74) 92 119 211
37. Aaron Gill (2000-04) 49 62 111 Connor Dunlop (1999-03) 25 86 11139. Jack Brownschidle (1973-77) 31 78 10940. Tim Reilly (1981-86) 43 65 10841. Billy Maday (2008-12) 45 60 105 Aniket Dhadphale (1995-99) 61 44 10543. Bob Thebeau (1982-86) 40 63 10344. Kevin Hoene (1968-71) 50 51 10145. Matt Hanzel (1985-89) 50 51 10146. T.J. Tynan (2009 - ) 38 62 100 Paul Clarke (1973-77) 38 62 100-- Anders Lee (2009 -) 46 41 87
SCORING FIRST: Notre Dame’s 3-1 win at Michigan on Nov. 15 marked the first time this season that the Irish came back to win a game after the opposition scored the game’s first goal. Notre Dame is 7-0-0 when the Irish score first and 1-3-0 when the opponent gets the first goal.
SHORT-HANDED: Notre Dame’s penalty-killing unit killed all seven chances that Michigan had in the two-game series last week. The Irish have now killed 16 consecutive opponent power plays since Nov. 4 versus Western Michigan. For the season, they are 40-for-44 when short-handed for a 90.9% success rate. Notre Dame is tops in the CCHA in penalty killing and ranks fifth in the nation. The Irish also have two short-handed goals.
GOING ON THE OFFENSIVE: Two of Notre Dame’s defensemen – sophomore Robbie Russo and junior Stephen Johns – are tied for third in team scoring with seven points each. Russo is second on the team with four goals and has three assists for his seven points. The four goals ties his season output from 2011-12 when he had four in 40 games. Johns leads the Irish with seven assists for his seven points. The seven assists are already more than he had last season when he had six helpers in 39 games.
WORK HORSE: Dating back to last Feb. 24, Irish goaltender Steven Summerhays has started 15 of Notre Dame’s last 17 games. During those 15 starts, Summerhays is 10-5-0 with a 1.44 goals-against average, a .945 save percentage and four shutouts. His shutout win versus Western Michigan (4-0) on Nov. 4 was the 20th win of his Notre Dame career. He is now 22-15-1 for his career with a 2.37 goals-against average and a .907 save percentage. This season, Summerhays leads the CCHA in wins (7) and goals-against average (1.51). He is fourth in save percentage (.939) and tied for first with two shutouts.
SHARING THE WEALTH: Through the first 11 games of the 2012-13 season, 13 different Notre Dame players have scored the team’s 31 goals with Anders Lee leading the way with five. Sophomore defenseman Robbie Russo is second with four while four others have three each. Nineteen of the team’s 22 skaters have scored at least one point with Lee leading the way with nine points. Six different players have scored game-winning goals for the Irish with Bryan Rust and Steven Fogarty leading the way with a pair.
STRONG START: Notre Dame’s 8-3-0 start this season is the fifth-best start in the program’s history after 11 games. The previous best starts for the Irish after nine games were:
2006-07: 9-1-11987-88: 8-1-21998-99: 8-1-21989-90: 9-2-02012-13: 8-3-02011-12: 7-2-22010-11: 7-3-12008-09: 7-3-12007-08: 7-4-0
SHOOTING THE PUCK: Through the first 11 games of the 2012-13 season, Notre Dame has outshot its opposition in eight of them, getting 30 or more shots in a game eight times. The Irish are averaging 31.2 shots per game to 24.8 for their opponents. In games that the Irish have more shots, they are 6-2-0. When they are out shot, the Irish are 2-1-0. The 20 shots that Notre Dame registered against Boston College was a season low for a game while the two shots the Irish had in the second period was a season-low for one period.
WEARING THEM DOWN: Through the first 11 games of the season, Notre Dame is proving to be a third-period team. The Irish are out shooting the opposition by a 122-78 margin (+44) in the third period and out scoring them by a 13-3 margin (+10) in the third. Over the first two periods, Notre Dame has a 221-195 shot advantage (+26) and an 18-15 (+3) scoring advantage.