March 11, 2007
Notre Dame, Ind. – The Notre Dame hockey team returns to action on Friday, March 16 at 4:35 p.m. when the Irish face off against the Lake Superior Lakers in the first semifinal game at Joe Louis Arena. Longtime CCHA rivals Michigan and Michigan State will tangle in the second semifinal game at “the Joe” on Friday with face off set for 8:05 p.m.
FSN Detroit will televise both semifinal games with Matt Shepard, Fred Pletsch and Shireen Saski calling all the action.
On Saturday night, March 17, the CCHA third-place game will start at 3:35 p.m. with the Mason Cup Championship game set for 7:35 p.m. between the two winners of Friday’s games. FSN Detroit will carry the action of the Mason Cup title game.
Notre Dame (29-6-3) was the CCHA regular-season champion and advanced to Joe Louis Arena with a two-game sweep of Alaska last weekend, winning 7-1 and 3-1 at the Joyce Center. This is the third time in the 17-year CCHA history of the Irish hockey program that they have advanced to the CCHA semifinal game. In March of 1982, Notre Dame faced Bowling Green and won 8-5 to face Michigan State in the finals. In March of 2000, the Irish faced Michigan State in the semifinals and lost a 4-0 game. Notre Dame also played in the CCHA Super Six three straight years (2002-2004) at Joe Louis Arena.
Lake Superior (21-17-3) advanced to Joe Louis Arena after finishing eighth in the regular season. The Lakers swept and opening-round series against Ferris State on March 2-3 and then last weekend, upset third-seeded Miami with a pair of 2-1 wins in Oxford, Ohio. The Irish and Lakers met twice in the regular season in Sault Ste. Marie, Mich., with Notre Dame taking a 4-3 overtime win on Jan. 12 and 4-1 on Jan. 13.
Michigan (25-12-1) finished second in the CCHA regular season and advanced to Detroit with a sweep of Northern Michigan last weekend, taking 4-1 and 8-3 decisions against the Wildcats.
Michigan State (21-12-3) was fourth in the regular season and moved on to the CCHA Tournament with a second-round sweep of Nebraska-Omaha with 4-2 and 4-1 wins. The Spartans and the Wolverines also met last season in the semifinals with Michigan State taking a 4-1 win before knocking off Miami in the championship game.
For CCHA Tournament ticket information contact the Notre Dame ticket office at 574-631-7356.