Jan. 7, 2010
Notre Dame, Ind. –
Complete Release in PDF Format 
• The Games: Notre Dame (9-8-5/5-5-4-2) vs. #12/#11 Ferris State (14-4-2/8-2-2-2)
• Date/Site/Time: Saturday, January 9, 2010 • Joyce Center • 7:05 p.m. Sunday, January 10, 2010 • Joyce Center • 4:05 p.m.
• Broadcast Information: Radio: Notre Dame hockey can be heard live on Cat Country 99.9 FM, starting with the pre-game show 20 minutes before the opening faceoff. Darin Pritchett will call the action for the Irish.
• Internet: Audio: Both games of the Ferris State series will have live audio and video available free of charge at the Notre Dame website - und.com. Live statistics will be available at und.com and on the CCHA website at ccha.com.
SECOND-HALF START UP: Notre Dame and Ferris State will meet for a weekend series at the Joyce Center as both squads start the second half of their respective CCHA conference schedules. The Irish, 2-0-1 in their last three games, bring a 9-8-5 overall record into the series and are 5-5-4-2 in the CCHA, good for 21 points and sixth place in the CCHA standings. The Bulldogs own a 14-4-2 record for the season and are 8-2-2-2 in league play, good for 28 points and third place in the conference race. Notre Dame trails fifth-place Lake Superior by one point, fourth-place Alaska by three and Ferris State by seven in the standings. The Bulldogs are just one point behind second-place Michigan State and six behind first-place Miami. The Irish are coming off a 1-0-1 weekend at the Shillelagh Tournament where they defeated Colgate, 5-2, and then tied North Dakota, 3-3, before winning the game and tournament in a shootout. Ferris State finished third at the Badger Showdown, falling to Yale, 6-1, before defeating Merrimack, 5-1, in the third-place game. The Bulldogs enter this weekend ranked 12th in the USAToday/American Hockey Magazine poll and 11th in the USCHO.com rankings.
IRISH VS. BULLDOGS: The two teams will meet for the 66th and 67th times in the all-time series with Ferris State holding a 37-22-6 edge in the series. At Notre Dame, the Bulldogs are 21-12-4 against the Irish. The Irish come into this weekend having won four straight versus Ferris State. Last year, the two teams met twice in Big Rapids, Mich., on Dec. 5-6 with Notre Dame taking 3-1 and 1-0 victories. The last Ferris State win in the series came on March 14, 2008, a 2-1 win in the first game of the second round of the 2008 CCHA playoffs.
WINNING THE GOLD: Notre Dame freshman forward Kyle Palmieri (Montvale, N.J.) was a member of the gold-medal winning U.S. Junior National team that defeated Canada on Jan. 5, 6-5 in overtime. The 5-11, 195-pound right wing was third in scoring on the team with a goal and eight assists for nine points and was +8 in the tournament. He is the first Irish player to win a gold medal in the World Junior Championships.
SHILLELAGH CHAMPIONS: For the second season in a row, Notre Dame captured the Shillelagh Tournament championship. The tourney, held at the Sears Centre Arena, in Hoffman Estates, Ill., featured Colgate, Niagara and North Dakota. In the opening game for the Irish, Notre Dame got two goals from Billy Maday (So., Burr Ridge, Ill.) and single goals from Calle Ridderwall (Jr., Stockholm, Sweden), Riley Sheahan (Fr., St. Catharine’s, Ont.) and Sean Lorenz (So., Littleton, Colo.) on the way to a 5-2 win over the Colgate Raiders. Ridderwall, Maday and Lorenz all scored power-play goals while Kevin Deeth (Sr., Gig Harbor, Wash.) and defenseman Brett Blatchford (Sr., Temperance, Mich.) had two assists each in the win. Freshman goaltender Mike Johnson (Verona, Wis.) made 23 saves in the victory. Colgate out shot Notre Dame, 25-21 in the game. The Irish were 3-for-6 on the power play while the Raiders were 1-for-6. In the opening game of the tournament, North Dakota defeated Niagara, 3-1 to advance to the title game.
Jan. 3, 2010 – Championship Game
Notre Dame met sixth-ranked North Dakota in the championship game and the Irish had to rally from a 3-1 deficit in the second period to pull out a 3-3 tie. After a five-minute overtime period, the game went to a shootout to decide the winner with the Irish winning, 2-1, in five rounds. Ben Ryan (Jr., Brighton, Mich.) opened the scoring with a power-play goal at 3:59 of the first period for a 1-0 Notre Dame lead. Chris VandeVelde tied the game at 16:54 and the first period ended tied, 1-1. The Fighting Sioux got a power-play goal from Brett Hextall (2:15) and an even-strength goal at 8:47 from Brett Bruneteau to build a 3-1 advantage. The Irish cut the lead to 3-2 when Kevin Deeth scored at 12:22 to cut the lead to one after two periods. In the final stanza, Billy Maday drilled a shot past goaltender Brad Eidsness just 1:36 into the third period to tie the game, 3-3. The score remained that way through regulation and overtime. Mike Johnson finished with 25 saves while Eidsness had 29 as Notre Dame out shot North Dakota, 32-28. In the shootout, the Sioux scored first when Evan Trupp beat Johnson for the lone North Dakota goal. Trailing 1-0, Dan Kissel (Sr., Crestwood, Ill.) scored to tie it 1-1 and then Ryan won the game when he beat Eidsness on Notre Dame’s fifth shootout shot of the game. Niagara defeated Colgate, 5-1, in the third-place game.
ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM: The 2010 Shillelagh all-tournament team was made up by four Notre Dame players and two from North Dakota:
Goaltender - Mike Johnson, Notre DameDefense - Brett Blatchford, Notre DameDefense - Jake Marto, North DakotaForward - Brett Hextall, North DakotaForward - Kevin Deeth, Notre DameForward - Billy Maday, Notre DameMost Outstanding Player - Billy Maday, Notre Dame
Maday had three goals in the tournament, including the game-tying goal versus North Dakota to be voted the Most Outstanding Player in the tourney.
TOURNAMENT WIN: Winning the Shillelagh Tournament improved Notre Dame to 26-34-4 all-time during in-season tournament. This year’s Shillelagh Tournament was the 32nd tourney that the Irish have played in. The Irish now have finished first (eight times), second (six times), third (seven times) and fourth (11 times).
WALKING WOUNDED: Notre Dame will be without the services of two players due to injuries for the Ferris State series. They are:
Sam Calabrese - leg injury (2-3 weeks)Eric Ringel - concussion (day-to-day)
Both players were injured in the series at Miami, Dec. 4-5, and missed both games of the Michigan series (Dec. 11 and 13) and the Shillelagh Tournament.
WELCOME TO NOTRE DAME: Junior defenseman Joe Lavin (6-3, 200) joins the Irish lineup for the second half of the season after leaving Providence College following the first semester of the 2008-09 season. He finished that year with the USHL’s Omaha Lancers and played the first half of this season in Omaha. In 48 games over a season-and-a half with Providence, Lavin had no goals and eight assists for eight points. After leaving Providence, he played in 33 games for Omaha last season, scoring seven goals with 16 assists for 23 points with 28 penalty minutes. This year, Lavin played in 24 games with five goals and 12 assists for 17 points and was third on the team with a +16. The Lancers were in first place in the USHL’s Western Division when Lavin left with a 19-4-1 record. He was a fifth-round pick, 126th overall, of the Chicago Black Hawks in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft. Lavin is a product of the USA National Team Development Program where he was a teammate on the Under-18 team with fellow Irish juniors Ian Cole (Ann Arbor, Mich.), Brad Phillips (Jr., Farmington Hills, Mich.) and Teddy Ruth.
FIRST TIME OUT: Joe Lavin (Sr., Shrewsbury, Mass.) played a key role on the Irish win in the Shillelagh Tournament as he played in both games, picking up one assist with three shots, was +1 and blocked three shots. His assist came on Billy Maday’s game-tying goal versus North Dakota at 1:36 of the third period in the 3-3 tie.
LIGHTING THE LAMP: Sophomore defenseman Sean Lorenz did something he has never done in college hockey versus Colgate on Jan. 2. At 8:36 of the second period, Lorenz took a drop pass from fellow defender Brett Blatchford and drilled a 50-foot shot past Raider goaltender Charles Long for the first goal of his Notre Dame career. The goal snapped a streak of 56 consecutive games without a goal for the 6-1, 202-pound defender.
GOAL-SCORING MACHINE: Junior left wing Calle Ridderwall scored his team-best 12th goal of the year in the 5-2 win over Colgate (Jan. 2). The goal came on the power play and was his eighth of the year with the man advantage. Ridderwall is currently tied for third in the CCHA with 12 goals while leading the league with eight power-play tallies. Over the last two seasons, he has scored 29 goals for Notre Dame with 19 of them coming via the power play. Ridderwall’s hat trick on Nov. 28 versus Bowling Green was the first for an Irish player since Jan. 5, 2007 when Kevin Deeth (Sr., Gig Harbor, Wash.) scored three in a win over Robert Morris at Mellon Arena in Pittsburgh.
SCORING DROUGHT: Through the first 22 games of the season, Notre Dame has scored a total of 49 goals. The Irish have scored goals via the power play in 17 of their first 22 games, including three versus Colgate and one versus North Dakota in the Shillelagh Tournament. Notre Dame now has 24 power-play goals and one short-handed goal to go with 24 even-strength goals. The five goals versus Colgate were the most the Irish have scored in a single game all season and they have just three games with four or more. For the year, the Irish are averaging 2.23 goals-per game and the offensive attack is 50th in the nation.
OFFENSIVE HIGHS: Notre Dame’s 5-2 win versus Colgate marked a season high for goals for the Irish in a game. Prior to the five goals scored versus the Raiders, the most Notre Dame had scored in a game was four, something the Irish did twice during the year. Notre Dame also had three power-play goals versus Colgate, equaling a season-high in that category. The Irish also had three power-play goals versus Bowling Gree (11/28/09).
DEFENSIVE DANDIES: Through the first 22 games this season, the Notre Dame defense has held opponents to two goals or less in 13 of them and has given up three or less in 19 of the 22 contests. For the year, the Irish have given up just 44 goals for a 2.00 goals per game to rank fourth in the nation in team defense. The trio of Irish goaltenders – junior Brad Phillips (Farmington Hills, Mich.), freshman Mike Johnson and senior Tommy O’Brien (Mokena, Ill.) own a 1.96 goals-against average and a .928 save percentage to go with the 9-8-5 overall record.
ONE FOR 100: Senior captain Ryan Thang (Edina, Minn.) needs just one more point to become the 45th player in Notre Dame history to reach 100 points for his career. Thang comes into the Ferris State series with 51 goals and 48 assists for 99 career points in 143 games. He needs just two assists to become the 30th player in Irish hockey history to have 50 goals and 50 assists for his career.
THE KID IS ALRIGHT: Freshman goaltender Mike Johnson has gotten his collegiate career off to a fast start through the first 22 games of the season. He has now appeared in eight straight games for the Irish, making six consecutive starts heading into the Shillelagh Tournament. In 14 games, including 13 starts, Johnson is 6-5-3 with a 1.81 goals-against average and a .935 save percentage with two shutouts. Johnson recorded a shutout versus Providence College on Oct. 16 in his first career start and picked up his second with a career-high 38 saves versus Michigan on Dec. 13. His 1.81 goals-against average is fourth in the nation and his .935 save percentage is fourth among all Division I goaltenders. In his 13 starts, Johnson has given up 25 goals while the Irish have scored 25.
HOME ICE STRUGGLES: Notre Dame’s win over Michigan on Dec. 13 improved the Irish to 5-4-3 in their first 12 home games this season. During the 2008-09 campaign, the Irish were 13-3-2 at the Joyce Center and over the previous three seasons owned a 37-9-7 mark on home ice.
TORPEDOES AWAY: When Notre Dame faced Michigan on Dec. 11 and 13, the Irish were forced to play the Wolverines with four defensemen out of the lineup due to injuries. Coach Jeff Jackson and his staff decided to go with the “Torpedo” system employed often by Sweden. Three forwards – sophomore Billy Maday, freshman Riley Sheahan and junior Ryan Guentzel (Woodbury, Minn.) – moved back to play defense as the Irish deployed three units with four forwards and one defenseman. Notre Dame gained a split in the series, losing 4-1, before taking a 2-0 shutout on Dec. 13.
LONG, LONG TIME: Prior to the 2-0 shutout of Michigan on Dec. 13 at the Joyce Center, the last time that Notre Dame registered a shutout versus Michigan came on Dec. 8, 1973 at Yost Arena by a 2-0 score. Mark Kronholm `74 made 26 saves in that blanking of the Wolverines. It would take 36 years and five days before the Irish would register another shutout against Michigan.
HIGHLY RANKED: Notre Dame freshman center Riley Sheahan is the lone CCHA player with an A ranking in NHL Central Scouting’s preliminary rankings of players in the NCAA. The highly ranked freshman has five goals and eight assists for 13 points in his first 21 games this season.
SWEEPLESS IN SOUTH BEND: Miami’s sweep against Notre Dame on Dec. 4-5 marked just the ninth time in the Jeff Jackson era (2005-) that the Irish have been swept in a two-game series. The RedHawks were the last team to do it, winning a pair from the Irish on Oct. 24-25, 2008 at the Joyce Center. Since Jackson took over, the Irish have been swept five times in 2005-06, twice in 2007-08, once last year and once this season.
OVERTIME MARKS: Five of Notre Dame’s last eight games have gone into overtime with one game decided in the extra session and four going to a shootout. For the season, the Irish are 1-0-5 in overtime games. In the five shootouts to date, Notre Dame is 3-2. The overtime win on Nov. 27 versus Bowling Green was the first for the Irish since Feb. 20, 2009 at Nebraska-Omaha, a 4-3 win. Notre Dame is now 3-0-8 in overtime since its last overtime loss, a 2-1 decision to Miami on March 21, 2008, in the CCHA semifinal game.
CLOSE ONES: The Dec. 4, 1-0 loss to Miami, dropped Notre Dame to 2-5 in one-goal games this year. Last season, the Irish were 11-2 in games decided by one goal.
PENALTY SHOTS: Miami’s Carter Camper was awarded a penalty shot at 2:09 of the second period in the Dec. 4 game with Miami against Notre Dame’s Mike Johnson. The penalty shot was the first faced by Johnson in his college career and he made the stop. The penalty shot was the first against the Irish since Feb. 28, 2003 when Western Michigan’s Vince Bellisimo was awarded one. Notre Dame goaltender Morgan Cey `05 made the stop in a game the Irish would lose, 4-2.
MR. CLUTCH: Irish freshman Nick Larson has proven to be a clutch scorer for Notre Dame over his first 20 games in an Irish uniform. The Apple Valley, Minn., native has scored a pair of goals this season – one versus Providence and one against Michigan – with both being game winners. The rugged left winger has scored both of his goals in a pair of 2-0 shutouts by fellow freshman goaltender Mike Johnson.
USA…USA…USA: Freshman right wing Kyle Palmieri was selected to the 2010 U.S. Junior National Team after attending a three-day pre-tournament camp in Grand Forks, N.D. A 2009 first round draft choice of the Anaheim Ducks, Palmieri has five goals and two assists for seven points in 19 games for the Irish. Since 2006-07, Notre Dame has had at least one player on the U.S. Junior National Team – Kyle Lawson (Sr., New Hudson, Mich.) in 2006-07, Ian Cole in `07-’08 and `08-’09 and Teddy Ruth (Jr., Naperville, Ill.) in `08-’09.
IRISH MEDAL WINNERS: Notre Dame has had 13 players participate in the World Junior Championships since Jack Brownschidle `77 made the first appearance in 1976-77. Of those 13 players, three have won medals. Ben Simon `00 won a silver medal in 1997, defenseman Kyle Lawson served as captain of the 2007 bronze-medal winning team and Kyle Palmieri picked up the gold this season.