Oct. 28, 2009
Notre Dame, Ind. –
Complete Release in PDF Format 
• The Games: #11/#8 Notre Dame (3-3-0/0-0-0) vs. Ohio State (2-4-0/1-1-0)
• Date/Site/Time: Friday-Saturday, October 30-31, 2009 • Joyce Center • 7:35 p.m./5:05 p.m.
• Broadcast Information: Radio: Notre Dame hockey can be heard live on Cat Country 99.9 FM. Darin Pritchett will call the action for the Irish.
• Internet: Both games of the Ohio State series will have live audio streamed on Notre Dame’s website at und.com. Friday night’s game will have live video streaming at und.com. Both the audio and video streaming are free of charge.
IRISH OPEN CCHA SCHEDULE VERSUS OHIO STATE: The Ohio State Buckeyes will invade the Joyce Center on Friday-Saturday, Oct. 30-31, for a two-game series against the Irish. The two games signal the beginning of Notre Dame’s defense of the 2008-09 CCHA regular season title captured last year. Friday’s game has a 7:35 p.m. start while Saturday’s Halloween start is 5:05 p.m. The Irish bring a 3-3-0 overall record into the two-game series and are ranked 11th in the USA Today/American Hockey Magazine poll and eighth by the USCHO.com poll. The Irish are coming off a 3-2 loss at home to #15/#14 Boston College on Friday, Oct. 23. Ohio State visits the Joyce Center for the first time since the 2007-08 season and brings a 2-4-0 mark into the weekend with a 1-1-0 record in conference play. The Buckeyes opened CCHA play last weekend with a split at Lake Superior State, dropping Friday’s game, 3-2, before winning on Saturday, 4-3. This Friday’s game will feature live video streaming on the Notre Dame website, und.com, free of charge. Saturday will have audio only streaming. Following the Ohio State weekend, Notre Dame hits the road for a weekend series at Alaska, Nov. 6-7. Start times in Alaska are 7:05 p.m. (AT) or 11:05 Eastern Time.
IRISH AND THE BUCKEYES: Notre Dame and Ohio State have met 59 times in the all-time series with the Buckeyes holding a 27-24-8 edge in the all-time series. At the Joyce Center, OSU leads the series with a 12-11-3 record. A year ago, the two teams split a pair of games in Columbus, Ohio. Notre Dame won the first game, 4-3 in overtime. Erik Condra `09 led the way with two goals, getting the tying goal with :01 left on the clock. Calle Ridderwall (Jr., Stockholm, Sweden) got the game winner just 49 seconds into overtime. Ian Cole (Jr., Ann Arbor, Mich.) also scored for the Irish. Goaltender Jordan Pearce `09 made 17 saves in the win. Ohio State won the second game of the series, played on a Sunday afternoon, Feb. 8, by a 4-1 margin. That loss was followed by a 10-game winning streak that lasted until the season-ending loss in the NCAA Tournament.
SCOUTING THE IRISH: Notre Dame brings a 3-3-0 record into the weekend series with Ohio State. Last week, the Irish knocked off third-ranked Boston University, 3-0, in Boston on Tuesday, Oct. 20, before returning home to face Boston College on Friday, Oct. 23. The Eagles won that game, 3-2. Notre Dame is led offensively by junior center Ben Ryan (Brighton, Mich.) with two goals and four assists for six points in six games. He is followed by Calle Ridderwall (3g, 2a), Billy Maday (So., Burr Ridge, Ill. – 1g, 4a) and senior Kevin Deeth (Gig Harbor, Wash.) who has no goals with five assists. Brad Phillips (Jr., Farmington Hills, Mich.) has played four of the team’s six games in goal and is 1-3-0 with a 2.27 goals-against average and a .918 save percentage. The Irish are averaging 2.33 goals-per game while surrendering 1.67 goals to the opposition. Notre Dame is 6-for-38 on the power play for a 15.8% success rate. The Irish have killed 29-of-31 opponent power plays for a 93.5% penalty killing ratio.
A LOOK AT THE BUCKEYES: Ohio State brings a 2-4-0 overall record and a 1-1-0 mark in the CCHA to the Joyce Center this weekend. The Buckeyes opened the season with a pair of home losses to Quinnipiac (4-2, 3-1) and then split with Denver, losing 2-0, before taking a 4-0 decision on Oct. 16. Last weekend, Ohio State lost at Lake Superior, 3-2, before winning, 4-3, on Saturday night. Junior defenseman Shane Sims and junior forward Sergio Somma lead the Buckeyes with two goals and two assists each and sophomore forward Zac Dalpe has a goal and three assists. OSU is averaging 2.17 goals per game while giving up 2.50. Sophomore Cal Heeter and junior Dustin Carlson have shared the goaltending duties with Heeter going 2-1-0 with a 1.68 goals-against mark and a .947 save percentage. Carlson is 0-3-0 with a 3.04 goals against and a .908 save percentage. The Buckeyes are three-for-34 on the power play for an 8.8% conversion rate. They are 25-for-30 killing penalties for an 83.3% success rate.
BOSTON COLLEGE RECAP: Notre Dame closed out its four-game streak of games versus teams from Hockey East on Fri., Oct. 23 with a 3-2 loss to Boston College at the Joyce Center. The Irish got goals from Calle Ridderwall and Ben Ryan with Ryan’s goal tying the game at 2-2, just 11 seconds into the third period. The Eagles got goals from Ben Smith and Brian Gibbons (ppg) to take a 2-1 lead after two periods. Joe Whitney would get the game winner at 11:29 of the third period when he deflected a Carl Sneep shot past Brad Phillips for the 3-2 decision. The Irish out shot the Eagles, 22-16, in the game. Boston College goaltender John Muse finished with 20 saves in the game while Phillips had 13. Notre Dame was 0-for-8 on the power play while the Eagles were 1-for-4.
STEALING THE SHOW: Junior goaltender Brad Phillips made a career-high 34 saves as he handed the Boston University Terriers a 3-0 loss at Agganis Arena. Phillips got all the offensive support he needed in the second period when Billy Maday (So., Burr Ridge, Ill.) and Ben Ryan scored 12 seconds apart to give the Irish a 2-0 lead. Calle Ridderwall added a power-play goal in the third period for the 3-0 final score. Maday, Ryan and Ridderwall each had a goal and an assist in the game. Phillips made 27 of his 34 saves in the first and third periods, including 17 in the final stanza. Notre Dame was 8-for-8 killing penalties on the night and 1-for-6 on the power play. BU out shot the Irish, 34-16, in the game. The win was the first-ever for the Friars against Boston University.
CCHA GOALTENDER OF THE WEEK: Junior goaltender Brad Phillips was selected as the CCHA’s goaltender of the week for games played during the week of October 19. The 6-2, 181-pound puckstopper was 1-1 on the week with a 1.51 goals-against average and a .940 save percentage as he stopped 47-of-50 shots in the two games. On Oct. 20, Phillips made a career high 34 saves in a 3-0 shutout of third-ranked Boston University. On Oct. 23, he stopped 13-of-16 shots in the 3-2 loss to Boston College. On the season, Phillips is 1-3-0 with a 2.27 goals-against average and a .918 save percentage with one shutout.
TWO WEEKS IN HOCKEY EAST: The Irish closed out their run of four consecutive games with teams from Hockey East with a 2-2-0 record. The Irish split two games with Providence on Oct. 15-16, losing 3-2 in the first game before taking a 2-0 decision in the second contest. Notre Dame then won 3-0 at Boston University before falling 3-2 at home on Oct. 23. All-time, the Irish are 27-33-4 versus teams from Hockey East. Notre Dame now has just two non-league games remaining on the schedule with both games coming in the Shillelagh Tournament versus Colgate and either Niagara or North Dakota.
SHUTOUT STREAK SNAPPED: Notre Dame saw its shutout streak snapped at 149:29 when Boston College scored at 5:43 of the second period on Oct. 23. Prior to that the Irish had not given up a goal since Oct. 15 when Providence’s Aaron Jamnick scored at 16:14 of the third period in the Friars’ 3-2 win over the Irish. In between were a 2-0 shutout of Providence on Oct. 16 and a 3-0 blanking of Boston University in Boston on Oct. 20.
DEETH TOPS 100: Senior center Kevin Deeth became the 44th player in the 42-year history of the Notre Dame hockey program to reach 100 points for his career on Oct. 23. His assist on Calle Ridderwall’s first-period goal gave Deeth 32 goals and 68 assists for his 100th career point. He reached that mark in 133 games. Right behind him is senior teammate Ryan Thang who has now played in 128 career games, scoring 49 goals with 46 assists for 95 points. He needs just one goal to reach the 50 mark and a goal and four assists to join the 50/50 club for players with 50 goals and 50 assists in a career.
CCHA DIFFERENCES: With the start of Notre Dame’s CCHA schedule this weekend, there are a couple diffences to remember with the final results of a game. First is the shootout – should a game remain tied after 60 minutes of regulation and a five-minute overtime, a winner will be decided via a shootout. Each team will select three shooters who will go one-on-one versus the opponent’s goaltender with the winner being the team that scores the most. If the game remains tied after the first three shooters, single shooters will continue until a winner is found. The team winning the shootout will receive two points in the standings while the loser just one. On the national level, the game is still considered a tie. Secondly, the standings in the conference will be different. A regulation or overtime win will see the winning team awarded three points with the loser none. If the game goes to a shootout, both teams will get one point with the shootout winner getting the extra point in the standings.
HOME AWAY FROM HOME: Notre Dame will take its home show on the road on Sunday, Nov. 22 when the Irish play host to the Michigan State Spartans at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum in Ft. Wayne, Ind. That game will have a 4:05 p.m. starting time. Tickets for that game are $14.00, $12.00 and $7.00 and are available at the Memorial Coliseum Ticket Office, all Ticketmaster outlets, online at www.ticketmaster.com or at (800) 745-3000. The Notre Dame ticket office will have a limited quantity of tickets on sale for season ticket holders only. For information contact the Notre Dame ticket office at (574) 631-7356.
NOTRE DAME TO HOST NCAA MIDWEST REGIONAL IN FT. WAYNE: For the first time ever, the University of Notre Dame and the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum in Ft. Wayne, Indiana will play host to the 2010 NCAA Midwest Regionals on Sat.-Sun., March 27-28, 2010.
Tickets for the hockey regional are available in three-game packages - • Adult All-Session: $87.00 (200 Lower Bowl); $77.00 (Upper Level) • Youth 12-and-Under All-Session: $77.00 or $67.00 • College Student All-Session: $82.00 or $72.00 • Groups 20+ All-Session: $74.00 or $64.00
Tickets can be purchased at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum Ticket Office, at all Ticketmaster Outlets, online at www.ticketmaster.com or charge-by-phone at 800-745-3000. To place your order for a Group Ticket Package (20+), call 260-480-3710 or send an email to groupsales@memorialcoliseum.com. All four NCAA hockey regionals will sell tickets in three-game packages only. If Notre Dame is selected to participate in the 2010 NCAA Division I Men’s Ice Hockey Championship, they will be assigned to play in the Midwest Regional at Ft. Wayne, Ind. Game times on March 27 are set for 4:00 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. with the regional championship on March 28 set for 8:00 p.m.
STREAK BUSTERS: Notre Dame’s 3-0 shutout win over Boston University, snapped a streak of 99-consecutive games that the Terriers had not been shutout. The last time BU was shutout came on Dec. 2, 2006 when the Terriers shutout Boston College, 1-0. The win also marked the first time since Jan. 15, 2008 that Boston University lost a non-conference game, a streak of 10 consecutive wins.
A STUNNING START: Prior to Brad Phillips’ 3-0 shutout at Boston University, freshman goaltender Mike Johnson (Verona, Wis.) showed the way with a 2-0 shutout of Providence College in his rookie debut on Oct. 16. Johnson stopped all 29 shots he faced in blanking the Friars, 2-0, becoming the second Irish goaltender to record a shutout in his first career contest. He joins teammate Tom O’Brien (Sr., Mokena, Ill.) who picked up a shutout in his first start last season, a 7-0 blanking of Sacred Heart on Oct. 18, 2008.
SWEDE SCORER: Junior Calle Ridderwall has become one of college hockey’s premier power-play performers. With three goals this season, including two on the power-play, Ridderwall has now scored 20 goals since the start of the 2008-09 season with 13 of them coming on the power play.
HOT HAND: Junior center Ben Ryan has had the hot hand for Notre Dame over the last three games as he has at least one point in each game and has scored goals in each of the last two contests. Ryan has two goals and three assists for five points over the last two games.
SWEEPLESS IN SOUTH BEND: Twice this season, Notre Dame found itself in a position that hasn’t happened very often over the last four seasons – looking at a possible opponent sweep. Since Jeff Jackson took over behind the Irish bench for the 2005-06 season, the Irish have lost back-to-back games on a weekend just eight times. Five of those series losses came during the 2005-06 season with two coming in 2007-08 and one last year (2008-09). The last time the Irish dropped a weekend series came on Oct. 24-25, 2008 when they lost twice to Miami at the Joyce Center.
HOME ICE STRUGGLES: A year ago, the Irish were 13-3-2 at the Joyce Center and over the last three years were 37-9-7 on home ice. Already this season, the Irish are just 2-3-0 in their own barn. Last season, the Irish were 11-2 in one-goal games while this season, they have already dropped three games by one goal.
ROAD WARRIORS: During the 2008-09 season, Notre Dame turned in a 14-2-1 record on the road, the best in the program’s history. That included a nine-game road win streak and a 10-game unbeaten mark (9-0-1). The Irish got this season off to a good road start with the 3-0 win at Boston University.
OUT OF ACTION: Junior defenseman Teddy Ruth (Naperville, Ill.) has missed the first six games of the season due to a lower body injury. He is not expected back for this weekend’s series against Ohio State.
BEST OF THE BEST: Over the past three-plus seasons, the Notre Dame hockey program is tops in the nation. Since the start of the 2006-07 campaign, the Irish have won 93 games and own a .726 winning percentage over that period. Notre Dame leads Michigan (90) in wins and winning percentage (.717). Here are the top five teams by wins and winning percentage since 2006-07.
WINS WINNING .PCTNotre Dame 93 Notre Dame (.726)Michigan 90 Michigan (.717)Miami 84 Miami (.683)North Dakota 80 Boston University (.657)Boston University 75 North Dakota (.644)
POWER OUTAGE: Notre Dame started the season with power-play goals in each of its first five games. That streak ended on Oct. 23 versus Boston College when the Irish went 0-for-8 on the power play in the 3-2 loss. On the year, Notre Dame is 6-for-38 with the man advantage, good for a 15.8% success rate.
ANOTHER STREAK SNAPPED: After giving up a power-play goal to Providence on Oct. 15 in the third period, Notre Dame killed off 23 opponent power-play chances over a four-game period. That streak was snapped when BC’s Brian Gibbons scored a second-period power-play goal on Oct. 23. For the year, the Irish have killed 29 of 31 chances for a 93.5% penalty killing rate.
REUNITED: The Irish trio of left wing Calle Ridderwall, center Kevin Deeth and right wing Billy Maday saw their first action together this season in the 3-0 win at Boston University. Ridderwall and Maday each had a goal and an assist in the win while Deeth won 15-of-23 faceoffs. Versus Boston College, Ridderwall had a goal with Deeth getting an assist. A year ago, the trio combined for 37 goals and 56 assists for 93 points on the season.
FRESHMEN FIRSTS: Notre Dame freshmen forwards Riley Sheahan (St. Catharine’s, Ont.) and Kyle Palmieri (Montvale, N.J.) wasted little time getting on the scoresheet in the 3-2 loss to Alabama-Huntsville on Oct. 9. Sheahan scored on his first career shot, scoring on the power play at 3:02 of the first period to give Notre Dame a 1-0 lead. He joins Billy Maday (So., Burr Ridge, Ill.) im Wallace `06 as recent Notre Dame players to score on the first shots of their college careers. Palmieri joined in with a second-period power-play goal to get his first career score in his first game. He added a second goal on Saturday in the 3-1 victory. Palmieri led the team with 12 shots on goal for the weekend while Sheahan had 10 in the series.
LOWE’S SENIOR CLASS AWARD: Notre Dame senior captain Ryan Thang has been named one of 20 nominees for the 2009-10 Lowes Senior CLASS Award. The award is given annually to an NCAA Division I student-athlete in nine sports based on achievement’s in the “Four C’s” of classroom, character, community and competition. CLASS is an acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School. Last season, two members of the Irish hockey team – Erik Condra `09 and Jordan Pearce `09 – were selected as one of 10 finalists for the honor. For the 2007-08 campaign, captain Mark Van Guilder `08 made it to the list of 10 finalists. For the 2006-07 season, goaltender David Brown `07 was selected as the first winner of the hockey award. The list of 20 candidates will be narrowed down midway through the season with the final 10 going on a ballot to select the national winner.
START A NEW STREAK: Notre Dame saw its string of consecutive sellouts snapped on Oct. 15 versus Providence as a crowd of 2,471 saw the game. A sellout at the Joyce Center is 2,713. A new streak started the following night as a standing-room only crowd of 2,857 saw the Irish defeat the Friars, 2-0. They followed that with a crowd of 2,997 on Friday, Oct. 23 versus Boston College. Notre Dame has now sold out 13 of its last 14 home games, dating back to Dec. 13, 2008 versus Bowling Green. The opening night crowd of 2,994 against Alabama-Huntsville is the largest crowd to see a home opener since 1995 as the building’s seating capacity was reconfigured following that year with 2,713 being a sellout since then.
STINGY IRISH: Over the last three seasons, the Irish have been ranked first in the nation twice with lowest goals-against average. For the 2006-07 season, Notre Dame was best in the nation with a 1.67 goals against. The Irish followed that in 2007-08 with a 2.13 goals-against average to rank fifth in the country and last year the goals-against average was best with a 1.73 average. Through the first six games of the 2009-10 season, the Irish are sixth in the nation, giving up just 1.67 goals per game.
SHILLELAGH TOURNAMENT: Notre Dame will host the second ever Shillelagh Tournament on Jan. 2-3, 2010 at the Sears Centre in Hoffman Estates, Ill. The tournament will feature North Dakota, Niagara and Colgate. On Saturday, Jan. 2, North Dakota and Niagara will meet in the 3:05 p.m. (CT) game with the Irish facing Colgate at 6:05 p.m. (CT). On Sunday, Jan. 3, Colgate will face either North Dakota or Niagara at 2:05 p.m. (CT) with Notre Dame playing either the Fighting Sioux or the Purple Eagles at 5:05 p.m. (CT). The Irish won the first tournament last season with 3-1 wins over Union College and Minnesota-Duluth in the championship game.