Nov. 1, 2006
Notre Dame, Ind. –
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• The Series: #10/#10 Notre Dame (5-1-0/0-0-0) at Ohio State (2-4-0/2-2-0)
• Date/Site/Time: Fri.-Sat., Nov. 3-4 • 8:05/7:05 p.m. • Value City Arena (17,500)
• Broadcast Information: Radio: Notre Dame hockey can be heard live on ESPN Radio 1490, South Bend’s SportsCenter. Mike Lockert, “the voice of Irish hockey” will bring you all the play-by-play action. Television: Friday’s game will be televised live by College Sports Television (CSTV) with Matt McConnell and Troy Ward calling the action.
• Internet Broadcast: At the Notre Dame website – www.und.com. All games available on gametracker.
LET THE GAMES BEGIN: Notre Dame becomes the last team to open play in the CCHA this weekend when the Irish face the Ohio State Buckeyes at Value City Arena on Nov. 3-4. The Irish come into the weekend with a 5-1-0 record and are ranked 10th in both the USA Today/American Hockey Magazine poll and the USCHO.com/CSTV poll. The Irish are coming off a weekend that saw them win their first in-season tournament since 1981 as they won the first-ever Lightning College Hockey Classic in Tampa, Fla., with back-to-back shutouts against Army (3-0) and Air Force (2-0). Ohio State is 2-4-0 on the season and 2-2-0 in the CCHA after a split at Northern Michigan last weekend. The Buckeyes dropped the series opener, 2-0, before bouncing back to take a 4-2 win on Saturday night. Friday night’s game will start at 8:05 and will be televised live by College Sports Television (CSTV) with Matt McConnell and Troy Ward calling the shots. On Saturday night (7:05 p.m.) Ohio State will retire the jersey of alumnus and current Irish associate head coach Paul Pooley. A 1984 graduate, Pooley will become the first Ohio State hockey player to have his jersey retired.
IRISH VERSUS BUCKEYES: Notre Dame has met Ohio State 53 times since the Irish became a Division I hockey program in 1968-69. The Buckeyes hold a 25-22-6 edge in the series and are 12-11-4 against Notre Dame in Columbus, Ohio. Last season, Ohio State was 3-1-0 against the Irish with the lone defeat coming at Value City Arena. In the last 18 meetings, Ohio State has dominated, going 13-2-3 in those games since the 2000-01 season. Both of the Irish wins in that span have come at Ohio State.
FUN IN THE SUN: Notre Dame traveled to Tampa, Fla., last weekend to serve as host of the first-ever Lightning College Hockey Classic at the St. Pete Times Forum. For the first time in 25 years, the Irish came away from an in-season tournament with the championship as they did not allow a goal in taking a 3-0 win against Army and a 2-0 win over Air Force in the championship game. In the opening game against Army, Notre Dame scored once in each period as the Irish out shot the Black Knights, 30-7, on the way to a 3-0 win. Freshman Ryan Thang (Edina, Minn.) scored on the power play in the first period for the eventual game winner. Sophomore Christian Hanson (Venetia, Pa.) scored his first goal of the year in the middle period and sophomore Garrett Regan (Hastings, Minn.) closed the scoring in the third period. Sophomore goaltender Jordan Pearce (Anchorage, Alaska) made his first start of the year and turned aside all seven Army shots to record his second career shutout. In the title game, Hanson picked up his second goal of the weekend early in the second period and Jason Paige (Sr., Saginaw, Mich.) added a power-play goal for the 2-0 win. Goaltender David Brown (Sr., Stoney Creek, Ont.) stopped all 28 shots he faced in the win to notch his first shutout of the year and the seventh of his career, setting the Notre Dame career record for shutouts. The victory was also the 200th of Irish head coach Jeff Jackson’s career. The last time Notre Dame won an in-season tournament came in 1981 when the Irish won the Great Lakes Invitational with wins over Michigan and Michigan Tech. The Irish will serve as hosts of the Lightning College Hockey Classic for the next two years with the tournament being played during the Christmas holidays.
TOURNEY HONORS: Three members of the Irish hockey team were selected to the Lightning College Hockey Classic all-tournament team: goaltender David Brown, defenseman Brock Sheahan (Jr., Lethbridge, Alb.) and center Christian Hanson. Hanson was named the tournament’s most valuable player as he scored a goal in each game, including the game winner in the championship game versus Air Force.
POOLEY POWER: Now in his second year as the Irish associate head coach Paul Pooley returns to his alma mater this weekend to have his sweater retired on Sat., Nov. 4. A 1984 graduate of Ohio State, Pooley is still the Buckeyes all-time leading scorer with 114 goals and 156 assists for 270 points. A member of the CCHA’s all-Decade Team for the 1980s, Pooley was the CCHA player of the year in 1984 and a first team All-American as he led the nation in scoring with 32 gosl and 64 assists for 96 points in 41 games.A three-time CCHA all-academic selection, Pooley was an Academic All-American in his senior year. He began his coaching career at Ohio State as an assistant before joining Jeff Jackson’s staff at Lake Superior in 1992. During his three seasons in Sault Ste. Marie, Mich., the Lakers went to the NCAA Tournament three times, winning the title in 1992 and 1994. Pooley became the head coach at Providence College in 1994 and was the there for 11 seasons where his teams compiled a 185-187-40 record, won one Hockey East title (1995-96) and advanced to the NCAA tournament twice (1996 and 2001). He was selected to the OSU Hall of Fame in 1994. He will become the first Ohio State hockey player to have his number retired.
BACK IN THE RANKINGS: For the second week in a row, the Irish find themselves in the national rankings. They enter the weekend at Ohio State ranked 10th in both the USA Today and USCHO.com polls. Joining the rankings last week marked the first time the Irish have been ranked since the end of the 2003-04 season when they finished the year ranked 12th. Notre Dame was ranked for six weeks that season, including the final four weeks of the year.
2006-07 Irish National RankingsDate USA TODAY USCHO.com10/02 ---- ----10/09 ---- ----10/16 ---- RV10/23 11th 12th10/30 10th 10th
200 AND COUNTING: Head coach Jeff Jackson recorded the 200th win of his Division I coaching career with Notre Dame’s 2-0 win over Air Force on Oct. 28. Now in his eighth season behind a collegiate bench, Jackson is 200-72-29 with a .713 winning percentage. He has the best winning percentage among active coaches with five or more years experience and his 200 wins rank him 22nd among active coaches. In six seasons at his previous collegiate stop – Lake Superior State (1990-96) – Jackson’s teams were 182-52-25 with two national championships, two CCHA regular-season titles and four CCHA tournament championships. Included in his 195 career wins are 36 postseason victories and a .800 winning percentage (36-9 in postseason). In CCHA postseason action at Lake Superior, Jackson’s teams were 24-2 (.923) with the two losses coming to Michigan in CCHA Championship games (`94 and `96).
FAST START: Notre Dame’s 5-1-0 start is the best for the Irish since starting the 1998-99 season with a 6-0 mark. In that season, the Irish lost their seventh game and tied the eighth to go to 6-1-1 after eight games. The Irish have also won four straight games away from the Joyce Center. The last time they did that was Nov. 23-30, 1991 when they defeated Lake Forest, Merrimack and Maine twice. The two Maine wins were actually forfeits for using an ineligible player. The last time the Irish actually won four in a row away from home was between Nov. 27-28 and Jan. 15-16, 1987-88 when the Irish won twice at Canisius and twice at Army.
ROAD WARRIORS: The Irish opened the 2006-07 at home on Oct. 12 with a 6-1 win over Minnesota State. Since then, as Willie Nelson would say, the Irish have been, “On The Road Again.” This week’s games at Ohio State mark the fourth straight weekend that Notre Dame has been on the road. Following the home opener, the Irish traveled to Mankato, Minn., for a single game with Minnesota State (Oct. 14). After that it was on to Boston and Providence (Oct. 20-21) and last week, Tampa, Fla., was where the action was for Notre Dame. In the first five games of the current road sojourn, the Irish are 4-1-0. Last season, Notre Dame was 6-8-3 on the road.
FIRST PERIOD FIRST: Through the first six games of the 2006-07 season, Notre Dame has not given up a goal in the opening stanza of any game. The Irish have out scored the opposition 6-0 in the opening period and are now 4-1-0 when they lead after the first period.
SHUTOUT STREAK: With back-to-back shutout’s against Army and Air Force, Notre Dame has not given up a goal since the 5:02 mark of the second period against Providence on October 21. That gives the Irish a shutout streak of 154:58 over the last three games. Senior goaltender David Brown has not given up a goal in his last 94:58 of playing time while sophomore Jordan Pearce has a shutout string of 80:56 that dates back to the final game of the 2005-06 season when he surrendered a goal at the 19:04 mark of the second period in the final playoff game against Alaska.
POWER STOPPAGE: Notre Dame’s penalty killers have been on fire through the last three games by not surrendering a power-play goal in each of those games. The last opponent power-play goal came at Boston College just 48 seconds into the third period. Since then, Notre Dame has killed off 17 consecutive power-play chances. For the year, the Irish have given up just three power-play goals in 36 chances for a 91.7% success rate that is best in the CCHA and tied for third in the nation.
STINGY IRISH: Through the first six games of the season, Notre Dame has the stingiest defense in the nation, giving up just six goals in six games and a 0.99 goals-against average. Of the six goals Notre Dame has surrendered, three have come on the power play, one was short-handed and only two have come at even strength.
HANSON HAS IT: Sophomore center Christian Hanson had the best weekend of his career at the Lightning College Hockey Classic, scoring a pair of goals while being named to the all-tournament team and the tournament MVP. The two goals on the weekend doubled his career output as he had just one goal as a freshman in 2005-06. One of the team’s top face-off men, Hanson had one goal and two assists in 23 games as a frosh.
MR. ZERO: Notre Dame goaltender David Brown became the Irish career leader in shutouts with his 2-0 blanking of Air Force on Oct. 28. The shutout was the seventh of Brown’s career and moved him past Morgan Cey `05 on the career shutout list. Brown also is Notre Dame’s all-time leader in goals-against average (2.66) and is tied for first with a .912 career save percentage.
AWARDS GALORE: Notre Dame players picked up their share of awards following the weekend of Oct. 20-21 at Boston College and Providence College. Senior defenseman Wes O’Neill (Essex, Ont.) was named the CCHA defensive player of the week with a pair of assists in the two games while going +4 on the weekend. Goaltender David Brown was the CCHA goaltender of the week as he stopped 48-of-50 shots in the two wins for a 1.00 goals-against average and a .960 save percentage. Freshman center Kevin Deeth took CCHA rookie of the week honors after getting two goals and two assists while being +4 for the weekend. Junior Mark Van Guilder was named Inside College Hockey.com’s player of the week for scoring three goals (all against Boston College) and adding two assists for five points. College Hockey News.com named Notre Dame as its’ team of the week.
BEATING THE BEST: Notre Dame has defeated the No. 1 ranked team nine times in the program’s 39-year history. Each of the last three times have come at the expense of the Boston College Eagles (`03-’04, `04-’05 and `06-’07). Here’s the list of Irish wins versus top-ranked teams in the 39-year history of the program.
10/20/06 - at Boston College, 7-110/22/04 - vs. Boston College, 3-210/23/03 - at Boston College, 1-01/3/99 - at North Dakota, 4-311/20/78 - at Minnesota, 3-21/13/78 - vs. Denver, 5-31/18/74 - vs. Michigan Tech, 7-12/24/73 - vs. Wisconsin, 4-32/23/73 - vs. Wisconsin, 8-5
GOAL-SCORING MACHINE: Part of the reason for Notre Dame’s fast 5-1-0 start this season has been the Irish ability to put the puck in the net. Through the first six games, Notre Dame has outscored the opposition by a 26-6 margin (4.33 to 1.00 per game). Last year, in 36 games, Notre Dame scored just 89 goals (2.47 per game).
BACK-TO-BACK: The Irish recorded back-to-back hat tricks in the games at Boston College and Providence. In the 7-1 win on Friday night, Mark Van Guilder picked up the second, three-goal game of his career. The following night, Dan Kissel scored three times in the 6-1 win over the Friars. That marked the first time since Feb. 7-8, 1992 that Notre Dame players recorded hat tricks in back-to-back games. On Feb. 7, 1992, Lou Zadra had three versus Western Michigan in a 10-4 loss to the Broncos. The following night, Sterling Black scored three times in a 7-5 loss at Western Michigan.
FRESHMEN FIRSTS: Notre Dame’s eight-man freshman class has made major contributions early in the season. Five of them have played in games this season and through the first six games have accounted for 11 goals and nine assists and are a combined +16. Leading the way is center Kevin Deeth (Gig Harbor, Wash.) who is second on the team with four goals and three assists. Right wing Ryan Thang (Edina, Minn.) is fourth in scoring with four goals and two assists and left wing Dan Kissel (Crestwood, Ill.) has three goals and an assist for four points. On defense, Kyle Lawson (New Hudson, Mich.) has a pair of assists and Brett Blatchford (Temperance, Mich.) has one helper.
CONDRA CAPERS: Sophomore right wing Erik Condra (Livonia, Mich.) has picked up where he left off in the scoring department as a freshman. Condra, Notre Dame’s rookie of the year and a CCHA all-rookie team selection, led the Irish with six goals and 28 assists for 34 points. In six games this year, he has a goal and six assists for seven points. In 42 career games, Condra has seven goals and 34 assists for 41 points.
FOR OPENERS: With the 6-1 win on Oct. 12 versus Minnesota State, the Irish improved to 20-17-2 in the opening game of the season. The home win gave Notre Dame a 21-17-1 record in home openers. The 3-2 overtime loss on Oct. 14 dropped the Irish to 14-22-3 in road openers. Last season, the Irish dropped both the road opener (3-1 at Colorado College) and the home opener (5-3 to Princeton).
ALL TIED UP: The overtime loss to Minnesota State was the first for the Irish since March 12, 2005 when they lost a 1-0 overtime decision at Michigan game two of the first round of the CCHA playoffs. Last year, Notre Dame was 0-0-4 in four overtime games. In 54 overtime games since the start of the 1999-2000 season, the Irish are 7-7-40 in overtime. The last overtime win for the Irish came on Dec. 10, 2004 in a 3-2 victory against Michigan State. That win snapped a 16-game winless skid (0-2-14) during the regular season that started on Jan. 25, 2002.
TWO-GOAL GAMES OR MORE: Scoring is definitely contagious. Through four games this season, the Irish have seen players score two or more goals in a game six times already this year. Last season, Notre Dame had a total of seven multiple-goal games, including two hat tricks. Mark Van Guilder and Dan Kissel have had hat tricks against Boston College and Providence, respectively. Freshman Ryan Thang scored twice against Boston College. Sophomore left wing Garrett Regan (Hastings, Minn.) scored twice, including the game winner in the 6-1 win win on Oct. 12. Junior center Mark Van Guilder scored twice in the same game while recording a three-point game. On Oct. 14, it was freshman Kevin Deeth’s turn as he collected a short-handed goal and a power-play tally in the 3-2 overtime loss.
MINNESOTA MAGIC: Notre Dame’s five Minnesota natives had strong weekends in the home-and-home weekend with Minnesota State. Junior Mark Van Guilder had two goals and one assist in the 6-1 win on Thursday. Sophomore Garrett Regan had two goals in the 6-1 win against the Mavericks. Freshman Ryan Thang had a goal and an assists in the season opener. Seniors Tom Sawatske (Duluth, Minn.) was +1 on the weekend and T.J. Jindra (Faribault, Minn.) was even. An adopted son, Kevin Deeth who played two years of prep hockey at Shattuck St. Mary’s (Faribault, Minn.), also had two goals and an assist in two games versus MSU.
PREMIER PUCKSTOPPER: Senior goaltender David Brown is off to a fast start in 2006-07. He is 4-1-0 on the year with a stingy 1.18 goals-against average and a .954 save percentage. Of the six goals he has given up, three have been on the power play, one short-handed and just two at even strength. Brown stopped 36-of-37 shots he faced in the season-opening win versus Minnesota State. That marked the 13th time in Brown’s career that he has made 35 or more saves in a game. Notre Dame is 6-6-1 in those games.
CAPTAINS: Senior right wing T.J. Jindra (Faribault, Minn.) will serve as Notre Dame’s captain for the second consecutive season. Jindra becomes the first Irish player to serve as captain twice since Evan Nielsen `03 held the responsibility from 2001-03. There have been 14 players to serve as two-time captains with the Irish. Joining Jindra as alternate captains in `06-’07, are senior center Jason Paige (Saginaw, Mich.) and senior defensemen Wes O’Neill (Essex, Ont.) and Tom Sawatske (Duluth, Minn.). Paige has served as an alternate captain since his sophomore year. O’Neill and Sawatske will be alternate captains for the first time at Notre Dame.
BY THE CLASSES: The 26-man Notre Dame hockey roster is made up of eight seniors, five juniors, five sophomore and eight freshmen. The eight seniors are the only remaining Irish players who were on the 2003-04 team that advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in the program’s history.
FAMILY MATTERS: Two members of the Notre Dame hockey team – forwards Erik Condra (Livonia, Mich.) and Garrett Regan (Hastings, Minn.) – have family ties to the Irish hockey program. Condra’s uncle is All-American forward Kirt Bjork (`83) who played at Notre Dame from 1979-83. He scored 76 goals with 85 assists for 161 career points in 141 career games. He took All-America honors in 1983 when he had 29 goals and 34 assists for 63 points. Regan’s uncle – Sean Regan – was a defenseman for the Irish from1981-83 before finishing his career at the University of Minnesota.
ROOKIE SUCCESS: Sophomore right wing Erik Condra led Notre Dame in scoring last season with six goals and 28 assists for 34 points. He became the first Notre Dame freshman to lead the team in scoring since Jamie Ling `96 led the 1992-93 team with 40 points in his first season. He would go on to lead the Irish in scoring four straight seasons. Condra was selected as Notre Dame’s rookie of the year and was selected to the CCHA’s all-rookie team. He led all CCHA freshmen in scoring and was seventh in the nation among rookie point scorers.
OLD-TIME DEFENSE: Notre Dame’s defense is made up of three seniors, three juniors and two freshmen this season. The three seniors – Noah Babin (Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.), Wes O’Neill and Tom Sawatske will team with junior Brock Sheahan (Lethbridge, Alb.) to form the team’s top four. The final two spots will be a battle between juniors Dan VeNard and Brian D’Arcy (Western Springs, Ill.) and freshmen Kyle Lawson and Brett Blatchford (Temperance, Mich.). O’Neill comes into his final year as a candidate for all-CCHA and All-America honors.
NHL DRAFTEES: The Irish have four players on the 2006-07 roster who have been selected in the National Hockey League’s Entry Draft. Last June, sophomore right wing Erik Condra (Livonia, Mich.) was selected in the seventh round, 211th overall by the Ottawa Senators. He is joined by freshman defenseman Kyle Lawson (New Hudson, Mich.) who was selected in the 2005 NHL Draft by the Carolina Hurricanes in the seventh round, 198th overall. Condra and Lawson are joined by senior defenseman Wes O’Neill (Essex, Ont.) who was chosen in the fourth round of the 2004 Entry Draft, 115th overall by the New York Islanders. Also selected in 2004 was senior goaltender David Brown (Stony Creek, Ont.) who went in the eighth round, 228th overall to the Pittsburgh Penguins.
IRON MAN: Graduated right wing Tim Wallace (Anchorage, Alaska) finished his Notre Dame career in 2005-06 as the Notre Dame’s all-time `Iron Man.” Wallace played in every game of his career, 153 in all. He finished third on the all-time games played list for his four seasons with the Irish. Junior center Mark Van Guilder (Roseville, Minn.) is next in line as he now has played in every game in his first two-plus seasons for a total of 78 consecutive games.
PLAYING IN THE NHL: At times during the 2005-06 season, Notre Dame had five former players in the NHL at the same time. The five were: Ben Simon `00 (Columbus), Rob Globke `04 (Florida), Brett Lebda `04 (Detroit), Mark Eaton (Nashville) and Yan Stastny (Edmonton-Boston). Only one other time, have the Irish had five players in the NHL in one season. That came during the 1982-83 campaign when the Irish had five players see time, in the NHL. That group included: Jim Brown `82 (three games with Los Angeles), Jack Brownschidle `77 (72 games with St. Louis), Jeff Brownschidle `81 (four games with Hartford), Don Jackson `78 (71 games with Edmonton) and Dave Poulin `82 (two games with Philadelphia). As of Oct. 17, Eaton (Pittsburgh), Lebda (Detroit) and Stastny (Boston) were skating with NHL teams.
THE IRISH AND THE U.S. NATIONAL TEAM DEVELOPMENTAL PROGRAM: Notre Dame’s current roster includes six players who have past experience with USA Hockey, as members of the National Team Development Program (NTDP). Since the program began, the Irish have had a total of 16 NTDP alums grace their roster. The current contingent includes seniors Noah Babin (Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.), Michael Bartlett (Morton Grove, Ill.), Tom Sawatske (Duluth, Minn.) and Josh Sciba (Westland, Mich.). The lone sophomore is goaltender Jordan Pearce (Anchorage, Alaska) while defenseman Kyle Lawson (New Hudson, Mich.) represents the freshman class. Other former NTDP players who played at Notre Dame and their years in the national program include: Brett Henning (1997-98), Michael Chin (1997-98), Connor Dunlop (1997-99), Paul Harris (1997-99), John Wroblewski (1997-99), Neil Komadoski (1998-2000), Brett Lebda (1998-2000), Rob Globke (1998-2000), Derek Smith (2000-01) and Tim Wallace (2002-06).