Jan. 2, 2008
Notre Dame, Ind. –
Complete Release in PDF Format 
• The Series: #6/#6 Notre Dame (17-5-0/10-2-0) at Northern Michigan (8-11-1/5-9-0)
• Date/Site/Time: Fri.-Sat., January 4-5 • Berry Events Center (3,902) • 7:35 p.m.
• Broadcast Information: Radio: Notre Dame hockey can be heard live on WDND ESPN Sportscenter 1490 with Mike Lockert calling all the action for the Irish.
• Television: Saturday’s game will be televised live by Comcast Local with Ben Holden and Lyle Phair providing the play-by-play and color commentary. The game is available in South Bend on Comcast Local access channel 3.
• Internet: Irish hockey can be heard on the Internet at the Notre Dame website – www.und.com. All Notre Dame home games and all CCHA games are available via gametracker. Northern Michigan will stream the game live via the B2 Networks pay-per view site each night at a cost of $6.00 per game at
BACK TO CCHA ACTION: The Irish return to action in the Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA) for the first time since Dec. 1 when they travel to Marquette, Michigan to face the Northern Michigan Wildcats on Fri.-Sat., Jan. 4-5. Both games at the Berry Events Center will be played at 7:35 p.m. Saturday’s game will be televised live by Comcast Local with Ben Holden and Lyle Phair handling the play-by-play duties. The game can be seen in South Bend on Comcast Cable Channel 3, the local access channel. The Irish open the second half of the CCHA schedule currently tied for second in the conference with Miami as each team has 20 points. That trails first-place Michigan by two points as the Wolverines are first with 22 points. Overall, Notre Dame is 17-5-0 and currently ranked sixth in both the USA Today/American Hockey Magazine and USCHO.com/CSTV polls. The Irish have won 10 of their last 11 games overall and own a five-game CCHA winning streak. Notre Dame finished third at the recent Lightning College Hockey Classic, losing to Massachusetts, 4-3, before defeating Rensselaer, 3-1. Northern Michigan opens the 2008 portion of the schedule with an 8-11-1 overall record and a 5-9-0 mark in the CCHA. The Wildcats are tied with Bowling Green for seventh in the conference with 10 points in league play. They finished third at last weekend’s Denver Cup Tournament, losing to Dartmouth, 4-1, before defeating Sacred Heart, 5-2.
IRISH VS. WILDCATS: The two teams have met 36 times in the all-time series with Northern Michigan holding an 18-13-5 lead. At Marquette, Mich., Northern is 8-4-2 against the Irish in 14 meetings. Last season, Notre Dame took a pair of wins from the Wildcats, winning 4-3 at Ft. Wayne, Ind., and then 4-2 at the Joyce Center. The Irish have won three straight in the series with the last win at Northern Michigan coming on Jan. 21, 2006, a 4-3 win.
WHAT A DIFFERENCE: On Wednesday afternoon, the Irish hockey team left Tampa, Fla., where the weather was 72 and cloudy. They arrived in South Bend where it was 12 degrees and snowing with a foot of snow on the ground. The Irish travel to Marquette, Mich., on Thursday where it is expected to be in the 30s this weekend.
LIGHTNING COLLEGE HOCKEY CLASSIC WRAP UP: Notre Dame finished third at the Lightning College Hockey Classic after dropping a 4-3 decision to ninth-ranked Massachusetts in the opener and then defeating Rensselaer in the third-place game on Sunday afternoon, 3-1. Colorado College downed Rensselaer, 3-2, in that first round game with the Tigers then lost a 5-4 overtime decision to Massachusetts in the title game. Versus UMass, the Irish surrendered three power-play goals in the loss that snapped a nine-game Irish winning streak, the longest in the country. Erik Condra (Jr., Livonia, Mich.), Christian Hanson (Jr., Venetia, Pa.) and Luke Lucyk (Jr., Fox Point, Wis.) scored for the Irish. UMass took a 1-0 lead on a power-play goal by Michael Kostka at 16:12 of the first period. Condra evened the score with his ninth of the year at 19:07 of the first. Cory Quirk scored just 30 seconds into the second period to give the Minutemen a 2-1 lead. Hanson beat goaltender Paul Dainton with a backhander at 1:41 to make it 2-2. Hanson had a hand in the third Irish goal when he won a face off back to Lucyk. The junior defenseman then beat Dainton with a shot from the right point for his first goal of the year at 8:54. The lead would stay 3-2 until the 17:48 mark when Justin Braun tied the game for UMass on the power play with his fourth of the year. James Marcou closed the scoring at 14:26 of the third with a power-play goal for the 4-3 win. The Irish out shot UMass, 32-25. Dainton made 29 saves for the Minutemen while Jordan Pearce (Jr., Anchorage, Alaska) had 21 saves for the Irish. Notre Dame was 0-5 on the power play while UMass was 3-for-5.
IRISH VS. RENSSELAER: Notre Dame met RPI for the second time in tournament play this year, defeating the Engineers, 3-1, to take third place in the second annual Lightning College Hockey Classic. Condra, Ryan Thang (So., Edina, Minn.) and Evan Rankin (Sr., Portage, Mich.) scored for Notre Dame and Pearce made 19 saves to get the Irish back on the winning track. Condra got Notre Dame off to a fast start when he scored his second of the weekend at 1:04 of the first period for a 1-0 lead. Thang made it 2-0 with his 11th of the season at 10:30 only to see the Engineers cut the lead to 2-1 on a Kurt Colling power-play goal at 14:01. The score would stay that way until Rankin closed the game out with an open net goal at 19:31 of the third period for a 3-1 final score. The two teams traded 20 shots on the night. Pearce finished with 19 saves while Mathias Lange had 18 stops for the Engineers.
ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM: Notre Dame placed two players on the 2007 Lightning College Hockey Classic all-tournament team. Irish forward Erik Condra and defenseman Luke Lucyk were named to the all-tournament team after helping Notre Dame to a 1-1 record. Condra had two goals and one assist in the tournament, took nine shots and was +3 on the weekend. Lucyk had one goal in two games and was +2 in the two games. They were joined by RPI goaltender Mathias Lange, Colorado College defenseman Nate Prosser and Colorado College forwards Chad Rau and Jimmy Kilpatrick. UMass forward Matt Burto, who scored the game winner in the championship game was the tournament’s Most Valuable Player.
TOURNAMENT VETS: The Lightning College Hockey Classic was the third in-season tournament for the Irish this season. They opened the year at the Lefty McFadden Classic in Dayton, Ohio, losing to Wisconsin, 4-1, before defeating Mercyhurst, 4-0, to take third place. Over Thanksgiving, the Irish played in the Rensselaer Holiday Tournament, taking the championship with wins over Alabama-Huntsville (4-1) and Rensselaer (4-3).
TOURNEY RESULTS: Notre Dame has now participated in 30 in-season tournaments in the program’s 40-year history, winning six times and finishing second, six times. The Irish have been third a total of seven times and there have been 11 fourth-place finishes. Notre Dame has now won two of the last four in-season tournaments that the Irish have played in, winning the 2006 Lightning Collegiate Hockey Classic in Oct. of 2006 in Tampa, Fla and the Rensselaer Holiday Tournament, Nov. 24-25, 2007 in Troy, N.Y. All time, the Irish are 23-34-3 in tournament play.
LET DOWN: After giving up just seven power-play goals in their first 20 games, the Irish gave up four man-advantage goals in the two games of the Lightning College Hockey Classic. In the 4-3 loss to UMass, Notre Dame was lit up for three power-play goals in the game. That marked the first time the Irish have surrendered three power-play goals in a game since Dec. 17, 2005, in a 4-0 loss to Lake Superior. Rensselaer’s lone goal in Sunday’s game also was a power-play goal.
STREAK SNAPPED: Notre Dame’s 4-3 loss to Massachusetts snapped a nine-game Irish winning streak that began back on Nov. 16 versus Western Michigan. The nine-game streak was the longest in the nation at the time. Coming into this weekend at Northern Michigan, Notre Dame has won five consecutive CCHA games going back to the Western Michigan game on Nov. 16 and has four straight road wins.
BALANCED ACT: Notre Dame comes into the series with Northern Michigan ranked fifth in the nation in scoring with 3.50 goals per game.Despite the ranking, the Irish have just two players on the roster with 10 or more goals this season – Ryan Thang with 11 and Erik Condra with 10. The Irish have accumulated their 77 goals this year with nine players on the roster having five goals or more.
COLE NAMED TO U.S. JUNIOR NATIONAL TEAM: Notre Dame defenseman Ian Cole (Fr., Ann Arbor, Mich.) has been selected to play on the U.S. Junior National Team that will participate in the World Junior Championships in the Czech Republic from Dec. 26 to Jan. 5. Cole, a first-round draft choice (18th overall) of the St. Louis Blues, has played in 18 games for the Irish this season and has two goals and four assists for six points. He is -1 and has nine penalties for 18 minutes. Cole missed both games of the Lightning College Hockey Classic and will miss the two games versus Northern Michigan.
RECORD STREAK: Notre Dame’s nine-game winning streak from Nov. 16 through Dec. 8 was the longest for the Irish since a 14-game streak from Dec. 11, 1987 to Feb. 13, 1988. During that time, the Irish were a Division I Independent. The streak is the longest for the Irish as a member of the CCHA or the WCHA.
LOOK AT LUKE: Defenseman Luke Lucyk has made the most of his playing opportunities with Ian Cole at the World Junior Championships and Teddy Ruth (Fr., Naperville, Ill.) sidelined with an injury. In three games, Lucyk has a goal and an assist. His goal versus Massachusetts on Dec. 29 was his first since Feb. 4, 2005 and snapped a streak of 22 games without a goal. Lucyk played two seasons for the Irish before returning to the USHL last season, where he played for the Tri-City Storm.
IRON MAN: Senior center Mark Van Guilder (Roseville, Minn.) has his sights set on Notre Dame’s all-time record for most consecutive games played. The record of 153 straight games was set by Tim Wallace `06 who played in every game of his career – 153 straight. Van Guilder has now played in every game of his career – 138 consecutive games played through the first 22 games this year.
CAREER YEARS: The trio of Dan Kissel (So., Crestwood, Ill.), Christian Hanson and Evan Rankin have combined to give the Irish an effective third line in recent weeks. All of them have achieved career highs in several offensive categories. Kissel, with five goals and seven assists, has career highs for assists and points this season. Hanson (six goals, six assists) has career highs in assists and points while his goal totals equal a career high set last year. Rankin, with six goals and six assists, has career highs in goals, assists and points this season.
SENIOR CLASS HONORS: Notre Dame team captain Mark Van Guilder has been nominated for the Lowes Senior CLASS (Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School) Award. The CLASS award was designed to honor the attributes of seniors who remain committed to their university and elects to pursue the many rewards that a senior season can bring. This award provides a fitting honor for a senior leader that has stood up to the challenge. In the end, the award hopes to recognize the prestige and dignity of being a senior hockey player at the college level. Former Irish goaltender David Brown `07 won the Lowes Senior CLASS award following the 2006-07 season.
FUN RUN: Since the start of the 2006-07 season through today, Notre Dame has recorded a mark of 49-12-3 (.789) in 64 games.
PERSONAL STREAK: Notre Dame goaltender Jordan Pearce saw his personal seven-game winning streak snapped on Dec. 29 in the 4-3 loss to Massachusetts. During the streak, Pearce was 7-0-0 with a 1.72 goals-against average and a .902 save percentage. Since Nov. 1, Pearce is 10-2-0 with losses to No. 1 Miami and No. 9 Massachusetts. For the season, Pearce is 14-5-0 with a 2.06 goals-against average and a 909 save percentage with two shutouts.
NO GOALS FOR YOU: Junior goaltender Jordan Pearce recorded his second shutout of the season in the 5-0 win over Nebraska-Omaha on Dec. 1. The shutout also was the fourth of his career and moved him into a tie for third with Mark Kronholm `74 on Notre Dame’s all-time shutout list. He trails just Morgan Cey `05 (2nd with 6) and David Brown `07 (first with 12). Pearce’s first career shutout came in his second career game, a 2-0, 27-save win over Princeton on Oct. 28, 2005. Freshman goaltender Brad Phillips recorded his first career shutout on Dec. 8 with a 24-save, 7-0 whitewashing of the Princeton Tigers.
CCHA DEFENSEMAN OF THE WEEK: Senior defenseman Dan VeNard (Vernon Hills, Ill.) was named the CCHA defenseman of the week for the week ending Dec. 9. In the weekend sweep at Princeton, VeNard had two goals and two assists for four points and was +2 on the weekend. His three-point game on Dec. 8 in Notre Dame’s 7-0 win was a career high for the blueliner. He now has five goals and three assists for eight points in 20 games this year. In 71 career games prior to this season, VeNard had two goals and six assists for eight points.
SHORT-CIRCUITED: Notre Dame’s penalty-killing unit is one of the top groups in the nation this season. In the first 20 games this season, the Irish gave up just seven power-play goals in 96 chances for a 92.7% success rate. At the Lightning College Hockey Classic, Notre Dame gave up four power-play goals in 12 chances for a 66.7% success rate. On the season, the Irish are now sixth in the nation in penalty killing, giving up 11 goals in 108 chances for an 89.8% success rate.