March 20, 2013
Notre Dame, Ind. –
– The Games: #12/#9 Notre Dame (23-12-3) vs. Ohio State (16-16-7) #3/#3 Miami (24-10-5) vs. Michigan (17-18-3)
– Date/Site/Times: Saturday, March 23, 2013 – Joe Louis Arena (20,066) – 1:06 p.m./4:35 p.m.
– Broadcast Information: Radio: Notre Dame’s CCHA Semifinal game versus Ohio State can be heard live on Real Country 99.9 FM in South Bend and at UND.com. Darin Pritchett, the voice of the Irish, will call the action. Television: Both CCHA semifinal games will be televised live by Fox Sports Detroit Plus with Ben Holden, Darren Eliot and Shannon Hogan calling the action. Sunday’s championship game will be televised by Fox Sports Detroit.
– Internet: Audio/Video: Live audio streaming for the CCHA semifinals versus Ohio State is available on the Notre Dame website at UND.com free of charge. Statistics: Livestats can be found at GameTracker, ccha.com or collegehockeyinc.com. Twitter: Follow Irish hockey on Twitter at ND_hockey.
BACK TO THE JOE: The Notre Dame hockey team will return to Joe Louis Arena this coming weekend to participate in the 42nd and final CCHA Championship. This will be the 10th trip for the Irish to “The Joe,” in the program’s 23 years as a member of the Central Collegiate Hockey Association and the first since the 2010-11 season. Notre Dame will face Ohio State in the 1:05 p.m. semifinal game while Michigan and Miami will meet in the second semifinal at 4:35 p.m. The two winners will then play on Sunday, March 24 at 2:05 p.m. for the final CCHA Championship and the automatic bid to the 2013 NCAA Tournament. Both semifinal games will be televised by Fox Sports Detroit PLUS while Sunday’s title tilt will be seen on Fox Sports Detroit. The Irish advanced to the semifinals with a two-game sweep of Bowling Green last weekend, taking a 1-0 overtime win in game one and then a 4-3 verdict in the second game. Notre Dame has won four straight and is 5-0-2 in its last seven games, dating back to Feb. 17. The Irish are 23-12-3 overall and finished second in the CCHA with a 17-8-3-2 record. Ohio State advanced to Saturday’s game by defeating Ferris State, two games to one, in that Quarterfinal series in Columbus, Ohio. The Buckeyes dropped the series opener to the Bulldogs, 4-2, then won the last two games, 3-1 and 3-2 to advance. Ohio State enters the game with a 16-16-7 overall record and was 13-10-5-1 in conference play, good for fourth place in the regular season.
IRISH VERSUS BUCKEYES: Notre Dame and Ohio State have met 71 times in the all-time series with the Buckeyes owning a 32-29-10 advantage. The two teams have met twice this season (Feb. 1-2) at Ohio State with the Buckeyes winning game one, 6-3, while the second game ended in a 2-2 tie with the Irish winning the shootout. In postseason play, Notre Dame and Ohio State have met four times (2003, 2004, 2010 and 2012), including twice at Joe Louis Arena (2003, 2004). In the CCHA playoffs, the Buckeyes are 4-2 versus the Irish. The two games played at “The Joe,” came under the CCHA’s “Super Six,” format . Ohio State won both of those games – 3-2 in 2003 and 6-5 in overtime in 2004. The other two meetings were first-round series. In 2010, Ohio State won, two games to none, at Columbus while last year, the Irish took the opening series, two games to none, at the Compton Family Ice Arena.
NOTRE DAME AND “THE JOE”: Notre Dame will be making its 10th trip to Joe Louis Arena in this its 23rd season as members of the CCHA. The Irish played in the CCHA Championship in 1981-82, 1999-00, 2001-02, 2002-03, 2003-04, 2006-07, 2007-08, 2008-09 and 2010-11. They won the tournament in 2007 and 2009. From 2001-04, Notre Dame played in the CCHA Super Six. In CCHA games, the Irish are 5-9 at Joe Louis Arena. All-time, Notre Dame has played 19 games at “The Joe,” including two Great Lakes Invitationals and a single game against Wayne State. The Irish are 8-11 at Joe Louis Arena all-time.
END OF AN ERA: This weekend’s CCHA Championship is the 42nd and final one as the conference will play its final three games. Next season, Notre Dame will play in Hockey East while Michigan and Ohio State will be in the Big 10 Conference and Miami plays in the National Collegiate Hockey Conference. The Irish have been members of the CCHA twice – from 1981 to 1983 and again from 1992 through this season. In those 23 campaigns, Notre Dame finished the regular season with a 273-303-85 record in CCHA regular-season games. In the postseason, the Irish are 29-35 all-time and have won two regular-season titles (2007 and 2009) and two CCHA tournament championships (2007 and 2009).
23 WINS: Notre Dame’s 23 wins marks the 12th time in the program’s history that the Irish have reached the 20-win plateau and the eighth time that they have recorded 23 or more victories in a season. This is the first time since the 2010-11 campaign that the Irish have won 20 or more as that team was 25-14-5. Notre Dame has won 20 or more games in five of the last seven seasons.
IRISH CCHA PLAYOFF HISTORY: The Irish have played 64 games in CCHA playoff history and are 29-35 in those games (19-8 at home, 5-18 on the road and 5-9 at Joe Louis Arena). Under coach Jeff Jackson, the Irish are 16-12 in the CCHA postseason, winning the championship in 2007 and 2009.
1981-82 Michigan W, 6-5Michigan W, 5-3vs. Bowling Green (@JLA) W, 8-5vs. Michigan State (@JLA) L, 1-4
1982-83at Bowling Green L, 3-8at Bowling Green L, 2-7
1992-93at Michigan L, 2-13at Michigan L, 1-8
1993-94at Western Michigan L, 3-6at Western Michigan L, 1-7
1994-95at Bowling Green L, 2-7at Bowling Green L, 4-5
1997-98at Michigan W, 4-2at Michigan L, 1-2 (ot)at Michigan L, 3-4
1998-99Northern Michigan W, 3-2Northern Michigan L, 1-7Northern Michigan L, 2-3
1999-2000Ferris State W, 4-3Ferris State L, 1-6Ferris State W, 4-2vs. Michigan State (@JLA) L, 0-4
2001-2002at Nebraska-Omaha L, 2-3 (2ot)at Nebraska-Omaha W, 2-1 (ot)at Nebraska-Omaha W, 2-1vs. No. Michigan (@JLA) L, 1-3
2002-03at Miami (OH) L, 2-4at Miami (OH) W, 1-0at Miami (OH) W, 5-0vs. Ohio State (@JLA) L, 2-3
2003-04Western Michigan W, 4-2Western Michigan L, 0-4Western Michigan W, 5-4 (ot)vs. Ohio State (@JLA) L, 5-6 ot
2004-05at Michigan L, 1-10at Michigan L, 0-1 (ot)
2005-06Alaska L, 1-3Alaska L, 0-1
2006-07Alaska W, 7-1Alaska W, 3-1vs. Lake Superior (@JLA) W, 3-0vs. Michigan (@JLA) W, 2-1
2007-08Ferris State L, 1-2Ferris State W, 6-3Ferris State W, 2-1vs. Miami (@JLA) L, 1-2 (ot)vs. Northern Michigan (@JLA) L, 1-2
2008-09Nebraska-Omaha W, 5-0Nebraska-Omaha W, 1-0vs. Northern Michigan (@JLA) W, 2-1vs. Michigan (@JLA) W, 5-2
2009-10at Ohio State L, 1-3at Ohio State L, 2-8
2010-11Lake Superior State W, 3-2 (ot)Lake Superior State L, 3-4Lake Superior State W, 4-2vs. Miami (@JLA) L, 2-6vs. Michigan (@JLA) L, 2-4
2011-12Ohio State W, 2-0Ohio State W, 4-2at Michigan L, 1-2 (2ot)at Michigan L, 1-3
2012-13Bowling Green W, 1-0 (OT)Bowling Green W, 4-3vs. Ohio State (@JLA)
THE COACH AND THE PLAYOFFS: Irish head coach Jeff Jackson has had his share of success in the CCHA playoffs. In 14 CCHA seasons (six at Lake Superior State and eight at Notre Dame), Jackson is 40-14 (.741) in conference postseason play. At Lake Superior, his teams were 24-2 while at Notre Dame, he is 16-12. His teams have advanced to the finals in 11 of 14 seasons (six at LSSU and five at Notre Dame). In those previous 13 seasons, his teams won six CCHA titles (four at LSSU and two at Notre Dame).
CCHA POST-SEASON SCORING: Twenty members of the 2012-13 Notre Dame hockey team have seen CCHA playoff action. Those players have played a total of 142 games, scoring 18 goals with 31 assists for 49 points.
CCHA CAREER POST-SEASON SCORING:Name GP G A PTSAnders Lee 11 4 3 7Bryan Rust 11 4 3 7T.J. Tynan 11 3 4 7Jeff Costello 11 3 4 7Nick Larson 8 2 2 4Mike Voran 10 1 3 4Robbie Russo 5 0 3 3Stephen Johns 10 0 2 2Sam Calabrese 10 0 2 2Shayne Taker 10 0 2 2Peter Schneider 6 1 0 1Kevin Nugent 5 0 1 1Kevin Lind 6 0 1 1David Gerths 11 0 1 1Jared Beers 4 0 0 0Austin Wuthrich 5 0 0 0Thomas DiPauli 2 0 0 0Mario Lucia 2 0 0 0Steven Fogarty 2 0 0 0Eric Johnson 2 0 0 0
Goaltenders MIN W-L-T GA SVS SV% GAVGSteven Summerhays 457:52 4-4-0 13 202 .940 1.70Mike Johnson 305:43 2-4-0 21 120 .872 3.43
BOWLING GREEN RECAP Friday, March 15 – Junior right wing Bryan Rust (Novi, Mich.) scored at 1:22 of overtime to give Notre Dame a 1-0 win over Bowling Green in game one of the best-of-three Quarterfinal series on Friday night. Rust was set up on the play by linemates Jeff Costello (Jr., Milwaukee, Wis.) and Anders Lee (Jr., Edina, Minn.). The Irish out shot the Falcons, 36-22, in the game. Andrew Hammond made 35 saves in goal for Bowling Green while Steven Summerhays (Jr., Anchorage, Alaska) had 22 stops in earning his fourth shutout of the season.
Saturday, March 16 – Bryan Rust scored twice, including a penalty shot, while Nick Larson (Sr., Apple Valley, Minn.) and Anders Lee scored solo goals to lead Notre Dame to a 4-3 win over Bowling Green in game two of the CCHA Quarterfinals. Bryce Williamson led Bowling Green with two goals and an assist while Ben Murphy added the third goal of the night. The teams traded 66 shots in the game with Notre Dame out shooting the Falcons by a 34-32 margin. Steven Summerhays stopped 29 shots in the Irish goal while Andrew Hammond had 30 for Bowling Green. After going to overtime in Friday’s game, Notre Dame scored twice in the first period to build a 2-0 lead. Rust started the scoring at 6:44 when he scored his 14th of the year on the power play as his shot from inside the left circle deflected off a Bowling Green defenseman’s skate and got by Hammond. Lee started the play as he moved the puck from the right boards back to defenseman Robbie Russo (So., Westmont, Ill.) who set up Rust in the slot. The lead would go to 2-0 at 12:45 as Larson got loose on a breakaway, saw Hammond make the first save but banged his own rebound past the senior goaltender for his fourth of the season. While the Irish got two in the first, Bowling Green returned the favor in the second with a pair of power-play goals to tie the game at 2-2. Williamson cut the lead to 2-1 with his first of the game at 6:33 of the middle period. With two Irish defenders playing without sticks, defenseman Ralfs Friebergs found Williamson in the slot and he whipped a shot over Summerhays glove for his 11th of the season. The Falcons tied the game at 18:42 when Ben Murphy deflected a shot from the point by Friebergs past Summerhays for his sixth of the season and after 40 minutes everything was knotted at two. With Notre Dame on a power play near the midway point of the third, Bowling Green defenseman Jose Delgadillo covered a puck in the crease and the Irish were awarded a penalty shot. Jackson had the option of going with a 5-on-3 power play or take the penalty shot and he went with his hot hand in Rust and the junior from Novi, Mich., did not fail as he beat Hammond with a nice backhander over his stick hand at 8:28 to give the Irish the 3-2 lead. The goal was Rust’s 15th of the season and third of the series. Lee would build the lead to 4-2 with a power-play goal at 12:05, scoring off a face off that he won in the left wing circle. He drew the puck back to Russo who fired from the point. Lee went to the net and got his stick on the puck, redirecting it past Hammond for his team-best 19th of the season. The Falcons weren’t done though as they cut the lead to 4-3 just 13 seconds later off a turnover by Summerhays behind his own goal. The Irish netminder lost the puck to Brett Mohler who centered it to Williamson who banged it into an open cage as Summerhays tried to dive back. With 1:33 left in the game, Notre Dame’s Peter Schneider (So. Vienna, Austria) was called for tripping and the Falcons would get one last chance as they pulled Hammond for a 6-on-4 power play, but Summerhays and the Irish defense were able to kill off the remaining time to preserve the win.
RUST NEVER SLEEPS: With three goals in the two-game series against Bowling Green, Bryan Rust continues his outstanding career year for Notre Dame. He now has career highs in goals (15), assists (17), points (32), shots (110), power-play goals (5), game winners (4) and plus-minus (+22). In fact, his 32 points in 38 games this season more than doubles his career totals after two seasons (80 games). Rust entered this season with 11 goals and 19 assists for 30 points. He now has 26 goals and 36 assists for 62 points this season. He currently has a season-best, seven-game point streak (5g, 3a, 8 pts.).
LEADER OF THE PACK: Junior left wing Anders Lee, the Notre Dame team captain, enters the CCHA Championship leading the Irish in scoring with 19 goals and 18 assists for 37 points. Among the 19 goals are four power-play goals and two game winners. He is a candidate for CCHA Player of the Year honors and the CCHA Top Defensive Forward award. He was the top plus-minus man (+18) in the 28 regular-season CCHA games this season. Lee is currently tied for second among CCHA point getters with 37 with Ohio State’s Ryan Dzingel, one point behind Miami’s Riley Barber in all games played. His 19 goals tie him for second overall with Ferris State’s Kyle Bonis. Only Lake Superior State’s Dominec Monardo (20) has more.
WORK HORSE: Dating back to last Feb. 24, 2012, Irish goaltender Steven Summerhays has played in 39 of the last 44 games, making 38 starts. During those 39 games, Summerhays is 22-13-2 with a 1.90 goals-against average, a .926 save percentage and six shutouts. He is now 34-23-3 for his career with a 2.29 goals-against average and a .909 save percentage. This season, Summerhays is tied for first in the CCHA in wins (19) and is third in goals-against average (1.99). He is seventh in save percentage (.921) and tied for the league lead with four shutouts. He is the first Irish goaltender to record four shutouts in one season since Jordan Pearce `09 had eight in the 2008-09 season. Summerhays has recorded all six of his shutouts since Feb. 24, 2012 of last season.
PENALTY SHOT: Junior right wing Bryan Rust was awarded a penalty shot in the 4-3 win over Bowling Green (March 16) when Falcon defenseman Jose Delgadillo covered a puck in the crease at 8:28 of the third period. Rust scored on goaltender Andrew Hammond to give the Irish a 3-2 lead. His penalty shot was the second of the year for the Irish as center Anders Lee was awarded one on Jan. 26 versus Ferris State. His shot was stopped by goaltender Charles Williams. Lee’s penalty shot was the first in the Compton Family Ice Arena since Nov. 11, 2011 when Riley Sheahan was awarded one and scored on the shot in a 5-4 win over Alaska. There have now been four penalty shots at the Compton Family Ice Arena since it opened in Oct. of 2011. Boston College’s Chris Kreider scored on the second one on Nov. 18, 2011 in a 3-2 Notre Dame overtime win.
PROTECTING THE HOUSE: The Irish are 18-0-0 when taking a lead into the third period of a game during the 2012-13 season.
SCORING FIRST: Notre Dame has scored the first goal of the game in 27 of its first 38 contests this season and is now 21-5-1 in those games. The Irish scored the first goal in six consecutive games between Jan. 15 and Feb. 1 but were just 1-5-0 in those games. When they don’t light the lamp first, the Irish are just 2-7-2.
OVERTIME INFO: Notre Dame’s overtime win versus Bowling Green (March 15) was the first for the Irish since beating Boston College, 3-2, in overtime on Nov. 18, 2011. Since then, the Irish were 0-1-4 in overtime. During the 2012-13 regular season, Notre Dame was 0-0-3 in extra time with all three of those games going to CCHA shootouts. The last time the Irish lost in overtime was March 9, 2012, a 2-1 double overtime loss at Michigan in the first game of the CCHA Quarterfinals. That game went 83:00 minutes.
SHOOTING THE BISCUIT: Through the first 38 games this season, Notre Dame has out shot the opposition in 28 of them and recorded 30 or more shots 24 times. The Irish are averaging 31.2 shots per game to 25.4 by their opponents. They are 16-6-2 when getting 30 or more shots in a game and 18-7-3 when out shooting them in all games. Notre Dame’s season low for shots on goal is 21 and was set versus Boston College on Nov. 9 and against Miami on Feb. 15. The season high for shots on goal is 47 and came on Feb. 2 at Ohio State.
TURNING THINGS AROUND: The Irish were just 2-6-0 in the month of January and started February with a 6-3 loss at Ohio State. Since falling to the Buckeyes on Feb. 1, Notre Dame has gone 7-1-3 in its last 11 games and is now unbeaten in its last seven games (5-0-2) since Feb. 22. Since the beginning of March, the Irish are 4-0-0.
ONE IS THE LONELIEST NUMBER: Despite scoring 112 goals this season in 38 games, Notre Dame has been held to one goal in a game 13 times. When scoring just one goal in a game, the Irish arer 3-9-1. With two or more goals in a game, the Irish are 20-3-2. In those 25 contests, Notre Dame has scored 99 goals or 3.96 per game.
AWARDS SHOW: The Notre Dame hockey team will hold its 2012-13 awards program on Sunday, April 7 at the Mendoza College of Business Atrium and Jordan Auditorium. The awards program will honor the graduating Irish senior class and individual team award winners from the past season. Hors d’oeuvres will be served at 3:00 p.m. with the awards program set to begin at 4:00 p.m. The event will include video highlights from the 2012-13 season, award presentations and remarks from head coach Jeff Jackson along with senior players Sam Calabrese, Mike Johnson, Nick Larson, Kevin Nugent plus senior manager John Madison. Tickets and registration for the awards program are available by going through the following Notre Dame Monogram Club website at – http://monogram.undgroup.org/hockey2013. Tickets are $15.00 for adults and $8.00 for children 12 and under. Please register by Monday, March 25. For more information contact Sue Halasz in the Notre Dame Hockey Office at 574-631-3630.
ALL-CCHA: Junior center Anders Lee has been selected first team all-CCHA for the 2012-13 season. The 6-3, 220-pound center was second in the conference in goals scored with 14 in league games and tied for fourth in the league-scoring race with 26 points. He led the CCHA with a +18 mark in the 28 regular-season conference games. Overall, Lee currently leads the Irish in scoring with 19 goals and 18 assists for 37 points in 38 games and is third on the squad with a +17 mark. His 127 shots are tops on the squad. Among his 19 goals are four power-play markers, one short-handed goal and two game winners. In three seasons at Notre Dame, Lee has played in 122 games with 60 goals and 55 assists for 115 career points. Lee, who was an honorable mention selection as a sophomore, finished second in the voting among conference forwards, as he received seven first-place votes for 44 points. This marks the second time that the Irish team captain has been selected to a CCHA all-conference team, as he was a second team choice as a freshman in 2010-11. He becomes the second Notre Dame player, joining T.J. Tynan, to be named to an all-CCHA team twice in his career and is the fifth Irish player in the 23 seasons that the Irish have played in the conference to be a first team selection as he joins Tynan, defenseman Ian Cole, goaltender David Brown `07 and defenseman Benoit Cotnoir `99. Lee, joins Tynan and defenseman Jack Brownschidle `77 as the only Notre Dame players ever selected to two all-conference teams as Brownschidle was a two-time, first-team all-WCHA selection in 1976 and 1977.
SCHOLAR-ATHLETE: Sophomore right wing Peter Schneider has been named to the CCHA all-academic team for the 2012-13 season. He, along with the other 10 players selected, are now candidates to be the CCHA scholar-athlete of the year. That award will be presented at the CCHA Awards Show on March 22 at the Fox Theatre in Detroit, Mich. Schneider is a double major in Economics and Business and has a 3.945 grade-point average and has been named to the Dean’s List in each of his first three semesters at Notre Dame. On the ice, the speedy Schneider has appeared in 32 games and has four goals and four assists for eight points while picking up 18 minutes in penalties. He is even for the season.
ALL-ROOKIE HONORS: Freshman left wing Mario Lucia (Plymouth, Minn.) was selected to the CCHA all-rookie team for the 2012-13 season. Lucia leads Notre Dame freshmen in scoring with 12 goals and 10 assists for 22 points in 29 games this season. He missed the first nine games of the season with a broken leg suffered in preseason training. His 12 goals tie him for second on the team and his five power-play goals lead the team in that category. He is currently tied for fourth in the CCHA among rookie scorers with his 22 points. He was named the CCHA Rookie of the Week twice in December and was the CCHA Postgame offensive player of the week for the week ending March 3. He also was the CCHA rookie of the month for December.
VETERANS: The 2012-13 Notre Dame team is definitely a veteran unit. Looking at the Irish roster, there are currently 11 players that have played 100 or more games in their careers. Senior Nick Larson had played the most – 149 career games – heading into the game with Ohio State on March 23.
THE OTHER GUY: Senior goaltender Mike Johnson (Verona, Wis.) got the start on Senior Night in Notre Dame’s last game on March 2 versus Bowling Green. He stopped 26-of-27 shots in a 4-1 win over the Falcons. The win improved Johnson to 4-1-1 with a 2.36 goals-against average and a .907 save percentage. For his career, he has appeared in 98 games, making 91 starts and is 43-34-13 with a 2.61 goals-against average and a .901 save percentage with two shutouts. His 43 wins make him just one of seven Notre Dame goaltenders to win 40 or more games in his career.
CAREER YEAR: Sophomore defenseman Robbie Russo now has career highs in goals (5), assists (18), points (23) and power-play goals (4) this season in 38 games. As a freshman, Russo had four goals and 11 assists for 15 points in 40 games. He is second among CCHA defensemen in points overall and his four power-play goals tie him for second on the team.
THE PLAYMAKER: Junior left wing Jeff Costello had a career-high three-assist game in the Feb. 8, 7-4, win over Michigan. Costello now has career highs in assists (18) and points (27) for the Irish this season.
HELPING HAND: With an assist on Nick Larson’s goal versus Bowling Green on March 16, senior defenseman Sam Calabrese (Sr., Park Ridge, Ill.) set a career high for points in a season with 19. Calabrese now has career highs in assists (18) and points (19) in his senior year. His lone goal came on the power play in the 2-2 tie with the Ohio State on Feb. 2 . For the year, Calabrese is second among Irish defensemen in scoring with 19 points, trailing Russo and his 23 points. For his career, the lone senior on the Notre Dame defense now has 10 goals and 43 assists for 53 points in 123 career games.
BRIGHT KIDS: University of Notre Dame athletic programs again rank as the best in the country in graduation rates, based on Graduation Success Rate (GSR) figures released by the NCAA — including first-place ratings in the sports of football, men’s basketball, women’s basketball and ice hockey. Among the 120 Football Bowl Subdivision institutions, Notre Dame had the highest percentage of its sports with 100 percent scores (for the seventh time in eight years), with a .863 figure (19 of 22). In hockey, Notre Dame achieved a 100 GSR rating, to rank first (tied with Bowling Green) among Division I-A football-playing institutions. Here are the FBS institutions with scores of 65 or higher in that category:
Score Institution100 Notre Dame, Bowling Green96 U.S. Air Force Academy94 Michigan85 U.S. Military Academy, Boston College, Connecticut83 Miami (Ohio)73 Western Michigan65 Michigan State
The four-year GSR data is based upon the entering classes from 2002 to 2005. In addition to men’s and women’s basketball and hockey, other Notre Dame programs recording 100 GSR scores in the 2012 listings were baseball, men’s cross country/track, women’s cross country/track, men’s fencing, women’s fencing, men’s golf, women’s golf, women’s lacrosse, women’s rowing, men’s soccer, women’s soccer, women’s softball, men’s swimming, women’s swimming, women’s tennis and women’s volleyball.
SHARING THE WEALTH: Freshman left wing Sam Herr (Hinsdale, Ill.) recorded his first point of the season in 12 games when he assisted on David Gerths’ first period goal in the 3-3 tie at Western Michigan (Feb. 22). Through the first 38 games of the season, the Irish have been good at spreading the scoring around. In those games, 19 different Notre Dame players have scored the team’s 112 goals with Anders Lee leading the way with 19 while Bryan Rust has 15 and Mario Lucia has 12. Twenty-one of the team’s 23 skaters have scored at least one point with Lee leading the way with 37 points while Rust is next with 32. Eleven different players have scored game-winning goals for the Irish with Rust notching four and T.J. Tynan (Jr., Orland Park, Ill.) next with three. The Irish have 12 players on the roster with 10 or more points this season.
SPECIAL TEAM WOES: From Jan. 18 through Feb. 15, Notre Dame surrendered at least one power-play goal in nine consecutive games. Since then, the Irish are 14-for-17 (82.3%) on the penalty kill. They gave up two goals to Bowling Green in the March 1 game on four chance and stopped the Falcons only chance in the March 2 contest. After spending the first half of the season with one of the top penalty killing units in the nation, the Irish have struggled during the season half. After the first 18 games of the season, Notre Dame had given up just seven power-play goals in 70 chances for a 90.0% success rate. Over the last 20 games, the Irish have surrendered 21 power-play goals in 84 chances for a 75.0% penalty-killing ratio in those games. For the season, Notre Dame is 126-of-154 for an 81.8% success rate on the penalty kill.
FLIP THE SWITCH: In Notre Dame’s final regular season series against Bowling Green, the Irish snapped an 0-for-17 drought on the power play by going 4-for-6 with the man advantage in the two-game series. Scoring two power-play goals in two consecutive games had not happened for Notre Dame since Dec. 1-7 when the Irish were 2-for-5 on the power play in back-to-back games versus Lake Superior and Michigan State. Versus the Falcons in the CCHA Quarterfinals, the Irish were 2-for-10 in the two games. In the 20 games played in the second half of the season, Notre Dame is 15-for-85 (17.6%). For the season, the Irish are 30-for-164 for a 18.3% success rate.
EIGHT STRAIGHT: Notre Dame saw its streak of eight straight, standing-room only sellouts (5,022) snapped on March 15 when a crowd of 4,712 saw the Irish win in overtime against Bowling Green. They had played in front of eight straight sellouts since Jan. 18. In 20 home games this season, Notre Dame played in front of 11 standing-room sellouts. In the two seasons that the Compton Family Ice Arena has been open, the Irish have had 39 home games with 22 of them being sellouts of 5,022. After averaging 4,793 in 19 home games last season, Notre Dame averaged 4,885 per game in 20 home contests this season.
OUT SHOT: For the first time this season, Notre Dame was out shot in back-to-back games when Bowling Green did it on March 1-2. In the March 1 game, the Falcons out shot the Irish, 35-25 with the +10 differential being the largest of the season against Notre Dame. In the March 2 game, Bowling Green edged the Irish by a 27-26 margin. For the season, the Irish have been out shot just 10 times with the Falcons doing it three times. They also did it on Jan. 15 by a 31-22 margin. In the 10 games that Notre Dame has been out shot this year, the Irish are 5-5-0.