Dec. 15, 2005
Notre Dame, Ind. –
Complete Release in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader
• The Series: Notre Dame (5-10-1/3-6-1) vs. Lake Superior State (9-5-4/5-5-2)
• Date/Site/Times: Sat.-Sun., Dec. 17-18, 2005 – 7:05 p.m./2:05 p.m. – Joyce Center (2,713)
• Broadcast Information: Radio: Notre Dame hockey can be heard live on ESPN Radio 1580, South Bend’s SportsCenter. Mike Lockert, “the voice of Irish hockey” will bring you all the play-by-play action.
• Internet Broadcast: At the Notre Dame website – www.und.com.
• Television: Saturday night’s game will be televised live by Comcast Local with Ben Holden and Lyle Phair calling the action beginning at 7:05 p.m. (EST).
CLOSING OUT THE FIRST HALF: Notre Dame and Lake Superior State close out the first half of the 2005-06 season this weekend when the two teams face off at the Joyce Center in a Saturday-Sunday series, Dec. 17-18. Saturday night’s game is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. and will be televised by Comcast Local. The game can be seen in the South Bend area on Comcast cable channel 3. Other areas should check their local listings. Sunday’s game is a matinee contest with a 2:05 p.m. starting time. Notre Dame is coming off a non-conference split with the Minnesota State Mavericks. The Irish took a 3-2 decision on Tues., Dec. 6 at Mankato, Minn., while the Mavericks won on Saturday (Dec. 10) in South Bend by a 2-1 margin. Notre Dame is currently 5-10-1 overall and 3-6-1 in the CCHA. After starting the season with a 1-5-0 record, the Irish are 4-5-1 in their last 10 games. Lake Superior State also returns to CCHA play after a weekend series at Bemidji State where the Lakers took a 2-1 decision on Dec. 9 and then battled to a 2-2 tie on Dec. 10. Lake Superior is in the midst of a six-game unbeaten streak (5-0-1) and is 9-5-4 on the year and currently tied for fourth in the CCHA with a 5-5-2 record, good for 12 points in league play. Both schools are coming off finals week and will break for the Christmas holidays following the series. Notre Dame is off until Jan. 6-7 when the Irish travel to Nebraska-Omaha.
IRISH VERSUS LAKERS: Notre Dame and Lake Superior have met 42 times in the all-time series with the Lakers holding a 22-16-4 lead. At the Joyce Center, Notre Dame is 10-7-3 against Lake Superior. Last season, the two teams met twice in Sault Ste. Marie, Mich., with the two teams playing to a 1-1 tie and the Lakers taking a 2-1 overtime win. In the last 12 meetings between the two teams, the Irish own an 8-2-2 record. Lake Superior’s last win at the Joyce Center came on Nov. 28, 1997. Since then, the Irish are 7-0-3 in their last 10 home games versus the Lakers.
Erik Condra NAMED CCHA ROOKIE OF THE WEEK: Notre Dame freshman right wing Erik Condra (Livonia, Mich.) has been named the CCHA rookie of the week for the week ending Dec. 11. The speedy right wing collected two goals and two assists in two games versus Minnesota State. On Dec. 6, Condra had two goals and an assist versus the Mavericks, scoring the game-winning goal with nine seconds left in the 3-2 win. On Dec. 10, he helped set up Notre Dame’s only goal in the 2-1 loss.
FIRST MEETING: Notre Dame head coach Jeff Jackson faces his former team, Lake Superior State, for the first time this weekend since he left the Lakers bench following the 1995-96 season. During his six seasons at Lake Superior, Jackson’s teams were 182-52-25, went to the NCAA Frozen Four three consecutive years – winning in 1992 and 1994 – took two CCHA regular-season titles and four CCHA tournament championships. In those six seasons, the Lakers were 36-7 (.837) in the postseason, including 24-2 (.923) in the CCHA Tournament. Jackson got his coaching start at Lake Superior as an assistant to Frank Anzalone from 1986-90, helping the Lakers to the 1988 NCAA title. He also served as Director of Athletics at Lake Superior from 1993-96 while serving as hockey head coach. He left Lake Superior following the 1995-96 season to become the head coach and senior director of the U.S. National Team Developmental Program.
MINNESOTA STATE RECAP: The Irish saw their two-game win streak come to an end on Saturday night at the Joyce Center when the Irish dropped a 2-1 decision to Minnesota State. Travis Morin gave the Mavericks a 1-0 first period lead and Kyle Peto added a short-handed goal early in the third period to give Minnesota State the 2-0 lead. Josh Sciba (Jr., Westland, Mich.) snapped the shutout bid with his 10th goal of the year at 18:08 of the third period as the Irish pulled their goaltender. The Mavericks out shot Notre Dame by a 33-22 margin on the night. David Brown (Jr., Stoney Creek, Ont.) made 31 saves in the game for the Irish. Both teams were 0-for-7 on the power play. On Tuesday night, in Mankato, Minn., the Irish snapped their 17-game road winless skid (0-15-2) with a 3-2 win over the Mavericks. Freshman right wing Erik Condra scored on a deflection with just 00:09 left on the clock to give the Irish their first one-goal win of the year. The goal was originally credited to senior defenseman Chris Trick (Troy, Mich.) who fired the shot from the left point. The goal was the second of the night for Condra and gave him three points (2g, 1a) in the game. Irish special teams played a key role in the victory as Notre Dame’s first two goals – by Condra and Josh Sciba – came on the power play. Rob Rankin and Mick Berge scored for the Mavericks with Berge’s game-tying goal coming at 5:57 of the third period, making it a 2-2 game. On the night, the Irish killed six of seven Minnesota State power-play chances while scoring on two-of-seven chances of their own. Brown continued his strong play by stopping 27 of 29 shots to record his second consecutive win on. Notre Dame was out shot, 29-22, in the game. Defenseman Wes O’Neill (Jr., Essex, Ont.) assisted on all three Irish goals on the night.
ROAD WIN: The Dec. 10 win at Minnesota State snapped a 17-game road winless skid (0-15-2) for the Irish. It had been over a year since the last Notre Dame road win. That came on Nov. 26, 2004, a 3-2 win at Alaska Fairbanks. This season, the Irish are now 1-5-1 on the road and 4-5-0 at home.
DOWNTOWN David Brown: After a slow start, junior goaltender David Brown is rounding into the form that he showed during his standout freshman season in 2003-04. Brown played both games versus Minnesota State stopping 58 of 62 shots he faced (.935) while taking a win and a loss. His 3-2 win at Minnesota State (Dec. 6) gave him back-to-back wins for the first time since Feb. 27-28, 2004, when he beat Michigan in back-to-back games. Brown had a scoreless streak of 91:20 snapped in the second period of the MSU game when Rob Rankin scored for the Mavericks. Tuesday’s game followed a 25-save shutout performance by Brown against Western Michigan on Dec. 3. The Irish puckstopper has now appeared in nine straight games for Notre Dame, making eight starts. In that span, Brown is 3-4-1, giving up 19 goals on 250 shots for a 2.36 goals-against average and a .924 save percentage. For the season, the 2004 draft pick of the Pittsburgh Penguins is 3-7-1 with a 3.09 goals-against average and a .898 save percentage.
GETTING BETTER EVERY DAY: Notre Dame’s penalty-killing unit that has struggled all season long has now put together three strong games. In the two game series with Minnesota State, the Irish killed 13-of-14 Maverick power-play chances (92.9%). Over the last three games, the Irish have given up just one power-play goal in 20 chances for a 95.0% success rate. On the year, Notre Dame has killed 90 of 114 chances for a 78.9% penalty-killing ratio. The Irish have held teams without a power-play goal in just three of 16 games this season.
NEW KID ON THE BLOCK: Freshman right wing Erik Condra turned in his third three-point game of the season in Notre Dame’s 3-2 win over Minnesota State. Condra scored the first Irish goal of the game (ppg) and then got the game winner on the deflection of a Chris Trick shot with nine seconds left. In between, he assisted on Josh Sciba’s second-period power-play goal. Condra leads the Irish in scoring with three goals and 11 assists for 14 points on the year. His other three-point games came at Denver (10/22) and versus Bowling Green (11/11). He had three assists in both of those games. His two-goal game against Minnesota State was the first multiple-goal game of his career.
THE QUICKEST AND THE LATEST: Tim Wallace’s goal at 00:09 of the first period versus Western Michigan on Dec. 2 was the quickest goal at the start of a game in Notre Dame history. It broke the mark of 12 seconds set by Sterling Black on Jan. 6, 1990 versus Arizona. Erik Condra’s goal with nine seconds left on the clock versus Minnesota State (Dec. 6) was the latest regulation-time, game-winning goal ever for the Irish, edging T.J. Jindra’s (Jr., Faribault, Minn.) short-handed game winner against Boston College last season by six seconds (19:45).
POWER-PLAY PRODUCER: Defenseman Wes O’Neill is on a tear over his last three games with a goal and five assists for six points. The big defenseman recorded the first three-point game of his career at Minnesota State (Dec. 6) with three assists on the night. On the year, O’Neill has four multiple-point games and for his career, now has nine games with two or more points. On the season, the 2004 New York Islander draft choice has two goals and 11 assists for 13 points. Of his 13 points, 11 have come on the power play (2g, 9a). In his two-plus seasons with the Irish, O’Neill now has 10 goals and 35 assists for 45 points with 27 of those coming via the power play (8g, 19a).
DOUBLE-DIGIT SCORER: Junior forward Josh Sciba picked up his 10th goal of the season, giving him a career-high in that department. He currently has a four-game point streak (3-1-4) and a two-game goal streak (2-0-2). Both tie his career highs in each category. With 10 goals and four assists on the year, he has equaled his career-high for points (14) set during his freshman year (2003-04, 7g, 7a). Of Sciba’s 23 career goals, 10 have come via the power play.
POWER SURGE: Notre Dame has scored two power-play goals in three of its last five games, going 6-for-33 (18.2%) in that span. After going 4-for-45 (8.9%) on the power play through the first six games of the season, the Irish have now scored 14 times on 68 chances (20.6%) with the man advantage in the last 10 contests. Overall, the Irish are 18-for-113 (15.9%) through the first 16 games of the season.
FIVE AND COUNTING: David Brown’s 3-0 shutout versus Western Michigan (Dec. 3) was the fifth of his career and first this season. The junior puck stopper had four in his freshman year of 2003-04. The shutout moves him into sole possession of second place in the Irish record book for shutouts with five. Only Morgan Cey `05, with six, has more shutouts than Brown in Notre Dame history.
TWO AT A TIME: Senior left wing Mike Walsh (Sr., Northville, Mich.) recorded his second multiple-point game of the season on Dec. 3 in the 3-0 win over Western Michigan. In 15 games this season, Walsh has three goals and three assists for six points. His other two-point game (1g, 1a) came in Notre Dame’s 9-4 win over Bowling Green on Nov. 10.
CAREER YEAR: Mark Van Guilder’s (So., Roseville, Minn.) three-point game (three assists) versus Western Michigan (Dec. 3) was the first of his Irish career and the third multiple-point game of his career. With two goals and eight assists for 10 points, Van Guilder already has career highs in assists (8) and points (10) in the first 14 games this season.
WALLY’S WORLD: Tim Wallace (Sr., Anchorage, Alaska) is off to the best start of his Notre Dame career with six goals and six assists for 12 points in 16 games this season. His six goals equal his career best set as a freshman in 2002-03. His personal-best five-game point streak (3-4-7) was snapped in the 3-0 shutout at Miami on Nov. 19. He got on the scoresheet on Nov. 25 with an assist on Matt Amado’s goal versus Ohio State. He now has points in seven of his last 11 games (4-5-9). The senior right wing has three two-point games on the year. His two-goal game versus Princeton on Oct. 28 was the second of his career. His other came on March 14, 2004 in the first round of the CCHA playoffs when he had a pair of goals in game three versus Western Michigan in Notre Dame’s 5-4 overtime win. Wallace continues to add to his “Iron Man” streak as he has now played in 133 consecutive games for the Irish. His best season point-wise came last year when he had five goals and nine assists for 14 points.
ON A TEAR: Senior left wing Matt Amado (Surrey, B.C.) has scored a career-high seven goals in the first 16 games of the season for the Irish. In each of his first three seasons, the speedy winger had just five goals. His two-goal game versus Bowling Green on Nov. 11 was the first multiple-goal game of his Notre Dame career.
LOOKING FOR GOALS: After scoring 13 goals in the weekend series versus Bowling Green (Nov. 10-11), the Irish have been held to just 15 goals in the last eight games (1.88). For the season, the Irish have 44 goals in 16 games (2.75).
BAD NEWS BUCKEYES: The two losses to Ohio State (Nov. 25-26) gives the Irish a 1-12-3 record versus the Buckeyes in the last 16 meetings since the 2000-01 season. Notre Dame has now dropped six straight to Ohio State. The two teams will meet in Columbus on Jan. 27-28, 2006.
MOVING ON: Notre Dame coach Jeff Jackson announced on Sunday (Nov. 27) that sophomore Victor Oreskovich (Oakville, Ont.) has left the program to play major junior hockey in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL). He is currently playing for the Kitchener Rangers.
THE LAST TIME: The last time the Irish were shutout in a game previous to the 3-0 loss at Miami was March 12, 2005. That was a 1-0 overtime loss to Michigan in game two of the first round of the CCHA playoffs. Notre Dame was shutout five times during the 2004-05 season.
ALL TIED UP: The Nov. 19 tie with Miami gives Notre Dame 50 overtime games that the Irish have been involved in since the start of the 1999-2000 season. In those games, they are 7-6-37. During the 2004-05 season, Notre Dame played in nine overtime contests, going 1-2-6 in those games. The lone overtime win came on Dec. 10 versus Michigan State and was the first regular-season overtime win since Jan. 25, 2002, snapping a 16-game winless (0-2-14) skid in regular-season overtime games.
IRON MEN: Junior right wing Tim Wallace (Anchorage, Alaska) has played in all 133 games during his three-plus seasons at Notre Dame. He became Notre Dame’s all-time “Iron Man,” passing former defenseman Evan Nielsen (`03) who held the record with 114 games between 2000-03. Other Irish consecutive game streaks of 35 games or more include:
Chris Trick – 55 games
Mark Van Guilder – 54 games
Mike Walsh – 49 games
Van Guilder has not missed a game in his career. Wes O’Neill (Jr., Essex, Ont.) saw his streak of 82 consecutive games snapped at Michigan on Nov. 5. Noah Babin’s (Jr., Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.) streak of 51 straight games was snapped on Nov. 4 versus Michigan. T.J. Jindra saw his streak of 79 consecutive game streak snapped due to a shoulder sprain. Michael Bartlett (Jr., Morton Grove, Ill.) had his 78-game streak snapped on Oct. 22 when he did not play against Denver.