Calle Ridderwall's fifth goal of the season gave Notre Dame a 5-3 lead in their 6-3 win at Bowling Green.

Irish Return To CCHA Play With Home-And-Home Series Versus Western Michigan

Oct. 27, 2010

Notre Dame, Ind. –

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– Date/Site/Time:Fri., Oct. 29, 2010 – 7:35 p.m. – Joyce Center (2,713) – Notre Dame, Ind. Sat., Oct. 30, 2010 – 7:35 p.m. – Lawson Arena (3,667) – Kalamazoo, Mich.

– The Teams: #11/#13 Notre Dame (4-1-0/2-0-0) vs. Western Michigan (4-1-1/0-0-0)

– Broadcast Information: Radio: Notre Dame hockey can be heard live on Cat Country 99.9 FM in South Bend. Darin Pritchett, the voice of the Irish will call the action with the pregame show beginning 20 minutes before the opening face off.

– Internet Broadcast: Audio: Both games of the Notre Dame-Western Michigan series will have live audio streaming at the Notre Dame website – und.com. Video: Friday night’s game from the Joyce Center will have live video streaming at www.und.com. Saturday’s game will have live streaming on the Western Michigan website at wmubroncos.com. This is a subscription service via the Bronco Insider feed.Statistics: Gametracker will be available at und.com.

BACK TO CCHA PLAY: Notre Dame returns to CCHA action this weekend with a home-and-home series against the Western Michigan Broncos. On Friday, Oct. 29, the two teams will meet at the Joyce Center at Notre Dame. The Saturday, Oct. 30 contest will be played at Western Michigan’s Lawson Arena in Kalamazoo, Mich. Both games are set for 7:35 p.m. The Irish will bring a three-game winning streak into the series and are coming of a 2-1 win over top-ranked Boston College on Oct. 23 at home. Notre Dame is 4-1-0 overall and 2-0-0 in the CCHA with the two conference wins coming versus Lake Superior State on Oct. 14-15. Western Michigan is off to a strong start with a 4-1-1 record and has not lost in its last five games (4-0-1) since Oct. 9. The series against Notre Dame will be the first CCHA action for the Broncos this season and Saturday’s game will be the first home game since Oct. 9 as Western has gone 3-0-1 on the road in its last four games. The Broncos are the last team in the CCHA to play a conference game.

IRISH VERSUS BRONCOS: Western Michigan leads the all-time series with a 37-29-6 record in the first 72 meetings between the two schools. At Notre Dame, the Irish hold a 19-12-2 advantage while in Kalamazoo, the Broncos are 24-10-4 all-time against Notre Dame. Last season, the teams met twice at Lawson Arena with Western Michigan handing the Irish a pair of losses, 7-2 and 4-1. Notre Dame has won five of the last nine meetings (5-3-1) dating back to the 2006-07 season. The last time the Irish won at Lawson Arena was Nov. 17, 2007 (0-3 since). Western Michigan’s last win at the Joyce Center was March 13, 2004, in game two of the CCHA playoffs. The Broncos are 0-5-1 since that game at the Joyce Center versus Notre Dame.

THE RANKINGS: Notre Dame has moved up in both polls after knocking off top-ranked Boston College last Saturday night at home. The Irish are now 11th in the USA Today/American Hockey Magazine poll and 13th in the USCHO.com poll. Western Michigan received votes in the USCHO.com poll this week.

BOSTON COLLEGE RECAP: Senior left wing Calle Ridderwall (Stockholm, Sweden) scored two goals and sophomore goaltender Mike Johnson (Verona, Wis.) stopped 28-of-29 Boston College shots to lead Notre Dame to a 2-1 win over the top-ranked Eagles on Oct. 23 at the Joyce Center. The Eagles scored first in the game, getting a power-play goal from Brian Gibbons at 19:11 of the first period. Ridderwall got the game-tying goal at 6:44 of the second period after T.J. Tynan (Fr., Orland Park, Ill.) forced a turnover near the left wing circle and fed the puck to Ridderwall who one-timed it past goaltender John Muse to tie the game at 1-1. Ridderwall capped a Notre Dame 5-on-3 power-play chance at 17:11 when Ryan Guentzel’s (Sr., Woodbury, Minn.) pass from the left wing corner found Ridderwall all alone in the slot where he buried the shot behind Muse for the 2-1 edge in the game. Notre Dame out shot Boston College, 34-29, in the game. Muse finished with 32 saves. The Irish were 1-for-9 on the powr play while the Eagles were 1-for-7.

IRISH WINS VERSUS NO. 1: Notre Dame’s win over No. 1 ranked Boston College marked the 12th time in the program’s history that the Irish have defeated the nation’s top team. Prior to Oct. 23, 2010, the last time came on April 10, 2008 in the NCAA semifinals versus No. 1 Michigan. A year ago, the Irish played twice versus the No. 1 team in the nation – Miami University – and lost both games on Dec. 4-5. Notre Dame has defeated Boston College when the Eagles were ranked No. 1 four times since the 2003-04 season. Here’s a list of previous Irish wins versus top-ranked teams.

10/23/10 - vs. Boston College, 2-1 4/10/08 - vs. Michigan, 5-4 ot (at Frozen Four)10/9/07 - at Miami, 2-110/21/06 - vs. 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

RIGHT PLACE, RIGHT TIME: In each of Notre Dame’s last two wins over No. 1 ranked teams, Calle Ridderwall has played a part. On Oct. 23, Ridderwall scored two goals, including the game winner in a 2-1 win over No. 1 Boston College. On April 10, 2008, Ridderwall scored twice, including the overtime game winner in the 5-4 overtime win for the Irish against No. 1 Michigan. That victory came in the 2008 NCAA semifinals in Denver, Colo.

FAST START: Senior right wing Ryan Guentzel leads the Irish in scoring after five games with seven points. All seven points have come on assists. A year ago, Guentzel had just six points in 36 games, with all six coming on assists. The Irish alternate captain last scored on March 13, 2009 in a CCHA playoff game against Nebraska-Omaha. He has now gone 44 games without scoring a goal.

300 AND COUNTING: Notre Dame’s 4-2 win over Lake Superior State on October 14 was the 300th of Irish head coach Jeff Jackson’s career. He has now won 302 career games and, in his 12th season as a Divison I head coach, is 302-118-47 for a .697 winning percentage. Jackson spent six years at Lake Superior State (1990-96) where he recorded 182 victories. He took over at Notre Dame in 2005 and has won 120 with the Irish. His .697 winning percentage is tops among active coaches and his 302 wins rank 13th. In CCHA games, Jackson needs just one more win to reach 200 league victories as he is 199-80-44 in conference play.

THEâ⒬ˆSPECIALIST: Senior left wing Calle Ridderwall is tied for the team lead in goals with four through the first five games this season. He has led Notre Dame in goals in each of the last two seasons, getting 17 in 2008-09 and 19 last season in 2009-10. Over the last two-plus seasons, Ridderwall has scored 40 goals with 24 of them coming via the power play. Last season, his 11 power-play goals led the CCHA. Ridderwall had 11 power-play goals in `08-’09 to match last season’s total and has two this year. His 24 power-play goals tie him for ninth on Notre Dame’s all-time list with Brian Walsh `77. For his career, Ridderwall has 45 goals and 25 assists for 70 career points in 122 games.

THE PUCK STOPS HERE: Sophomore goaltender Mike Johnson has made three consecutive starts for the Irish and has played in four of the team’s first five games this season. He carries a 4-0-0 mark with a 2.00 goals-against average and a .933 save percentage into the series with Western Michigan. As a freshman, Johnson took CCHA all-rookie team honors, playing in 29 games in `09-’10, going 10-13-5 with a 2.60 goals-against average and a .910 save percentage. Joining Johnson in the Notre Dame goaltending corps are a pair of freshmen – Steven Summerhays (Anchorage, Alaska) and Joe Rogers (Marysville, Mich.). Summerhays joined the Irish after playing the last two seasons with the USHL’s Green Bay Gamblers. In `09-’10, Summerhays was a first team all-USHL selection and the USHL goaltender of the year after going 31-2-3 with a 2.17 goals-against average and a .914 save percentage. This season with the Irish, Summerhays is 0-1-0 with a 5.08 goals-against average and a .792 save percentage. Rogers joins the Notre Dame roster after playing last season in the North American Hockey League (NAHL) with the Albert Lea Thunder. Rogers was 13-19-2 with a 3.97 goals-against average and a .891 save percentage.

TOUGH ROAD AHEAD: Following Friday’s home game with Western Michigan, Notre Dame plays nine of its next 11 games on the road. The Irish face the Broncos on Sat., Oct. 30, travel to Bowling Green for two (Nov. 5-6), are at Michigan (Nov. 12-13), face Michigan State at home (Nov. 19-20) and then travel to North Dakota (Nov. 26-27) and Miami (Dec. 3-4).

HOME OPENERS: Notre Dame’s home opener on Thursday, Oct. 14, a 4-2 win over Lake Superior State, gives Notre Dame an all-time record of 24-18-1 in home openers at the Joyce Center. With the win on Oct. 8 against Holy Cross, Notre Dame is now 21-20-2 in season-opening games.

FAST START: Notre Dame freshman left wing Anders Lee (Edina, Minn.) knows how to get his career off to a fast start. The 6-3, 218-pounder scored a goal on his first shot in the 6-3 win over Holy Cross, just 1:58 into the first period. He went on to record two more goals for a hat trick in his first-ever collegiate game. Lee then added an assist in the 5-4 loss to Boston University in the championship game of the Warrior Ice Breaker Tournament. For his efforts, Anders Lee was named the CCHA rookie of the week for the week ending Oct. 10. He joins John Noble `73 as the only other freshman to score three goals in his first game as Noble did the trick on Nov. 15, 1969 in an 8-3 win over Windsor. He joins recent Irish players – Billy Maday, Christiaan Minella `10 and Tim Wallace `06 – as freshmen who scored on their first shot on goal. Lee added a goal and an assist in the Oct. 15 win over Lake Superior State and through the first five games of the season, is tied for the Notre Dame team lead in goals with four and is second in points with six.

BEST OFâ⒬ˆTHEâ⒬ˆBEST: Over the past four seasons, the Notre Dame hockey program ranks among the top five programs in the country. Since the start of the 2006-07 season, the Irish have won 107 games and have a .678 winning percentage. The Irish are third in that time period in wins, trailing Michigan (117) and Miamiâ⒬ˆ(113). Notre Dame’s .678 winning percentage is also third behind Miami (.697) and Michigan (.688). Here are the top five teams by wins and winning percentage since 2006-07.

WINS                       WINNINGââ'¬Ë†.PCTMichigan (117)             Miami (.697)Miami (113)                Michigan (.688)Notre Dame (107)           Notre Dame (.678)Boston College (104)       Boston College (.666)North Dakota (104)         North Dakota (.638)

CAPTAINS: Four members of the Irish senior class will serve as captains for the 2010-11 season. Defenseman Joe Lavin (Shrewsbury, Mass.) will wear the “C” for Jeff Jackson’s squad this year. His three assistant captains will be Calle Ridderwall (Stockholm, Sweden), Ben Ryan (Brighton, Mich.) and Ryan Guentzel (Woodbury, Minn.). For all four players, this is their first time as captains at Notreâ⒬ˆDame.

PLAYING SHORT-HANDED: Through the first five games of the 2010-11 season, Notre Dame has been very successful killing penalties. The Irish have killed 27-of-29 opponent power-play chances for a 93.1% success rate. While giving up just two power-play goals in five games, Notre Dame already has scored three short-handed markers on the season. In 2009-10, the Irish had just four short-handed goals in 38 games. To date, Joe Lavin (Holy Cross), Bryan Rust (Boston University) and Billy Maday (Lake Superior State) have scored short-handed for the Irish.

LOWE’S SENIOR CLASS AWARD: Senior left wing Calle Ridderwall is one of 20 Division I hockey players to be selected as a candidate for the 2010-11 Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award. The award is presented annually to an NCAA Division I student-athlete in 10 sports based on achievement’s in four areas of excellence – community, classroom, character and competition. CLASS is an acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School and the award focuses and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities. This is the fifth year that Lowe’s has sponsored an award for hockey. In 2006-07, former Irish goaltender David Brown `07 won the Senior CLASS Award while in 2007-08, Mark Van Guilder `08 and in 2008-09, Jordan Pearce `09 and Erik Condra `09 were among the top 10 finalists. Team captain Ryan Thang `10 was the team’s nominee last season.

CAREER BESTS: With three assists in the season opener versus Holy Cross, senior Ben Ryan equaled his career best for points in a game while setting his personal best with the three assists. Linemate Ryan Guentzel had career highs with three assists and three points in the win over Holy Cross. Their line, with freshman Anders Lee, accounted for three goals, six assists and nine points in the 6-3 win over Holy Cross. Through five games this season, Guentzel, leads the team in scoring with seven points, all assists and one more point than last season.

FULLâ⒬ˆHOUSE: With sell-out crowds in each of the first three games versus Lake Superior and Boston College, Notre Dame has now recorded 10 consecutive sell outs since Nov. 28, 2009. The Irish have had sell outs in 17 of the team’s last 21 home games and last year averaged 2,765 fans per game. Since Dec. 13, 2008, the Irish have recorded sellouts in 26 of their last 30 home games. A sellout at the Joyce Center is 2,713 with 2,857 capacity with standing room. Twice during the `09-’10 season – Jan. 15 vs. Michigan State and Jan. 29 against Nebraska-Omaha – 3,007 fans jammed into the Joyce Center. Prior to that number, the largest crowd to see an Irish hockey game was 3,310 on March of 1995 when Notre Dame play Illinois-Chicago. The following season, new seating was installed and capacity was reconfigured.

FRESH START: Sophomore defenseman Sam Calabrese (Park Ridge, Ill.) had a freshman season that he would love to forget. The product of the USA Under-18 Team, Calabrese played in just three games, registering no points. Last Dec. 4, on the first shift of his third game, he suffered a broken leg at Miami that sidelined him for most of the season. This year, in five games, he has two assists and leads the team with a +5 rating.

EXTRA HOCKEY: During the `09-’10 season, the Irish were involved in nine overtime contests, finishing 1-0-8 in those games. The eight ties equaled a Notre Dame record set during the 1999-2000 season. All eight ties in `09-’10 went to a shootout where the Irish were 3-5 in those games. The lone overtime win came on Nov. 27, 2009 versus Bowling Green (2-1) and was the first for the Irish since Feb. 20, 2009 at Nebraska-Omaha, a 4-3 win. Notre Dame is now 3-0-11 in overtime since its last overtime loss, a 2-1 decision to Miami on March 21, 2008, in the CCHA semifinal game.

TURNING ON THE POWER: After scoring just once on their first 11 power-play chances at the Ice Breaker Tournament in St. Louis, Oct. 8-10, the Notre Dame’s power play was gone 3-for-15 (20.0%), scoring once in each of three consecutive home games. For the year, the Irish are now 4-for-26 for a 15.4% success rate.

CAN’T TELL THE PLAYERS WITHOUT A SCORECARD: The Notre Dame hockey team that takes the ice this weekend will be much different than last season’s 13-17-8 team as 13 players from that team are gone and 12 freshmen will take their place. Seven players – seniors Brett Blatchford, Kevin Deeth, Dan Kissel, Kyle Lawson, Christiaan Minella, Tom O’Brien and Ryan Thang – have graduated. Three players – defensemen Ian Cole and Teddy Ruth along with forward Kyle Palmieri – signed with the NHL teams that drafted them. Cole (St. Louis) and Ruth (Columbus) left after their junior seasons while Palmieri (Anaheim) left after his freshman year. Three are no longer with the team. Junior goaltender Brad Phillips is currently with the Rio Grande Killer Bees of the Central Hockey League. Sophomore left wing Kyle Murphy returned to junior hockey for more playing time and is with the Vernon Vipers of the British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL). The third player, defenseman Eric Ringel has retired from hockey after a concussion and the concussion symptoms that occurred last season. He was not cleared to play by doctors and will serve as an undergraduate student assistant coach. The 12 freshmen include two goaltenders, four defensemen and six forwards.