Jan. 4, 2005
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- The Series: Notre Dame Fighting Irish (5-10-4/3-8-3) vs. Lake Superior State Lakers (6-11-1/5-6-1)
- Date/Site/Times: Sat.-Sun., Jan. 7-8, 2005 – 7:35 p.m./7:05 p.m. – Taffy Abel Arena (4,000)
- 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” and Tom Nevala will bring you all the action both nights. Irish hockey can also be heard live via the internet at www.und.com.
BACK TO CCHA ACTION: Notre Dame returns to CCHA action this weekend when the Irish travel to Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan for a weekend series (Jan. 7-8) versus the Lake Superior State Lakers. Game time on Friday night is 7:35 p.m. and the puck drops at 7:05 p.m. on Saturday. Notre Dame comes into the weekend having started January with a split versus Rensselaer on Jan. 1-2. The Irish dropped the Jan. 1 game by a 3-1 score to the Engineers and then took a 2-1 win on Sunday at the Joyce Center. The Irish start the week with a 5-10-4 overall record and are tied for ninth in the CCHA with Western Michigan with a 3-8-3 league mark, good for nine points. Lake Superior State has not played since Dec. 18-19 when the Lakers dropped 2-1 and 4-1 decisions at St. Lawrence. Lake Superior comes into the weekend at 6-11-1overall and is tied for sixth in the CCHA with Alaska Fairbanks as both teams have 5-6-1 league records for 11 points in the standings. Following the weekend series with the Lakers, the Irish return home for a pair of games with the Ohio State Buckeyes on Jan. 14-15 at the Joyce Center.
THE SERIES: Notre Dame and Lake Superior State have met 40 times in the all-time series with the Lakers holding a 21-16-3 edge. At Lake Superior, the Lakers are 12-6-0 versus the Irish. In the last 10 meetings between the two schools, the Irish are 8-1-1 dating back to the 2001-02 season. A year ago, the teams met four times with Notre Dame winning twice, losing once with the fourth game ending in a tie. At the Joyce Center in November, the Irish won, 5-3 and tied 2-2. The 2-2 snapped a seven-game Notre Dame winning streak versus the Lakers. In the final series of the regular season at Lake Superior, the Lakers won the opener on March 5, 3-0, to end an eight-game Irish unbeaten streak (7-0-1). Notre Dame closed the regular season with a 2-1 win at Taffy Abel Arena.
BUSY MONTH: January is the busiest month of the season for Notre Dame as the Irish will play 11 times during the month, including runs of four games in nine days and five games in nine days. The Irish started the month with a split versus R.P.I. on Jan. 1-2. The remainder of the January schedule looks like this: at Lake Superior (Jan. 7 and 8), home with Ohio State (Jan. 14 and 15), vs. Michigan Tech (at Green Bay, Wis., Jan. 18), home with Wisconsin (Jan. 21 and at Chicago on Jan. 22), at Bowling Green (Jan. 28) and home with the Falcons (Jan. 29).
IRISH SCORING WOES: The Irish have been held to one goal or less in nine of their first 19 games during the 2004-05 season. On the year, Notre Dame has scored just 33 goals in the first 19 games (1.74 per game). The Irish have had their problems in the third period as they have been out scored in the final period this season by a 26-8 margin. Overall, Notre Dame has been outscored 62-33 for the year. On the year, the Irish have scored three goals in a game three times (they won all three) and four goals just once (a 4-4 tie.) On the bright side, the Irish have proven to be strong in the close games as they are 5-1 in one-goal contests on the year.
RENSSELAER RECAPS:
Sunday, Jan. 2 – Junior center Tim Wallace (Anchorage, Alaska) snapped a 1-1 tie at 9:09 of the third period with his third goal of the season to give Notre Dame a 2-1 win over Rensselaer. Wallace lifted the rebound of a Josh Sciba (So., Westland, Mich.) shot over goaltender Jordan Alford for the winning goal. After a scoreless first period, the Irish scored 1:49 into the second period as T.J. Jindra (So., Faribault, Minn.) picked up his third goal of the season. R.P.I. tied the game on a power-play goal by Jake Luthi to send the game into the third period tied 1-1. Notre Dame out shot the Engineers, 34-17, in the game. Alford finished with 32 saves while Morgan Cey (Sr., Wilkie, Sask.) made 16 stops for the win. R.P.I. was 1-for-5 on the power play, while Notre Dame was 0-for-4.
Saturday, January, 1 – Rensselaer’s Vic Periera snapped a 1-1 tie 1:49 into the third period and junior right wing Kirk McDonald scored into an open net to give the R.P.I. Engineers a 3-1 win over Notre Dame in the series opener. Goaltender Jordan Alford held the Irish to just a second-period goal by Josh Sciba as he stopped 30 of 31 shots on the night. Notre Dame’s Morgan Cey made 33 saves while surrendering two goals in the loss. Rensselaer broke a scoreless first period at 18:10 on a goal by Jonathan Ornelas. The Irish evened the score just 2:58 into the second period when Sciba cashed in with his fifth of the season. The score would stay that way until the third period Periera beat Cey in close for a 2-1 Engineer lead. With Cey pulled for a sixth attacker, McDonald scored into the empty net with one second left for the 3-1 final score. The Engineers were 0-for-7 on the power play while the Irish were 0-for-9.
BACK IN ACTION: The 20-day break for finals and the Christmas holidays proved beneficial to the Notre Dame injury list. Sophomore right wing Matt Williams-Kovacs (Calgary, Alb.) returned to the lineup after missing 14 games with a broken ankle suffered on Oct. 16 at Miami. Defenseman Dan VeNard (Fr., Vernon Hills, Ill.) returned after missing six games with a shoulder separation suffered on Nov. 13 at Western Michigan and fellow defenseman Brock Sheahan (Fr., Lethbridge, Alb.) got back into action after missing two games due to a concussion suffered on Dec. 4 versus Michigan.
STREAKING SCIBA: Sophomore left wing Josh Sciba has equalled Notre Dame’s longest scoring streak of the season (four games). His assist in Sunday’s win over R.P.I. gives Sciba two goals and two assists for four points in his last four games. He also now has five goals on the season and is tied with Wes O’Neill (So., Essex, Ont.) for the team lead in goals. Through 19 games, Sciba is fourth on the team in scoring with five goals and three assists for eight points.
IRISH STREAKS: Joining Sciba in the streaks department are linemates Michael Bartlett (So., Morton Grove, Ill.) and Tim Wallace. Bartlett has a three-game points and assist streak (0-3-3) and Wallace has a two-game point streak (1-1-2).
CENTURY MARK: Notre Dame head coach Dave Poulin needs one more win in CCHA play to reach the 100-win mark in league play. Now in his 10th season, Poulin is 99-133-39 in CCHA play. In all games, the Irish head coach is 138-179-48. His 139 career wins rank second on the all-time list at Notre Dame behind “Lefty” Smith who has 307 wins behind the Irish bench.
HOME AWAY FROM HOME: The Irish play their first of two home games away from the Joyce Center during the month of January. The Irish will play at Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Ill., on Saturday, Jan. 22 versus Wisconsin. Face off is set for 7:05 p.m. (CST). Tickets are available at the Allstate Arena Box Office and Ticketmaster Outlets. The Irish will also play a home game in February versus Michigan (Feb. 18) at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum in Fort Wayne, Ind.
VERSUS R.P.I. AND THE ECAC: Notre Dame’s win over the Engineers on Jan. 2 was the first ever for the Irish versus R.P.I. The Irish are now 1-3-0 all-time versus Rensselaer. The win also snapped a six-game Notre Dame winless streak versus the ECAC (0-5-1). Prior to Jan. 2, the last time the Irish defeated a team from the ECAC was Dec. 29, 2001 at Princeton. All-time, the Irish are 15-31-1 versus teams currently in the ECAC.
VERSUS RANKED TEAMS: Through the first 19 games of the 2004-05 season, Notre Dame has played nine contests versus teams ranked teams. In those nine games, the Irish are 1-6-2. The lone win came against Boston College (Oct. 22) when the Eagles were ranked first in the nation. The ties have come versus Minnesota-Duluth and Northern Michigan.
NEW YEAR’S DAY MATCH UPS: Notre Dame’s Jan. 1 loss to R.P.I. (3-1), dropped the Irish to 0-2-0 on games played on New Year’s Day. The previous Jan. 1 action came on Jan. 1, 2000, when Notre Dame played Colorado College in the third-place game of the Norwest Cup in Denver. The Irish dropped a 5-2 decision to the Tigers. The Irish have played 10 times on Jan. 2 with the last time coming on Jan. 2, 1999 at North Dakota. Notre Dame is 3-7-0 on Jan. 2 in the 10 games.
THE PUCK STOPS HERE: Notre Dame senior goaltender Morgan Cey picked up his first win since Nov. 13 at Western Michigan in the Jan. 2 victory over Rensselaer. In two games versus the Engineers, Cey had a 1.51 goals-against average and stopped 49-of-52 shots (.942). Versus Lake Superior, Cey owns a 6-0-0 all-time record with a 1.09 goals against an a .945 save percentage. Earlier this season, Cey was named the CCHA’s goaltender and USCHO.com’s defensive player of the week for the week ending Oct. 24th. Cey recorded a career-high 50 saves in downing the top-ranked Boston College Eagles, 3-2, at the Joyce Center on Oct. 22. Twenty-eight of his saves came on 11 BC power-play chances. For the year, Cey is 3-5-3 with a 2.55 goals-against average and a .926 save percentage. Of the 28 goals he’s given up this year, 14 have been on the power play.
SEN-CEY-TIONAL: Morgan Cey’s 50-save performance versus Boston College was the first 50-save game for a Notre Dame goaltender since Lance Madson (’86-’90) turned in 57 saves in a 6-3 loss to Air Force on Nov. 12, 1988. Cey, now has 37 wins him his career to rank fifth on Notre Dame’s all-time wins list.
WES FOR THE DEFENSE: Sophomore defenseman Wes O’Neill has become Notre Dame’s offensive and defensive leader this season. Through 19 games, O’Neill is tied for the team lead in goals (5) and assists (8), while leading the Irish in power-play goals (4) and points (13). He is also second in shots on goal this season (43). O’Neill has career highs in goals (5) and points (13) this season.
WHAT CAN BROWN DO FOR YOU?: Notre Dame goaltender David Brown (So., Stoney Creek, Ont.) started each of the games in the Michigan State series, surrendering five goals while making 61 saves in 120:32 of action for a 2.49 goals-against average versus the Spartans and a .924 save percentage. On the season, Brown is 2-5-1 with a 3.74 goals against and a .888 save percentage.
FIT TO BE TIED: The Dec. 10 overtime win with Michigan State (3-2) marked the first time the Irish have won a regular-season overtime game since Jan. 25, 2002, a span of 16 overtime contests (0-2-14). Since the 1999-2000 season, Notre Dame has been involved in 46 overtime games. In those games, the Irish are 7-5-34. During the 2003-04 season, Notre Dame had a total of eight overtime contests, going 1-3-4 in those games. The lone overtime win came in game three of the first round of the CCHA playoffs versus Western Michigan.
ALL TIED UP: The most ties the Irish have ever had in a season is eight and that came during the 1999-2000 campaign. The most overtime games the Irish have participated in is 11 and that came during the 1993-94 season. Notre Dame was 2-4-5 in those games.
SHOT MARGINS: The Irish have out shot teams just five times in their first 19 games this season, including the Jan. 2 game versus Rensselaer (34-17 margin). After the first 19 games, the Irish are now 2-0-3 when they have the edge in shots. Notre For the year, the Irish are 3-10-1 when an opponent has more shots in a game.
IRON MAN: Junior right wing Tim Wallace (Anchorage, Alaska) has now played in all 98 games of his Notre Dame career. The Irish record for consecutive games played belongs to former defenseman Evan Nielsen (’03) who played in 114 consecutive games between his sophomore and senior seasons. Nielsen missed just two games in his career, playing in 156 of 158 games. Wallace played in all 40 games as a freshman and all 39 Irish games in 2003-04. The center has a three goals and six assists for nine points in the first 19 games of 2004-05.
AMADO TIME: Matt Amado’s (Jr., Surrey, B.C.) game-winning goal on Dec. 10 versus Michigan State snapped a 13-game goal-scoring drought for the junior center. The goal was also his first point since Oct. 22 versus Boston College. For the year, he now has two goals and two assists for four points.
THE LAST TIME: In the Dec. 4 game with Michigan, Notre Dame surrendered five power-play goals in nine chances to the Wolverines. The last time that the Irish gave up five power-play tallies in a game came on Jan. 11, 1994 in a 10-6 loss to Ferris State (5-for-8). The last time the Irish gave up 14 or more goals in a weekend series came on Dec. 5-6, 2003 when they gave up 14 goals in 8-6 and 6-4 losses at Western Michigan.
DEJA VU ALL OVER AGAIN: The last time the Irish gave up five power-play goals came in a game versus Ferris State in January of 1994. One of the players to score a power-play goal for the Bulldogs that night was Keith Sergott. When Michigan turned the trick on Dec. 4, Sergott was on the ice at the Joyce Center, wearing stripes as he served as an assistant referee for the game.
TOUGH BARNS: Since returning to the CCHA in 1992-93, Michigan’s Yost Arena and Michigan State’s Munn Arena have been regular “Houses of Horror” for the Irish. At Yost Arena, the Irish are 1-15-1 in the last 17 regular-season meetings and 2-19-1 overall. At Munn Arena, Notre Dame is 2-16-1 on the home ice of the Spartans.
THIRD PERIOD BREAKDOWNS: Through the first 19 games of the season, Notre Dame has been out scored by a 62-33 margin. Much of the disparity has come in the third period when the Irish have been out scored 26-8 (-18).
BLUE-LINE SCORING: Sophomore defenseman Wes O’Neill leads the Irish in scoring after 19 games with five goals and eight assists. He is followed on the blue line by sophomore Noah Babin who has a two goals and two assists for four points. Freshman Brock Sheahan (Lethbridge, Alb.) and junior Chris Trick (Troy, Mich.) have three assists each. Freshman Dan VeNard has one assist on the year. Through 19 games, the Irish defense has accounted for seven of Notre Dame’s 33 goals (21.2%) and 24 of Notre Dame’s 91 points (26.4%).
RANK-IN-FILE: Freshman right wing Evan Rankin (Portage, Mich.) continues to show a nose for the net in his rookie season. The Portage, Mich., native returned to the lineup after missing two games (U.S. Under-18 Team and UAF) with a hip injury to score his fourth goal of the season (first on the power play) in the 3-2 loss to the Nanooks on Nov. 27. He set up Matt Amado’s game winner versus Michigan State and led the team with six shots on goal in the game. He leads Irish freshmen in scoring with four goals and three assists for seven points in 17 games this season.
PLAYING SHORT-HANDED: Since giving up five power-play goals to Michigan on Dec. 4, Notre Dame’s penalty killing unit has killed 20 of 22 opponent chances for a 90.9% success rate. On the year, the Irish have given up 24 power-play goals in 135 chances for an 81.5% succes rate. Last season, Notre Dame’s penalty-killing unit was tops in the CCHA and was fourth in the nation in 2003-04, killing penalties at an 87.4% success rate.
POWER-PLAY STRUGGLES: Notre Dame’s power-play was 0-for-13 in the weekend series with Rensselaer and has scored just twice in 30 chances (6.7%). On the year, the Irish have scored 14 power-play goals in 128 chances for a 10.6% success rate.
THREE-GOAL LEADS: Notre Dame led Bowling Green by a 3-0 score before giving up four goals to trail, 4-3, before Wes O’Neill’s heroics with three seconds left. The last time the Irish surrendered a three-goal lead was on Nov. 6, 1998. The Irish led Boston College, 5-2 after two periods before settling for a 5-5 tie.
PLANES, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES: The Irish experienced their own version of Planes, Trains and Automobiles on their journey to Fairbanks, Alaska. The Irish hockey team left the Notre Dame campus at 1:30 p.m. (EST) on Wednesday, Nov. 24 and took five hours for the 112-mile trip to Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport (due to holiday traffic and weather). From there, the 7:20 p.m. (CST) flight to Anchorage, Alaska didn’t leave Chicago until midnight. The six-hour-and-thirty minute flight arrived at 3:30 a.m. (Alaska Standard Time – 7:30 a.m. EST). The Irish flight to Fairbanks left at 1:00 a.m. (AST), so the team had to stay in an Anchorage hotel for five hours before leaving for the airport at 9:45 a.m. (1:45 p.m. EST). The team arrived in Fairbanks at 12:30 p.m. (4:30 p.m. EST) making the normal 16-hour trip a 27-hour ordeal. The Irish went right from the airport to the Carlson Center to practice for an hour-and-a-half before enjoying Thanksgiving dinner at 3:30 p.m. (7:30 p.m. EST).
BEATING THE BEST: For the second year in a row, Notre Dame faced the Boston College Eagles when the Eagles were the top-ranked team in the nation. For the second year in a row, the Irish sent the Eagles home with a loss as they prevailed on Oct. 22 by a 3-2 score. The last time the Irish had defeated a top-ranked team at the Joyce Center was Jan. 13, 1978 when they upset Denver, 5-3. A year ago, in Boston, the Irish downed the top-ranked Eagles, 1-0. In the 37-year history of the program, Notre Dame owns eight wins over top-ranked teams.
The list:
10/22/04 – vs. Boston College, 3-2
10/23/03 – at Boston College, 1-0
1/3/99 – at North Dakota, 4-3
11/20/78 – at Minnesota, 3-2
1/13/78 – vs. Denver, 5-3
1/18/74 – vs. Michigan Tech, 7-1
2/24/73 – vs. Wisconsin, 4-3
2/23/73 – vs. Wisconsin, 8-5
GILL THE THRILL: Junior center Tony Gill (Rochester, Minn.) scored the first goal of his Notre Dame career in the 3-2 win over Alaska Fairbanks. The brother of former Irish captain, Aaron Gill, Tony played in 33 career games before getting his first goal.
CAREER BESTS: Junior left wing Mike Walsh (Northville, Mich.) had the first three-point game and the first three-assist game of his career in the 4-4 tie with Bowling Green. Defenseman Wes O’Neill recorded the first two-goal game of his career versus the Falcons. Freshman right wing Evan Rankin recorded the first multiple-point game of his career as he scored a goal and added an assist versus Bowling Green. Cory McLean equalled his career-high with three points versus the Falcons as he scored once and added two assists in the contest.
TOPS IN DIRECTORS CUP STANDINGS: Notre Dame stands first in the third set of fall sports standings released in the 2004-05 United States Sports Academy Division I Directors’ Cup all-sports competition sponsored by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (formerly known as Sears Directors’ Cup). This marks the first time in the 12-year history of the all-sports program that Notre Dame has ranked number one. The previous highest ranking for the Irish was second in the 2004-05 second set of fall standings. Fall NCAA competition earned the Irish 337 points based on their NCAA title in women’s soccer (100 points), their fourth-place finish in women’s cross country (80), 11th-place finish in men’s cross country (57) and second-round NCAA appearances in men’s soccer and volleyball (50 each). The current school rankings.
1. Notre Dame 337
2. Stanford 332
3. Duke 327
4. UCLA 297
5. Maryland 280
6. Michigan 279
7.Colorado 275
8. Ohio State 240
9. Wake Forest 225
10.Wisconsin 213
In previous years, Notre Dame has finished 11th in ’93-’94, 30th in ’94-’95, 11th in ’95-’96, 14th in ’96-’97, 31st in ’97-’98, 25th in ’98-99, 21st in ’99-’00, 11th in ’00-’01, 13th in ’01-02 and ’02-’03 and 19th in ’03-’04.
TOUGH PLACE TO WIN: Notre Dame’s win at Western Michigan on Nov. 13th was just the fourth for the Irish at Lawson Arena since returning to the CCHA in 1992-93. Notre Dame is now 4-16-3 at Lawson since that season. Overall, the Irish are 7-19-4 in the all-time series versus the Broncos in Kalamazoo, Mich.
CAPTAINS: Senior Cory McLean (Fargo, N.D.) will serve as Notre Dame’s team captain this season. The team’s two alternate captains will be junior Mike Walsh (Northville, Mich.) and sophomore Jason Paige (Saginaw, Mich.). Paige is just the second sophomore in Dave Poulin’s 10 seasons at Notre Dame to be selected as an alternate captain. The first was Steve Noble (’98) who was selected an alternate for the 1995-96 season. He went on to serve as captain in 1996-97 and 1997-98.
FORMER IRISH GREAT GREG MEREDITH TO RECEIVE NCAA HONOR: Former Notre Dame hockey All-American, Greg Meredith (1976-80) is one of six NCAA Silver Anniversary Award recipients the NCAA has announced. The Silver Anniversary Award recognizes former student-athletes who have distinguished themselves since completing their college careers 25 years ago. Meredith is Notre Dame’s all-time leading goal scorer with 104 goals in 149 career games. He is also tops in power-play goals (43) and seventh in all-time points with 192 for his career. He is just one of two players ever to score 40 goals in a season (1979-80) at Notre Dame. A four-year letterwinner with the Irish, Meredith was a finalist for a Rhodes Scholarship and was an NCAA postgraduate scholarship recipient. He is currently the managing director for Putnam Lovell NBF Securities Inc., and has held positions with Salomon Brothers, Inc., Nationsbanc Capital Markets, Inc., and Fenway Partners, Inc. From 2001 to 2003, he served as president and chief executive officer at HSBC Capital and was also president and CEO of Printvision, a software company from 2002-03. In addition, Meredith is the founder and president of Proctor Capital, a private investment and strategic advisory firm. He played four years in the NHL for the Calgary Flames and was an assistant coach at Harvard. Meredith currently coaches the St. David’s hockey program for boys and girls between 9 and 11 years of age. He formed the Meredith Family Foundation in 1997, which contributes to programs such as the LOGAN Center, which provides services to individuals with intellectual disabilities, the St. Joseph’s County Special Olympics, and Camp Millhouse, a summer camp for children with significant intellectual disabilities. In addition, the organization funds educational initiatives including the Paul E. Meredith scholarships at Notre Dame. Meredith is the 10th former Irish athlete to receive the award that was started in 1973.
CENTRAL SCOUTING RANKINGS: The National Hockey League’s Central Scouting has announced its preliminary rankings for the June, 2005 Entry Draft. Irish freshman right wing Evan Rankin was one of 10 CCHA players ranked and one of 35 collegiate players recognized. He was ranked 13th overall. Three incoming players were also ranked. Christian Hanson received an A-rating (possible 1st through 4th round draft choice) while goaltender Jordan Pearce was the only USHL goaltender to receive an A-rating. Defenseman Kyle Lawson of the U.S. Under-18 Team was given a B-rating (late round draft choice).
BLASTING THE BISCUIT: The Irish fired 54 shots at Bowling Green goaltender Jordan Sigalet on Nov. 5, including 29 in the second period. The last time the Irish had more than 54 shots on goal came on Oct. 17, 2003 when they fired 59 at – you guessed it – Jordan Sigalet of Bowling Green. He made 56 saves that night in a 5-3 Falcon win.
BISCUIT BARRAGE: The 52 shots that Boston College fired at Morgan Cey on Oct. 22 was the most shots on goal the Irish have faced since Jan. 23, 2001 when Michigan fired 51 on the Notre Dame goal in a 9-0 Wolverine win.
THERE’S NO PLACE LIKE HOME: Notre Dame’s loss to Minnesota-Duluth on Oct. 8 snapped a 15-game (12-0-3) regular-season home unbeaten at the Joyce Center. The last time the Irish had lost a regular-season home game at the Joyce Center was on Oct. 17, 2003 versus Bowling Green. Notre Dame was 14-2-2 (.833) at the Joyce Center last season. This year, the Irish are 3-4-3 at home and 17-6-5 (.714) in their last 28 home games. The 2003-04 home record of 14-2-2 was the best for the Irish since 1987-88 when that year’s Irish squad was 18-2-0 on home ice.
GOLD-MEDAL IRISH: Two former Notre Dame hockey players helped the United States win the gold medal in the recent Deutschland Cup tournament held in Hannover, Germany. Forward Yan Stastny, currently playing for the Nurnberg Ice Tigers in Germany, collected a goal and an assist in the four games. Defenseman Mark Eaton, currently a member of the Nashville Predators, scored a power-play goal in the gold medal game vrsus Slovakia. The U.S. defeated Germany, 5-1, lost to Canada, 5-3, defeated Switzerland, 4-2 and then shutout Slovakia, 4-0, to finish 3-1 in the tournament. The U.S. ended tied with Canada with 3-1 records, but received the gold medal due to greater goal differential over the four games.
FRESHMAN FIRSTS: Freshman left wing Mark Van Guilder (Roseville, Minn.) collected his first collegiate goal on Nov. 4 at Bowling Green. He became the second Irish freshman to get his first goal, following Evan Rankin who scored the first goal of his Notre Dame career with a second-period goal versus Boston College (Oct.22). Defenseman Brock Sheahan collected his first career point in Notre Dame’s season opener versus Minnesota-Duluth and fellow defenseman Dan VeNard got his first career point on Nov. 12 at Western Michigan.
FIRST TIMER: Noah Babin (So., Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.) scored his first career goal for the Irish in the 1-1 tie with Northern Michigan. The sophomore defenseman has played in 41 career games for Notre Dame. He got his second career goal in the 2-2 with Western Michigan on Nov. 12. He is the first Notre Dame hockey player from the state of Florida.
FAMILY MATTERS: Two Irish junior hockey players – Rory Walsh and Mike Walsh – have fathers who played sports at Notre Dame while attending the University during the 1970’s. Rory Walsh’s father, Brian (’77), was an all-American hockey player for the Irish. A center iceman, the elder Walsh is Notre Dame’s all-time leading scorer after recording 234 career points on 89 goals and 145 assists. Mike Walsh’s father, Max (’74), was an offensive lineman on the Notre Dame football team and a member of the 1973 national championship team. Rory Walsh is one of Notre Dame’s goaltenders and Walsh plays left wing for the Irish.
NHL DRAFTEES: In June of 2004, the Irish had three players selected in the NHL Entry Draft. Freshman right wing Victor Oreskovich (Oakville, Ont.) was a second-round selection, 55th overall by the Colorado Avalanche. Sophomore defenseman Wes O’Neill was chosen in the fourth round, 115th overall by the New York Islanders. Sophomore goaltender David Brown was selected in the eighth round, 228th overall by the Pittsburgh Penguins. Those three join junior Mike Walsh as Notre Dame players selected by in the draft. Walsh was picked in the fifth round of the 2002 draft by the New York Rangers.
FOUR OF FIVE: Notre Dame has advanced to Joe Louis Arena and the CCHA finals in four of the last five seasons (2000, 2002, 2003, 2004). Only two other CCHA teams – Michigan and Michigan State – have been there all four years since the 1999-2000 campaign. The Irish also are one of five teams, joining Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State and Northern Michigan, to make it to the CCHA Super Six in each of the last three seasons.
FROZEN TUNDRA: Notre Dame has had a steady flow of players in recent years that played their junior hockey with the Green Bay Gamblers of the United State’s Hockey League. Six members of the current Notre Dame team have played in the Land of Lombardi. Senior defenseman Joe Zurenko (Palatine, Ill.) played there during the ’00-’01 season and sophomore blueliners Noah Babin (Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.) and Wes O’Neill were teammates there in ’02-’03. Second-year assistant coach Layne LeBel also spent two seasons (’01-’03) with the Gamblers. Joining the Irish this season is right wing Victor Oreskovich and defenseman Dan VeNard (Vernon Hills, Ill). In 58 games with the Gamblers, Oreskovich had 11 goals and 26 assists for 37 points and played in the league’s Top Prospects all-star game. VeNard spent three seasons in Green Bay. His 2003-04 campaign was cut short by injuries as he had two goals and two assists for four points in 22 games. During the 2004-05 season, the Irish will play a game in Green Bay as they will face Michigan Tech on Tuesday, Jan. 18 at the Resch Center.
STORM WARNINGS: Three members of the Notre Dame freshman class saw action with the USHL’s Tri-City Storm during the ’03-’04 season. Defensemen Brian D’Arcy (Western Springs, Ill.) and Luke Lucyk (Fox Point, Wis.) were members of the Storm’s highly ranked defense. Forward Mark Van Guilder (Roseville, Minn.) was a key contributor to the USHL’s regular-season champions. Van Guilder was fifth on the team in scoring with 17 goals and 22 assists for 39 points in 60 games. In 11 playoff games, Van Guilder added three goals and two assists for five points. D’Arcy saw his season cut short due to injuries, playing in 32 games with no goals and two assists to go with 36 penalty minutes. Lucyk was a regular on the defense with a goal and nine assists for 10 points in 60 games.
NCAA ACTION: The Notre Dame Fighting Irish hockey team had a season to remember in 2003-04. The Irish advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in the program’s 36-year history with a 20-15-4 overall record. In their first trip to the tournament, the Irish dropped a 5-2 decision to two-time NCAA defending champion Minnesota in the Grand Rapids Regional.
THE IRISH AND THE U.S. DEVELOPMENTAL PROGRAM: Notre Dame’s current roster includes four 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 13 NTDP alums grace their roster. The current contingent includes junior Tim Wallace and sophomores Noah Babin, Michael Bartlett (Morton Grove, Ill.) and Josh Sciba (Westland, Mich.). 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) and Derek Smith (2000-01).