Oct. 13, 2010
Notre Dame vs. Lake State – G1 – LIVE tonight on und.com
Notre Dame, Ind. –
Complete Release in PDF Format
– Date/Site/Time: Thur., Oct. 14, 2010 – 7:35 p.m. – Joyce Center (2,713) – Notre Dame, Ind.
Fri., Oct. 15, 2010 – 7:35 p.m. – Joyce Center (2,713) – Notre Dame, Ind.
– The Teams: rv/#19 Notre Dame (1-1-0/0-0-0) vs. Lake Superior State (0-1-1/0-0-0)
– 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.
– Internet Broadcast: Audio: Both Notre Dame games will have live audio streaming at the Notre Dame website – www.und.com. Video: Both games of the Lake Superior State series will be streamed live on und.com. Statistics: Gametracker will be available at und.com.
HOME OPENER: Notre Dame opens the home schedule this week with a visit from the Lake Superior State Lakers. The two-game series will be played on Thur.-Fri., Oct. 14-15 due to Notre Dame hosting football on Saturday. Both games will start at 7:35 p.m. at the Joyce Center. The two contests also are the CCHA openers for both teams. The Irish come into the series with a 1-1-0 mark after splitting a pair at the Warrior Ice Breaker Tournament, winning the opener, 6-3 over Holy Cross, before falling to Boston University, 5-4, in the title game. Lake Superior brings an 0-1-1 record to South Bend as the Lakers participated in the Superior Showcase to open the season. They tied Minnesota-Duluth on Oct. 8, 6-6 at home, and then dropped a 6-2 decision to Michigan Tech on Oct. 9. Following this week’s games, Notre Dame will continue their four-game home stand on Sat., Oct. 23, when the Irish play host to the top-ranked Boston College Eagles in a 7:35 p.m. game at the Joyce Center.
IRISH VERSUS LAKERS: Notre Dame and Lake Superior have met 55 times in the all-time series with the Irish holding a slim, 25-23-7 mark versus the Lakers. At home, Notre Dame is 14-8-4 against Lake Superior State. Since the second meeting of the 2005-06 season, the Irish are 9-0-3 against the Lakers. The last time Notre Dame lost to Lake Superior was Dec. 17, 2005, a 4-0 loss. That also was the last time the Irish lost to the Lakers at the Joyce Center. The two teams met last season twice in Sault Ste. Marie, Mich., where the Irish won the opener, 6-1 before battling to a 1-1 tie in game two. Lake Superior won in the shoot out, 1-0, to pick up the extra point in the series.
HOME OPENERS: Thursday’s game marks the 43rd home opener at the Joyce Center for the Notre Dame hockey team. All-time, the Irish are 23-18-1 in home openers. Last season, they dropped a 3-2 decision to Alabama-Huntsville. With the win over Holy Cross last Friday, Notre Dame is now 21-20-2 in season-opening games.
THE RANKINGS: Notre Dame comes into this weekend’s series with Lake Superior receiving votes in the USA Today/American Hockey Magazine poll. The Irish are ranked 19th in the USCHO.com poll after opening the season ranked 17th. The Lakers are not ranked in either poll.
MILESTONES: Notre Dame head coach Jeff Jackson enters the series with Lake Superior State needing just one win to reach the 300 mark for his career. Jackson enters the week with a 299-118-47 record in 11-plus seasons as a Division I coach between Lake Superior State and Notre Dame. His .696 winning percentage is tops among active coaches and his 299 wins rank 13th. In CCHA games, Jackson needs just three wins to reach 200 league victories as he is 197-80-44 in conference play.
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 (Jr., Burr Ridge, Ill.), Christiaan Minella `10 and Tim Wallace `06 – as freshmen who scored on their first shot on goal.
ICE BREAKER RECAP: Notre Dame finished second at the Warrior Ice Breaker Tournament played in St. Louis, Mo., on Oct. 8-10. In the opener, the Irish defeated Holy Cross, 6-3. Freshman Anders Lee scored three goals to lead the attack while sophomore Nick Larson (Apple Valley, Minn.) added a goal (ppg) and an assist. Defensman Joe Lavin (Shrewsbury, Mass.) scored a short-handed goal while freshman T.J. Tynan (Orland Park, Ill.) scored his first collegiate goal in the game. Lee’s linemates – Ben Ryan (Sr., Brighton, Mich.) and Ryan Guentzel (Sr., Woodbury, Minn.) each had three assists in the victory. Sophomore goaltender Mike Johnson (Verona, Wis.) stopped 32-of-35 shots to pick up his first win of the season. In the title game against 14th-ranked Boston University, BU defenseman Sean Escobedo scored with 1:07 left in the game to snap a 4-4 tie and give the Terriers the championship. Larson led the Notre Dame attack, scoring a pair of goals. Freshmen Bryan Rust (Novi, Mich.) and Shayne Taker (Surrey, B.C.) picked up their first career goals in the game. Rust’s goal came short-handed. Freshman goaltender Steven Summerhays (Anchorage, Alaska) made his first career start, making 19 saves while taking the loss.
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.
IRISH TOURNEY INFORMATION: The Warrior College Hockey Ice Breaker Tournament was the 33rd in-season tournament that the Irish have participated in during the 43-year history of the program. They are now 27-35-4 in those 33 tournaments. The Irish have finished first (eight times), second (seven times), third (seven times) and fourth (11 times) in those tournaments. The Ice Breaker Tournament was the first in-season tourney for the Irish since last year’s Shillelagh Tournament, held Jan. 1-2, 2010, at the Sears Centre in Hoffman Estates, Ill. Notre Dame won that tournament with a 5-2 win over Colgate and then a 3-3 tie in the title game with North Dakota. The Irish got the win after winning the shootout, 2-1, in five rounds.
,b> MAKING THEIR PRESENCE FELT: Notre Dame’s 12-man freshman class got off to a fast start at the Warrior Ice Breaker Tournament. All 12 players dressed for one or both games with only goaltender Joe Rogers (Marysville, Mich.) not seeing game action. The 12 accounted for 11 (6 goals, 5 assists) of Notre Dame’s 29 points (10 goals, 19 assists) on the weekend. Lee led the way with four points (3g, 1a), T.J. Tynan had three points (1g, 2a) while defenseman Shayne Taker had a goal and an assist. Bryan Rust added one goal and defenseman Kevin Lind (Homer Glen, Ill.) also had one assist.
PLAYING SHORT-HANDED: With a pair of short-handed goal in the first two games of the 2010-11 season, Notre Dame is halfway to its total of four recorded last year. Defenseman Joe Lavin scored short-handed in the 6-3 win over Holy Cross. Freshman right wing Bryan Rust tied the Boston University game at 1-1 with his first-period short-handed goal in that game. On the weekend, Notre Dame was 10-for-10 in penalty killing and was able to score twice in those situations.
STREAK STOPPED: With freshman Steven Summerhays making the start against Boston University in the championship game of the Warrior Ice Breaker Classic, sophomore puckstopper Mike Johnson saw his streak of starts stopped at 13. Johnson had started every game in the Notre Dame goal since Jan. 22, 2010.
THEâ⒬ˆSWEDISHâ⒬ˆSNIPER: Senior left wing Calle Ridderwall (Stockholm, Sweden) has been Notre Dame’s top goal scorer over the last two seasons, scoring 17 and 19 goals respectively for a total of 36. Of his 36 goals, 22 have come on the power play. In `09-’10, Ridderwall’s 19 goals tied him for fourth in the CCHA and his 11 power-play tallies led the conference. In `08-’09, the Stockholm, Sweden native’s 17 goals tied him for fifth in the league and his 11 power-play goals tied him for second. His 22 career power-play goals tie him for 10th on Notre Dame’s all-time power play list. Last season, Ridderwall had a pair of hat tricks, scoring three times versus Bowling Green (11/28) and Lake Superior State (1/22). He is Notre Dame’s leading scorer against Lake Superior with five goals and three assists for eight points in seven games.
POWER-PLAY STRUGGLES: While the Irish had a strong opening weekend killing penalties (10-for-10, including two five-minute majors), Notre Dame’s power play scored just one goal in 11 chances for a .091 success rate. Nick Larson had the lone power-play goal of the weekend as the Irish were 1-for-4 versus Holy Cross and 0-for-7 against Boston University.
PRESEASON EXHIBITION: Notre Dame opened the season with an exhibition game versus the University of Guelph on Oct. 3. The Irish won that game, 5-3. Four freshmen – David Gerths (Ankeny, Iowa), Mike Voran (Livonia, Mich.), Jeff Costello (Milwaukee, Wis.) and Anders Lee – joined senior Calle Ridderwall in finding the back of the net in the win. Fellow freshman center T.J. Tynan added three assists in the victory. Sophomore goaltender Mike Johnson picked up the win by making 29 saves on the night as Notre Dame out shot Guelph by a 37-32 margin. Costello picked up the game-winning goal as his wrist shot at 7:20 of the third period broke a 3-3 tie. Lee added an insurance goal on a breakaway at 18:46 for the final score of 5-3.
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.
IRISH GOALTENDERS: Sophomore goaltender Mike Johnson is the elder statesmen of the Notre Dame goaltending corps, having played in 29 games last season. Johnson made 28 starts and was 10-13-5 overall with a 2.60 goals-against average and a .910 save percentage. He recorded a pair of shutouts and was selected to the CCHA all-rookie team for 2009-10. This season, Johnson is 1-0-0 with a 3.00 goals-against average and a .914 save percentage. Behind Johnson 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
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.
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.
FAMILY GUYS: Three members of the Notre Dame hockey team – sophomore forwards Kevin Nugent (New Canaan, Conn.) and Riley Sheahan (St. Catharine’s, Ont.) and freshman goaltender Joe Rogers (Marysville, Mich.) – have family ties to the Irish hockey program. Nugent’s father, Kevin Nugent, Sr. `78 was a member of the Notre Dame hockey team from 1974-78. During his career he played in 131 games, scoring 54 goals with 75 assists for 129 career points. His son becomes the second Irish player to follow his father to Notre Dame. He joins Rory Walsh `06 who followed his father, Brian Walsh `77 who was a teammate of Nugent, Sr. Sheahan is a second cousin of former Irish defenseman Brock Sheahan `08 who played for the Irish from 2004-08. Rogers is a cousin of former Notre Dame defenseman Tony Bonadio `83 is a Port Huron, Mich., native. Bonadio played in 79 games between 1980-83, scoring one goal with nine assists for 10 points.
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 103 games and have a .671 winning percentage. The Irish are third in that time period in wins, trailing Michigan (114) and Miamiâ⒬ˆ(109). Notre Dame’s .675 winning percentage is also third behind Miami (.695) and Michigan (.688). Here are the top five teams by wins and winning percentage since 2006-07.
WINS WINNINGââ'¬Ë†.PCTMichigan 116 Miami (.699)Miami 110 Michigan (.691)Notre Dame 104 Notre Dame (.673)Boston College 102 Boston College (.666)North Dakota 102 RIT (.643) Denver (.643)
FULLâ⒬ˆHOUSE: Notre Dame hockey games were a tough ticket during the 2009-10 season as the Irish had 14 sellouts in 18 home dates and averaged 2,765 fans per game. Since Dec. 13, 2008, the Irish have recorded sellouts in 23 of their last 27 home games. A sellout at the Joyce Center is 2,713 with 2,857 capacity with standing room. Twice during the 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.
NHL DRAFTEES: The Irish have 10 players on the 2010-11 roster who have been selected in the National Hockey League’s Entry Draft. Leading the way is sophomore Riley Sheahan (St. Catharine’s, Ont.) who became Notre Dame’s third-ever, first-round pick last June when he was chosen 21st overall by the Detroit Red Wings. He joins former defenseman Ian Cole (2007 – St. Louis) who was selected 18th overall and former right wing Kyle Palmieri (2009 – Anaheim), the 26th pick overall. Sheahan was followed by freshman defenseman Stephen Johns (Wampum, Pa.), who went in the second round, 60th overall to the Chicago Black Hawks. One round later in the third round, with the 80th overall pick, freshman forward Bryan Rust (Novi, Mich.) was chosen by the Pittsburgh Penguins. Notre Dame’s final player selected in 2010 was defenseman Kevin Lind (Homer Glen, Ill.), who was picked in the sixth round, 177th overall by the Anaheim Ducks. Two other Irish freshman were selected in the 2009 draft. Left wing Jeff Costello (Milwaukee, Wis.) was chosen by the Ottawa Senators in the fifth round, 146th overall and six picks later, center Anders Lee (Edina, Minn.) was a New York Islanders’ choice in the sixth round, 152nd overall. The new group of draftees join sophomore left wing Nick Larson (Apple Valley, Minn.), a 2008 selection of the Calgary Flames in the fourth round, 108th overall; junior defenseman Sean Lorenz (Littleton, Colo.), a member of the 2008 draft class, by the Minnesota Wild in the fourth round, 115th overall and seniors Ben Ryan (Brighton, Mich.) and Joe Lavin (Shrewsbury, Mass.). Ryan was picked in the 2007 entry draft by Nashville in the fourth round with the 114th pick and Lavin was a Chicago Black Hawks choice in the fifth round, 126th overall