Sophomore defenseman Sam Calabrese led Irish defensemen in scoring with six goals and 10 assists for 16 points.  He was an honorable mention all-CCHA selection.

Irish Set To Open Second Round Of CCHA Playoffs Versus Lake Superior State

March 10, 2011

Notre Dame, Ind. –

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– Date/Site/Time: Fri., March 11, 2011 – 7:35 p.m. – Joyce Center (2,713) – Notre Dame, Ind. Sat., March 12, 2011 – 7:05 p.m. – Joyce Center (2,713) – Notre Dame, Ind. Sun., March 13, 2011 – 7:05 p.m. – Joyce Center(2,713) – Notre Dame, Ind. (if nec.)

– The Teams: #8/#8 Notre Dame (21-10-5) vs. Lake Superior State (12-15-9)

– 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/Video: The Notre Dame – Lake Superior series will have live video streaming at und.com. The video is available free of charge. Livestats: Gametracker is available on the Notre Dame website at und.com.

THE SECOND SEASON IS UNDERWAY: Notre Dame will meet Lake Superior State in the second round of the CCHA playoffs in a best-of-three series beginning on Friday, March 11 with a 7:35 p.m. game at the Joyce Center. Game two is set for Saturday, March 12 at 7:05 p.m. and if necessary, a third game will be played at 7:05 p.m. on Sunday, March 13. The winner of this series moves on to the CCHA Championships held at Joe Louis Arena on Fri.-Sat., March 18-19. Notre Dame finished second in the CCHA regular-season standings with an 18-7-3-2 mark, good for 59 points, behind first-place Michigan (61). The Irish come into this series with the Lakers with a 21-10-5 overall record. Lake Superior was 8-12-8-5 in the regular season and finished eighth in the conference with 37 points. The Lakers come into this weekend after sweeping Ohio State in a first-round series last weekend, winning 4-0 and 3-2, to improve to 12-15-9 on the season.

CCHA FIRST ROUND SERIES: Here are the four, second-round playoff series in the CCHA this weekend.

#11 Bowling Green at #1 Michigan#8 Lake Superior at #2 Notre Dame#7 Alaska at #3 Miami#5 Ferris State at #4 Western Michigan
Bowling Green advanced by knocking off Northern Michigan, two games to one.Lake Superior swept Ohio State in the opening round.Alaska took a pair from Michigan State to win that series.

IRISH VERSUS LAKERS: Notre Dame and Lake Superior State have met 57 times in the all-time series with the Irish holding a 27-23-7 lead. At the Joyce Center, the Irish are 14-8-4 versus the Lakers all-time. The two teams opened the CCHA regular season back in October with Notre Dame taking a pair of 4-2 decisions on Oct. 14-15 at the Joyce Center. The Irish are 4-0-1 in the last five meetings between the two teams at Notre Dame. The last time the Lakers won at the Joyce Center was Dec. 17, 2005, a 4-0 win. The two teams have met just once in CCHA postseason action. That was in the 2006-07 semifinals at Joe Louis Arena where the Irish won 3-0 on the way to their first CCHA championship.

THE RANKINGS: Notre Dame enters the second round of the CCHA playoffs with Lake Superior ranked eighth in both the USA Today/American Hockey Magazine poll and the USCHO.com poll.

IRISH CCHA PLAYOFF HISTORY: The Irish have played 53 games in CCHA playoff history and are 23-30 in those games. Notre Dame was swept in the opening round last season at Ohio State. Under coach Jeff Jackson, the Irish are 10-7 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
1992-93 at 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 L, 1-2 (ot)vs. Northern Michigan L, 1-2
2008-09Nebraska-Omaha W, 5-0Nebraska-Omaha W, 1-0vs. Northern Michigan W, 2-1vs. Michigan W, 5-2
2009-10at Ohio State L, 1-3at Ohio State L, 2-8

THE COACH AND THE PLAYOFFS: Irish head coach Jeff Jackson has had his share of success in the CCHA playoffs. In his 11 previous CCHA seasons (six at Lake Superior State and five at Notre Dame), Jackson is 34-9 (.791) in conference postseason play. At Lake Superior, his teams were 24-2 while at Notre Dame, he is 10-7. His teams have advanced to the finals in eight of 11 seasons (six at LSSU and two at Notre Dame). In those 11 seasons, his teams won six CCHA titles (four at LSSU and two at Notre Dame).

POSTSEASON HONORS: The CCHA began handing out its postseason awards this week. Freshmen T.J. Tynan (Orland Park, Ill.) and Anders Lee (Edina, Minn.) were unanimous selections to the CCHA all-rookie team. Defenseman Stephen Johns (Wampum, Pa.) was honorable mention. Senior left wing Calle Ridderwall (Stockholm, Sweden) was Notre Dame’s choice for the CCHA all-academic team. He is now one of 11 candidates for the CCHA’s Scholar-Athlete of the Year. Tynan and Lee also were chosen second team all-CCHA. Defenseman Sam Calabrese (So., Park Ridge, Ill.) was an honorable mention all-CCHA selection and senior right wing Ryan Guentzel (Woodbury, Minn.) was the only other Notre Dame player to receive votes. CCHA ROOKIE OF THE MONTH: Freshman left wing Anders Lee was selected as the CCHA rookie of the month for February. During the month, Lee helped the Irish to a 5-1-0 record while leading all CCHA freshmen in scoring with three goals and four assists for seven point in six games. Lee has been named the CCHA rookie of the month three times this season. Among his three goals were two game winners and one power-play goal.

40 AND OVER: Freshman center T.J. Tynan added to his impressive rookie year with an assist in the 3-2 win over Ferris State on Feb. 18. That gives him 19 goals and 27 assists for 46 points. He is the first Irish freshman to record over 40 points in his rookie year since the 2006-07 season when Ryan Thang `10 finished that year with 41 points on 20 goals and 21 assists in 42 games. Tynan is just one of 11 freshmen in the program’s 43-year history to have 40 or more points in his first season. Fellow freshman Anders Lee, is the 12th Notre Dame freshman to score 40 or more points in a season as he closed the regular season with 21 goals and 19 assists for 40 points. He is just the eighth Irish rookie to get 20 or more goals in a season.

Notre Dame Freshman Scoring Leaders

Dave Poulin (`78-’79) 28-31-59 John Noble (`69-’70) 24-35-59 Paul Regan (`69-’70) 27-20-47 Kevin Hoene (`68-’69) 24-22-46T.J. Tynan (`10-’11) 19-27-46 Greg Meredith (`76-’77) 23-22-45 David Bankoske (`88-’89) 11-34-45 Mike McNeill (`84-’85) 16-26-42 Ryan Thang (`06-’07) 20-21-41 Ian Williams (`70-’71) 15-26-41Anders Lee (`10-’11) 21-19-40 Jamie Ling (`92-’93) 14-26-40

THE LAST TIME: T.J. Tynan’s 46 points this season are the most by a Notre Dame player since Erik Condra `09 had 48 (14g, 34a) during the 2006-07 season. Anders Lee’s 21 goals are the most since Rob Globke `04 had 21 during the 2002-03 season. The last time a Notre Dame player had more that 21 goals in a season was 1997-98 when Aniket Dhadphale `99 had 25. Lee’s six game-winning goals are the most for an Irish player since Ryan Thang `10 had six in the 2006-07 season.

STREAK ENDER: Notre Dame’s 2-0 loss to Western Michigan (2/26) in the regular-season finale was the first shutout against the Irish in a year and a day. The previous shutout came on Feb. 25, 2010 when Michigan blanked Notre Dame, 4-0, in Ann Arbor. The loss also snapped a five-game Irish winning streak that started on Feb. 11 and an eight-game (6-0-2) unbeaten streak that began on Jan. 22. Both of those streaks were the longest of the season for Notre Dame. The eight-game unbeaten streak was the longest for the Irish since they ran off 10 straight wins from Feb. 13 through March 21, 2009.

20-WIN SEASON: Notre Dame finished the 2010-11 regular season with a 21-10-5 record, and eight-game improvement from 2009-10 when they were 13-17-8. The 20-win season was the 11th in the 43-year history of the program. Notre Dame has now won at least 20 games in four of the last five years.

THE KIDS ARE ALRIGHT: Notre Dame’s freshman class has played a key role in the 21-10-5 record for the Irish. Through 36 games, the freshman class has accounted for 70 of the team’s 128 goals (54.7%), 107 of the 227 assists (47.1%) and 177 of team’s 355 points this season (49.9%). Freshman goaltender Steven Summerhays has five of the team’s 21 wins in goal.

THE PUCK STOPS HERE: During Notre Dame’s final eight games of the season, the Irish alternated goaltenders, going 6-1-2 in that span. Sophomore netminder Mike Johnson (Verona, Wis.,) appeared in six of the nine games, making five starts and was 4-0-1 with a 1.92 goals-against average and a .927 save percentage. On the season, Johnson is 16-7-4 on the year with a 2.47 goals against average and a .908 save percentage. His 16 wins are a career high for the sophomore puck stopper. Behind Johnson is freshman Steven Summerhays (Anchorage, Alaska) who has played in four of the nine games and is 2-1-1 with a 2.05 goals-against average and a .907 save percentage. His four-game streak started on Jan. 29 in a 2-2 tie with Miami. In that game, he made just 13 saves, but in the shootout, stopped three of the nation’s top scorers – Andy Miele, Carter Camper and Reilly Smith – to earn the Irish the extra point in the standings. For the year, Summerhays has played in 10 games, making nine starts. His is 5-3-1 with a 3.14 goals-against average and a .859 save percentage.

ROAD WARRIORS: Notre Dame’s sweep at Ferris State was the second road sweep for the Irish this season (Jan. 7-8 at Northern Michigan) and the 3-2 win at Western Michigan (2/25) improved them to 9-5-2 on the road. A year ago, Notre Dame was 3-10-4 away from the Joyce Center. The Irish are 6-1-0 in their last five road games, dating back to Jan. 7th versus Northern Michigan. At home this season, Notre Dame is 11-3-2.

CLOSE ONES: The 3-2 win at Western Michigan on Feb. 25 was Notre Dame’s 11th game decided by one goal this season and the Irish are now 7-4 in those games. Notre Dame has been involved in 18 games this season that have been decided by two or fewer goals and is 12-6 in those games (5-2 in games decided by two goals).

COMEBACK KID: Sophomore defenseman Sam Calabrese had a goal and an assist in Friday’s 3-2 win over Ferris State to take over the point-scoring lead among Irish defensemen with six goals and 10 assists for 16 points. As a freshman in 2009-10, Calabrese saw action in just three games all season, suffering a broken leg on Dec. 4, 2009 at Miami. Of Calabrese’s six goals this season, two have come short-handed. He is second on the team with a +23 and capped his great comeback year by being named honorable mention all-CCHA for the `10-’11 campaign.

MR. CLUTCH: Freshman left wing Anders Lee has had a banner freshman year for the Irish in 2010-11. He leads the team with 21 goals and is tied for the team lead with six power-play goals. His six game winners are tops on the team and tie him for first in the CCHA and fourth on the national level.

IN GOOD COMPANY: For the past six weeks, the Notre Dame hockey team has been in good company with the Notre Dame men’s and women’s basketball teams. All three programs are ranked in the top 10 in the nation in their respective polls, making Notre Dame the only school in the country with a top 10 program in all three sports. The Irish hockey team is ranked eighth in both the USA Today/American Hockey Magazine and USCHO.com polls. With a 25-5 overall record, the Irish men’s basketball team entered the week ranked fourth in the Associated Press poll and the ESPN/USA Today rankings. The Notre Dame women’s team is 26-7 and ranked 10th in the Associated Press poll and seventh in the ESPN/USA Today rankings. The week of Jan. 31, 2010 marked the first time since Dec. 9, 2002 that both basketball programs were ranked in the top 10 at the same time.

PUT THE BISCUIT IN THE BASKET: Notre Dame is fourth in the nation in goals scored with 128 through the first 36 games of the season. The Irish trail North Dakota (148), Union College (135) and Boston College (131). Per game, Notre Dame is ninth overall with a 3.56 average. Yale is tops in the nation with 4.28 per game. The 3.56 goals-per-game is the most for the Irish since 1990-91 when they averaged 4.06 per game.

FABULOUS FRESHMEN: Freshmen T.J. Tynan and Anders Lee come into the series against Western Michigan ranked first and second in the nation and the CCHA in rookie scoring. Tynan has 19 goals and 27 assists for 46 points while Lee has 21 goals and 19 assists for 40 points. The 21 goals are tops among freshmen goal scorers in the conference. Fellow freshman Mike Voran (4g, 14a, 18 pts) is seventh and is followed by Bryan Rust (5g, 10a) who is 10th with 15 points. Jeff Costello (9g, 4a, 14 pts) is tied for 14th and center David Gerths (8g, 3a, 11pts) is tied for 21st with 11 points. Defensemen Stephen Johns (1g, 9a) and Kevin Lind are tied for 23rd with 10 points.

HOBEY BAKER NOMINEE: Freshman center T.J. Tynan is one of 68 Division I college hockey players that have been nominated for the 2011 Hobey Baker Award. The first phase of the voting is now underway at hobeybakeraward.com. The fan voting phase will run through March 6. On March 17, the list of 10 finalists will be announced followed by the Hobey Hat Trick (3 finalists) on March 31. The winner of the award will be announced at the Frozen Four on April 8. Award criteria include candidates emulating the exceptional character traits exhibited by the award’s namesake, Hobey Baker, a World War I flying star better known as America’s greatest amateur athlete in his day. Award candidates must demonstrate strength of character both on and off the ice, contribute to the integrity of his team and display outstanding skills in all phases of the game. Consideration should be given to scholastic achievement and sportsmanship.

SHORT-HAND SUCCESS: Freshman left wing Anders Lee scored Notre Dame’s 12th short-handed goal of the season in the Jan. 14, 2-1 win over Alaska. The 12 short-handed goals are tied for tops in the nation with Boston College. With his goal, Lee became the ninth Notre Dame player to get a short-handed goal this season. Defensemen Joe Lavin (Sr., Shrewsbury, Mass.) and Sam Calabrese join T.J. Tynan with two each while Lee, Bryan Rust (Fr., Novi, Mich.), Riley Sheahan, Ryan Guentzel (Sr., Woodbury, Minn.), Billy Maday and Sean Lorenz (Jr., Littleton, Colo.) all have one each. The 12 short-handed goals are the most for the Irish since setting a school record with 19 during the 1981-82 season.

CAREER YEAR: Senior right wing Ryan Guentzel (Woodbury, Minn.) had the best game of his career with three goals and an assist in the win over Canisius (Dec. 29). He is currently third on the team in scoring with six goals and 27 assists for 33 points, all career highs. Earlier this season, Guentzel had a career-best, and a season high for the Irish, seven-game point streak (1g, 9a). His previous best season was 2008-09 when he had four goals and seven assists for 11 points. He is currently tied for ninth in the CCHA in scoring with 33 points and his 27 assists are tied for fourth in the conference with teammate T.J. Tynan.

CLASS OF THE CLASS: Notre Dame senior left wing Calle Ridderwall was named one of 10 finalists for the Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award that honors student athletes who excel both on and off the ice and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence – community, classroom, character and competition. An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School, the Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student athlete and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities. Ridderwall is fifth on the team in scoring with 11 goals and eight assists for 19 points. Former Notre Dame goaltender David Brown `07 won the award in 2007.

LATE ADDITIONS: Center T.J. Tynan’s outstanding rookie season (19g, 27a) has been a key to the 21-10-5 record for the Irish. The 5-8, 156-pound center has moved in to become one of the team’s quarterbacks on the power play. The Orland Park, Ill., native wasn’t even supposed to be on this year’s team. Even though he signed a national letter-of-intent in Nov. of 2009, Tynan was going to defer and play another year with the Des Moines Buccaneers in the USHL where he was the Bucs’ leading scorer in `09-’10 and a member of the USHL’s all-rookie team. When Kyle Palmieri decided to sign with the Anaheim Ducks in early August, the call went out to Tynan and he joined the Irish roster. Freshman defenseman Kevin Lind (Homer Glen, Ill.) also signed a letter-of-intent in Nov. of `09 and was going to be playing this season with Tri-Cities in the USHL. He was asked to join the team in mid-August after Jarred Tinordi opted to play in the OHL. The 6-3, 221-pound Lind has played in 26 games and has seven points (one goal, nine assists for 10 points) with a +9 for the year.

ALL-JOYCE CENTER VOTING: In conjunction with the final full season of hockey at the Joyce Center, an 18-man All-Joyce Center team was selected to honor the top players to play at Notre Dame in the 43-year history of the home of the Irish. The team was selected with the help of former coaches, administrators and players along with a fan vote that included over 7,000 ballots. The teams were announced during the final week of the regular season and at the final home game on Feb. 26 versus Western Michigan. The All-Joyce Center Teams:

First Team:Forward - Brian Walsh (1973-77)Forward - Dave Poulin (1978-82)Forward - Erik Condra (2005-09)Defense - Jack Brownschidle (1973-77)Defense - Bill Nyrop (1970-74)Goaltender - David Brown (2003-07)
Second TeamForward - Greg Meredith (1976-80)Forward - Eddie Bumbacco (1970-74)Forward - Mike McNeill (1984-88)Defense - Ian Cole (2007-10)Defense - Benoit Cotnoir (1995-99)Goaltender - Jordan Pearce (2005-09)
Third TeamForward - Kirt Bjork (1979-83)Forward - Jamie Ling (1992-96)Forward - Dan Carlson (1997-01)Defense - Jeff Brownschidle (1977-81)Defense - Brett Lebda (2000-04)Goaltender - Lance Madson (1986-90)

HOMETOWN HERO: Freshman defenseman Jared Beers (Mishawaka, Ind.) scored his first career goal in the 5-1 win over Bowling Green on Feb. 12. The Michiana native has worked his way into the Notre Dame lineup and doesn’t seem to want to come out. In 19 games this season, Beers has a goal and six assists for seven points and is +4 for the year. He picked up his first career points on Nov. 6 versus Bowling Green with a two-point night. Beers joins Mike McNeill `84-’88 (South Bend), Tommy Smith `88-89 (South Bend) and Carey Nemeth’93-’94 (Granger) as local players to play for the Irish. Beers played two seasons at Culver Academy and then saw action in the NAHL with the Kenai River Brown Bears (2008-09) and the Cedar Rapids Rough Riders in the USHL in 2009-10.

HOME SWEET HOME: Notre Dame’s weekend sweep of Bowling Green at the Joyce Center February 11-12 extended the Irish unbeaten streak versus the Falcons to 12 games (11-0-1) at home. The last time Notre Dame lost to Bowling Green at the Joyce Center was during the 2005-06 season. The Irish are 11-2-2 at home this year.