March 20, 2011
Notre Dame, Ind. – The Notre Dame hockey team returns to the NCAA Tournament for the fourth time in the last five seasons and the fifth time in the program’s history as the Irish will travel to Manchester, N.H., to compete in the Northeast Regional, March 26-27, at the Verizon Wireless Center, the home of the American Hockey League’s Manchester Monarchs.
The Irish, seeded third in the regional, will face second-seed, Merrimack from Hockey East in the second game on Saturday, March 26 at 7:35 p.m. The Warriors are making their second appearance in the NCAA’s and first since 1988. They lost Saturday night in the Hockey East title game to Boston College. The game will be televised by ESPN Syndication HD and on ESPN3.com and shown on tape delay on ESPNU at 11:30 p.m. on Saturday night.
Joining Notre Dame in the Northeast Regional are No. 1 seed Miami and No. 4 seed, New Hampshire, the host school. The RedHawks and the Wildcats will play in the opening game at Verizon Wireless Center at 4:30 p.m. on March 26.
The Northeast Regional championship game will be played at 8:00 p.m. on Sunday, March 27 and will be televised on ESPNU HD/ESPN3.com. The winner will advance to the NCAA Frozen Four in St. Paul, Minn., on April 7-9.
Notre Dame is making its fourth appearance since 2007 and fifth overall in the 43-year history of the program. The Irish did not make the tournament last season and their last appearance came in 2008-09 when they were a No. 1 seed in the Midwest Regional and were upset by Bemidji State, 5-1, in the opening game at Grand Rapids. In 2007-08, Notre Dame was the last at-large team to make the tournament and advanced to the Frozen Four where they lost in the national championship game to Boston College, 4-1, after defeating Michigan, 5-4, in the semifinals. Notre Dame advanced out of the West Regional at Colorado Springs, Colo., as a No. 4 seed with a 7-3 win over top-seeded New Hampshire and then won the regional with a 3-1 win over Michigan State. In 2006-07, the Irish were the tournament’s top seed and defeated Alabama-Huntsville, 3-2, in double overtime in the opening game before falling to Michigan State in the Midwest Regional by a 2-1 score. In 2003-04, Notre Dame made its first-ever appearance, playing in Grand Rapids where they dropped an opening round game to Minnesota, 5-2.
The Irish go into the tournament ranked eighth in the USA Today/American Hockey Magazine and USCHO.com polls with a 23-13-5 record this season. They are coming off a pair of losses in the CCHA Tournament this weekend, losing to Miami, 6-2 in the semifinals and Michigan, 4-2, in the third-place game.
Merrimack enters the tournament with a 25-9-4 overall record and was fourth in the Hockey East regular season with a 16-8-3 mark. The Warriors knocked off Maine with a pair of wins in the quarterfinals and then defeated New Hampshire in the semifinals of the Hockey East Tournament. They lost to Boston College in the championship game, 5-3. Merrimack began the week ranked seventh in the USA Today/American Hockey Magazine and USCHO.com polls. Notre Dame and Merrimack have met five times in the all-time series with the Warriors holding a 3-2-0 edge. The first meeting came on Dec. 18, 1969 in the Merrimack Tournament in Billerica, Mass. The Irish won that game, 5-1. During the 1988-89 season, the teams met three times, twice at Notre Dame and once at Merrimack with the Warriors winning all three. They won the two at the Joyce Center, 3-1 and 4-3, and then won at Merrimack, 6-0, on Jan. 7, 1989. The last meeting occurred on Nov. 26, 1991 at Merrimack with the Irish taking a 2-1 victory.
In the regional’s first game, top-seeded Miami is 23-9-6 on the season and won the CCHA playoff championship on Saturday night with a 5-2 win over Western Michigan at Joe Louis Arena. In the semifinals, the RedHawks downed the Irish, 6-2, to advance to the title game. During the regular season, Notre Dame was 1-1-2 against Miami. The RedHawks are making their sixth consecutive appearance in the tournament and the ninth in the program’s history. They were ranked sixth in both polls to start last week. All-time, Notre Dame and Miami have met 62 times with the RedHawks holding a 36-16-10 edge in the series and a 4-0-0 record on neutral ice.
New Hampshire is the fourth seed and the host school for the Northeast Regional. The Wildcats are 21-10-6 and ranked 10th in both the USA Today/American Hockey Magazine and USCHO.com polls. They were second in the Hockey East regular season with a 17-6-4 mark. In the playoffs, they advanced to the semifinals with a sweep of Vermont, 3-1 and 4-1, and then lost in the semifinals to Merrimack, 4-1. The Wildcats are making their 21st appearance in the NCAA Tournament and their 10th consecutive. Notre Dame and New Hampshire have met five times in the all-time series with UNH holding a 4-1-0 advantage. The series began on Jan. 2, 1991 in Durham, N.H. with the Wildcats winning, 2-1. The following year, the teams played at the Joyce Center with UNH taking 7-1 and 8-2 wins. The fourth meeting came on Nov. 27, 1999 at the Conference Classic at New Hampshire and the Wildcats won that game, 2-1. Notre Dame’s lone win in the series came on March 28, 2008, in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, as the Irish knocked off the Wildcats, 7-3, in Colorado Springs, Colo.
Adult all-session tickets are $77.00 (for three games).
Tickets will be available for purchase beginning at 8:30 a.m. on Monday, March 21 at the Murnane Family Ticket Office, by phone at (574) 631-7356 or online at und.com.
They are also available by phone at the Verizon Wireless Center at 1-800-745-3000 or online at ticketmaster.com. The Verizon Wireless Center seats 10,019 for hockey.