March 18, 2013
Farmington Hills, Mich. – The Central Collegiate Hockey Association has announced the times and match ups for the 2013 CCHA Championship semifinals on Saturday, March 23 at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit.
Notre Dame will play in the first semifinal game against Ohio State with that game set for a 1:05 p.m. face off. The second semifinal will feature Michigan facing Miami at 4:35 p.m. Fox Sports Detroit PLUS will televise both semifinal games with Sunday’s championship game shown live by Fox Sports Detroit at 2:05 p.m.
Tickets are available for the 2013 CCHA Championship through Ticketmaster at (800) 745-3000 or at www.Olympiaentertainment.com or CCHA.com. Groups of ten (10) or more can call the Joe Louis Arena box office at (313) 396-7575.
The Fighting Irish (23-12-3), who finished second in the regular-season standings with a 17-8-3-2 record, advanced to Joe Louis Arena for the 10th time in the program’s 23 years in the CCHA by sweeping Bowling Green in the CCHA Quarterfinals, taking a 1-0 win in overtime in game one before winning the second game, 4-3. Ohio State (16-16-7 overall) finished fourth in the conference standings with a 13-10-3-1 mark and advanced by beating Ferris State, two games to one, in that Quarterfinal series, winning the decisive game three by a 3-2 verdict on Sunday night.
Notre Dame and Ohio State met twice this season in Columbus, Ohio on Feb. 1-2, with the Buckeyes taking a 6-3 win in the first game while the teams battled to a 2-2 tie in game two. The Irish won the shootout, 1-0. All-time, Ohio State leads the all-time series with a 32-29-10 record. The two teams have met four times in CCHA postseason action (2003, 2004, 2010 and 2012), including twice at Joe Louis Arena (2003 and 2004). The Buckeyes won both of those games by 3-2 and 6-5 in overtime scores. In the CCHA postseason, Ohio State is 4-2 versus the Irish. The teams met last season in the first round with Notre Dame sweeping the Buckeyes, with 2-0 and 4-2 wins, at the Compton Family Ice Arena.
Miami (24-10-5) won the 2012-13 CCHA regular-season title with a 17-7-4-4 record and advanced to “The Joe” by defeating Michigan State, two games to one in their Quarterfinal series. The RedHawks won game three on Sunday with a 4-1 win at home. They will face a red-hot Michigan (17-18-3) team that is 7-0-1 in its last eight games. The Wolverines finished seventh in the regular season with a 10-15-3-3 record and are making their 24th consecutive appearance in the CCHA Championship. They swept third-seeded Western Michigan with 4-3 and 5-1 wins on the road last weekend.
The Irish were 1-1 versus Miami this season and were 4-0 against Michigan. In postseason play, Notre Dame is 2-3 all-time against the RedHawks, having met three times, including twice at Joe Louis Arena where they are 0-2. The Irish have met the Wolverines eight different times in previous CCHA postseason action and are 5-9 in 14 games. At “The Joe,” Notre Dame is 2-1 against Michigan with the two wins coming in the championship games in 2007 and 2009.
In the 23 seasons that the Irish have played in the CCHA, this is the 10th time that they have advanced to Joe Louis Arena. Notre Dame played there in 1981-82, 1999-00, 2001-02, 2002-03, 2003-04, 2006-07, 2007-08, 2008-09 and 2010-11. The Irish won the tournament in 2007 and 2009. From 2001-04, Notre Dame played in the Super Six. All-time, the Irish are 5-9 at Joe Louis Arena.