Dec. 8, 2008
Farmington Hills, Mich. – The Central Collegiate Hockey Association announced today that Notre Dame senior goaltender Jordan Pearce (Anchorage, Alaska) has been selected as the CCHA’s goaltender of the week for the week ending Dec. 7.
In two games at Ferris State, Pearce stopped 55-of-56 shots (.982 save percentage) as the Irish took 3-1 and 1-0 wins against the Bulldogs on the road at Big Rapids, Mich. Saturday night’s shutout was his second of the season and the sixth of his Notre Dame career.
On Dec. 5, Pearce stopped 30-of-31 Bulldog shots, including 13 in the first period. The lone goal he surrendered came on a Cody Chupp power-play goal in the second period as Ferris State took a 1-0 lead. That would be the last goal that the 6-1, 206-pound goaltender would give up on the weekend. In the game, the Irish killed five-of-six Bulldog power-play chances helping Pearce to his first of two Perani Cup first star of the game honors.
In game two of the series, Pearce stopped all 25 shots he faced and made Dan Kissel’s (Jr., Crestwood, Ill.) second-period goal stand up in the 1-0 win for Notre Dame. The Irish stopped all five Ferris State power-play chances in the game and finished the weekend, killing 10-of-11 on the weekend. The shutout moved the Irish goaltender into a second-place tie on the all-time shutout list with Morgan Cey `05 as both goaltenders now have six shutouts each.
The two weekend wins improve Pearce to 11-3-2 on the season with a 1.66 goals-against average and a .937 save percentage. He now leads the CCHA in wins and is second in goals-against average and save percentage.
The Irish, ranked No. 1 in the nation in both the USA Today/American Hockey Magazine and USCHO.com/CBS College Sports polls, are currently on a 12-game unbeaten streak (10-0-2) and have now won seven straight road games since dropping the season opener on Oct. 11 at Denver.
During the 12-game unbeaten streak, Pearce is 10-0-2 with a 1.36 goals-against average and a .949 save percentage. During November he received special mention as the RBC Financial Group CCHA player of the month.
Notre Dame is currently 12-3-2 overall and 8-2-2-2 in the CCHA, good for 20 points, three points behind first-place Miami with two games in hand.
The Irish return to action this weekend in their final games before they break for finals and the Christmas holidays. Notre Dame will play Bowling Green in a home-and-home series with the Friday, Dec. 12 game at the BGSU Ice Arena and Saturday’s contest at the Joyce Center. Game time both nights is 7:05 p.m.