Freshman goaltender Mike Johnson stopped 71-of-73 Lake Superior State shots on the weekend and was named the CCHA goaltender of the week for Jan. 25.

Kyle Lawson And Mike Johnson Take CCHA Weekly Honors

Jan. 25, 2010

Farmington Hills, Mich. – The Central Collegiate Hockey Association announced today that two Notre Dame hockey players have been selected players of the week for their play during the Lake Superior State series on Jan. 22-23. Senior defenseman Kyle Lawson (Sr., New Hudson, Mich.) was named the CCHA defensive player of the week for the second consecutive week and the third time this season while freshman goaltender Mike Johnson (Verona, Wis.) was the league’s goaltender of the week for the first time in his career.

Both players were instrumental in Notre Dame’s 6-1 win over Lake Superior on Friday night and the 1-1 overtime tie on Saturday as the Irish limited the Lakers to just two goals on the weekend.

Lawson, the CCHA’s top defensive, defenseman in 2008-09, showed why this weekend as he recorded a pair of assists, six blocked shots and was +4 for the two-game series.

In Friday’s 6-1 win, Lawson assisted on two of Calle Ridderwall’s (Stockholm, Sweden) three goals in his natural hat trick in the second period, had two shots on goal and two blocked shots. He also was on the ice for all five Notre Dame even-strength goals, giving him a +5 for the game.

On Saturday, in the 1-1 tie, Lawson had four shots on goal and blocked four shots while being -1 in the game. Due to injuries on the blue line, the veteran defenseman played close to 35 minutes in the 65-minute contest.

For the season, Lawson is second on the team in scoring with four goals and a team-high 16 assists for 20 points with three power-play goals, one short-handed tally and two game winners and is even for the year.

Johnson continued his impressive freshman season for Notre Dame as he stopped 71-of-73 (.973) Lake Superior State shots in 125 minutes of playing time while giving up just two goals on the weekend.

In the 6-1 win on Friday night, Johnson gave up the first goal of the game at 2:01 of the first period and then slammed the door on the Lakers, stopping 26-of-27 shots on the win.

On Saturday night, Johnson had a career-high 45 saves in the game as the two teams battled to a 1-1 tie in 65 minutes. In the shootout, he gave up the only goal of the extra time as the Lakers took a 1-0 win for the extra point in the standings.

The former Cedar Rapids RoughRider has appeared in 19 games for Notre Dame, making 18 starts. He owns an 8-6-4 overall record with a 2.03 goals-against average and a .929 save percentage with a pair of shutouts. His goals against ranks him fourth in the CCHA and sixth nationally while his save percentage is third in the conference and fifth on the national level.

Lawson, Johnson and their Irish teammates are now 11-10-7 on the season and 7-7-6-3 in the CCHA, good for 29 points and are in sixth place in the conference, just one point behind fifth-place Alaska and three behind fourth-place Lake Superior State. Notre Dame returns to action this weekend, Jan. 29-30, when the Irish play host to the Nebraska-Omaha Mavericks at the Joyce Center in a pair of 8:05 p.m. games. CBS College Sports will televise both contests live.