Nov. 27, 2007
Notre Dame, Ind. – Notre Dame sophomore defenseman Kyle Lawson (New Hudson, Mich.) has been named the Central Collegiate Hockey Association’s (CCHA) defenseman of the week for the second consecutive week as he helped lead Notre Dame to three wins from Nov. 20-Nov. 24.
In the three games, Lawson scored one goal, the game winner versus Bowling Green, and added three assists while turning in a +2 plus-minus for the week. During the three-game span, Notre Dame defeated Bowling Green, 2-1, on Nov. 20, then traveled to Troy, N.Y., to win the 57th Annual Rensselaer Holiday Tournament. The Irish won the opening game, 4-1 and then overcame a three-goal deficit to defeat R.P.I. in the title game, on Nov. 24, 4-3.
Lawson opened the week by scoring the game-winning goal in the Nov. 20, 2-1, victory over Bowling Green. The sophomore blue liner had four shots on goal in the game and helped Notre Dame kill off all five Falcon power plays in the game. He was named the Perani Cup second star of the game.
At the Rensselaer Holiday Tournament, Lawson set up one goal with an assist and was even on the night in a 4-1 win over Alabama-Huntsville on Nov. 23. He had one shot on goal in the game.
In the championship game versus R.P.I., Lawson assisted on two Irish goals. Trailing 3-0 in the second period, he helped set up a Kevin Deeth (So., Gig Harbor, Wash.) power-play goal that broke up the shuout, making it 3-1. With the score tied 3-3, Lawson carried the puck down the right wing boards and moved behind the net where he centered a pass to Ryan Thang (So., Edina, Minn.) in the slot. Thang buried the shot behind goaltender Jason Alford with 3:20 left in the game to give Notre Dame the 4-3 victory.
A Carolina Hurricane draft choice in 2006, Lawson leads all Notre Dame defensemen and is tied for fifth in the CCHA with three goals and seven assists for 10 points.
The three wins on the week extended seventh-ranked Notre Dame’s winning streak to five straight games and make the Irish 12-4-0 on the year and 8-2-0 in the CCHA.
The Irish return to conference action this weekend with a pair of home games versus the Nebraska-Omaha Mavericks at the Joyce Center. On Friday, Nov. 30, face off is set for 7:35 p.m. while on Saturday, Dec. 1, the teams will play at 7:05 p.m.