Jan. 9, 2001
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THE WEEK AHEAD: The Irish will look to find a way to slow down the high-scoring Western Michigan Broncos this weekend when they face-off in a home-and-home series on Jan. 12-13…the Irish will host the fifth-ranked Broncos on Friday night at the Joyce Center at 7:05 p.m….the following night, the two teams will play at the Lawson Ice Arena in Kalamazoo, Mich., with face-off set for 7:05 p.m…Western comes into the weekend after a sweep at Ohio State last week that ran the Broncos’ winning streak to five straight…WMU is now 16-3-2 overall and 9-2-2 in the CCHA, good for a second place tie with Michigan and just one point behind first place Michigan State…Notre Dame will look to rebound from a pair of tough losses to Ferris State…the Irish fell 4-2 on Jan. 5 and then 3-2 in overtime on Jan. 6 to fall to 4-16-3 overall and 2-10-2 in league play…ND has now lost four in a row and nine of its’ last 10 games…the Irish now trail Ferris State by three points for 11th in the league and are four points behind 10th place Bowling Green for the final playoff spot…as always, all 2000-01 Irish hockey games, with the exception of ND’s games at Alaska-Fairbanks (2/23 and 2/24) will be broadcast on WLHY radio (1620 AM) with the play-by-play also available via the internet at www.und.com…
IRISH VERSUS BRONCOS: Notre Dame and Western Michigan have met 43 times in the all-time series with the Broncos holding a 26-15-2 edge…since the Irish returned to the CCHA in 1991-92, Western is 15-9-1…Notre Dame has won seven of the last 10 meetings in the series and is 6-0-1 in the last seven games at the Joyce Center dating back to the 1996-97 season…on the other hand, the Irish have won just once in the last 15 games in Kalamazoo dating back to the 1988-89 season…all-time, ND is 10-10-1 versus Western at the Joyce Center while Western has a 15-5-1 edge in games played at Kalamazoo…last season, the Irish swept the two-game series, winning 4-3 in ot and 4-1 at the Joyce Center….
THE COACHES: Notre Dame head coach Dave Poulin owns a 75-115-25 mark (.400) in his sixth season at Notre Dame…versus Western Michigan, Poulin-coached teams are 7-6-1…Western Michigan head coach Jim Culhane took over as interim coach on February 9, 1999 and was named head coach on March 3, 1999…now in his third season guiding the Broncos, Culhane is 31-28-7 (.523) …versus Notre Dame, Culhane’s Broncos are 0-2-0…
SCOUTING WESTERN MICHIGAN: Hockey information on the Western Michigan Broncos can be found at www.wmubroncos.com…additional information on Notre Dame, Western Michigan and the CCHA is also available on the CCHA website at ccha.com…
FERRIS STATE SERIES RECAP: Notre Dame dropped a pair of games to the Ferris State Bulldogs, losing on Friday night, 4-2, and then dropping a 3-2 overtime heartbreaker on Saturday night…in the Jan. 5 game, Ferris State’s Chris Kunitz scored two third period power play goals to snap a 2-2 tie on the way to the 4-2 Bulldog win…FSU would record three power play goals in the game…Rob Collins got the first goal of the night deflecting a Scott Lewis shot past Kyle Kolquist (Sr., Duluth, Minn.) for a 1-0 lead at 6:31 of the first period…senior right wing Matt Van Arkel (Richton Park, Ill.) evened the score at 5:21 of the second period as he cashed in a two-on-one pass from Dan Carlson (Sr., Edina, Minn.)…Ryan Dolder (Sr., Hutchinson, Minn.) gave Notre Dame its only lead of the game with a power play goal at 10:52 of the second off assists from Brett Lebda (Fr., Buffalo Grove, Ill.) and Carlson…but, Ferris State’s top scorer, Kevin Swider, scored an unassisted goal at 19:55 to tie the game at two going into the second intermission…Kunitz got his first goal of the night at 3:34 scoring with one second left on a five-on-three power play chance…he closed out the scoring with an empty netter at 19:53…the Irish were outshot in the game, 33-22….Kolquist made 29 saves on the night while FSU’s Phil Osaer made 20 stops in the game…Notre Dame was 1-for-6 on the power play while the Bulldogs converted 3-of 8 chances in the win…the following night, Notre Dame scored with 17 seconds left in regulation to tie the game 2-2 only to see Kunitz get the winner for Ferris State at 2:11 of overtime…for the second night in a row, FSU’s Rob Collins staked the Bulldogs to a 1-0 lead as he scored at 10:41 of the second period for the game’s first goal…ND came back less than four minutes later when Dolder and Lebda set up Dan Carlson for his seventh goal of the season at 14:01…Troy Milam put Ferris State ahead 2-1 when his long shot from the point got past Jeremiah Kimento (Jr., Palos Hills, Ill.)…Lebda sent the game into overtime when he drove to the net after taking a feed from the right wing corner from Carlson and fired a shot over Phil Osaer for his fourth goal of the season at 19:42…in the overtime, Kunitz got the game winner after Brett Smith’s centering pass deflected off Derrick McIver, then Kimento, hit the post to the right of Kimento and then popped in the air…Kunitz knocked it out of the air and into the goal for his 11th of the season to give FSU the weekend sweep…the Bulldogs outshot Notre Dame, 28-26…Kimento made 25 saves while Osaer was credited with 24…the Irish killed all five Bulldog power play chances while scoring on once on six tries of their own….
BACK TO ACTION: Freshman defenseman Tom Galvin (Miller Place, N.Y.) returned to action in Friday’s game against Ferris State after missing 13 games due to having tendons severed in his left arm when he was hurt on Nov. 2 in practice…emergency surgery that night repaired the tendons….since then Galvin has returned to the blueline ahead of schedule last night…
INJURY REPORT: Left wing Brett Henning (Jr., Huntington, N.Y.) suffered a cervical spine sprain against Lake Superior State (12/2) and is out of the lineup indefinitely…he has missed the last eight games…the Irish have lost 47 man-games to injuries or illness this season…
RETURNING HOME: Sophomore center Connor Dunlop (St. Louis, Mo.) and freshman right wing Rob Globke (West Bloomfield, Mich.) will return to the Irish lineup this weekend versus Western Michigan after spending the last two weeks with the U.S. Junior National Team at the Junior World Championships…the duo, who helped the U.S. to a 5-2 record and a fifth place finish, missed six games on the Irish schedule…Dunlop, selected the U.S. team captain and making his second appearance with the team, had three assists in seven games…Globke scored two goals in his seven games on the international hockey stage…
U.S. JUNIOR NATIONALS: Connor Dunlop and Rob Globke were selected to the 2001 U.S. Junior National hockey team that finished fifth at the World Junior National Tournament in Moscow, Russia…this marks the fifth consecutive year that Notre Dame has had a representative on the U.S. team…in all, the Irish have had eight players play in the World Junior Championships: Jack Brownschidle (1976-77, 78-79), Ben Simon (1996-97, 97-98), Joe Dusbabek (1997-98), Dan Carlson (1998-99), Brett Henning (1999-2000), David Inman (1999-2000), Dunlop and Globke…
DISMISSED: Senior forward Jay Kopischke (Alexandria, Minn.) has been dismissed from the Notre Dame hockey team for violation of team policy…
OVERTIME NUMBERS: Notre Dame’s 3-2 overtime loss to Ferris State (Jan. 6), was the first OT loss by the Irish since the end of the March 5, 1999 when the they fell at Miami…ND had gone 14 overtime games without a loss at home (3-0-11), not dropping a game in overtime since a Nov. 17, 1996 loss to Mankato State…
IRISH STREAKS: Seniors Dan Carlson and Ryan Dolder along with freshman Brett Lebda continue to carry the scoring load for Notre Dame…the trio will bring five-game scoring streaks into the Western Michigan series…Carlson has picked up 11 points (4g, 7a) in his last five games…Dolder checks in with seven points (3g, 4a) in his last five and Lebda has racked up 10 points (3g, 7a) in his last five games…
HOCKEY HUMANITARIAN AWARD: Irish right wing Ryan Dolder has been nominated for the 2001 Hockey Humanitarian Award which will be presented at the 2001 Frozen Four in Albany, N.Y. the weekend of Apr., 5-7…the award is presented annually to the college hockey player, male or female from Division 1, 2 or 3, who has made a difference off the ice as well as on, to the team, to the program, to the school, and to the community in which the player lives…Dolder, a senior, is one of four players from the Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA) to be nominated for the award…he joins Alaska-Fairbanks’ Ryan Reinheller, a 2000 finalist for the award, Michigan State’s Damon Whitten and Nebraska-Omaha’s Jason Cupp among the 12 nominees.
PENALTY KILLING PROWESS: Ferris State scored three power play goals in the Bulldogs’ 4-2 win (Jan. 5)…the last time ND had given up three power play goals in a game was on Oct. 27 when Michigan State scored three in a 3-2 win…in the 13 games following that, ND had given up just eight power play goals in 70 chances for an 88.6% success rate…from Oct. 27 through Dec. 2, the Irish killed off 24 consecutive opponent power plays, going the entire month of November (five games) without giving up a man-advantage goal…the Irish bounced back to kill all five Ferris State power plays in the second game of the series…heading into tonight’s game with Western Michigan, the Irish have given up 26 power play goals in 131 chances for a 80.2% penalty killing efficiency…
CARLSON TO THE RESCUE: Senior left wing Dan Carlson jolted the Irish offense to life in the 7-3 win over Nebraska-Omaha (12/20) with his first career hat trick and first career four-point (3g, 1a) games…Carlson also picked up the game winner and a shorthanded goal in the game…his hat trick was the first by a Notre Dame player since November 13, 1998 when Aniket Dhadphale scored three at Bowling Green…the shorthanded goal was the fifth of his career and moves him into eighth on the all-time shorthanded list…Carlson had a goal and three assists during the Ferris State series…he now has seven multiple point games this season…
LEBDA FOR THE DEFENSE: Defenseman Brett Lebda had a career night (Dec. 20) in just the 19th game of his Notre Dame career as he collected a goal and four assists in the 7-3 win over Nebraska-Omaha…the four assists were the most by a Notre Dame player in a game since Oct. 21, 1994 when Jamie Ling had five assists versus Waterloo…the five-point game was also the most by an Irish player since Ling racked up seven points (2g, 5a) versus Waterloo…the rookie blueliner had three points (1g, 2a) versus Ferris State…his goal came on the power play (second of the year) in the 3-2 loss with just 17 seconds left to send the game into overtime…Lebda leads all Irish freshmen in scoring with four goals and 12 assists for 16 points…
THE TOP OF THE LIST: Senior right wing Ryan Dolder has picked up where he left off last season as he is Notre Dame’s second leading scorer through the first 23 games of the season with a team high nine goals to go along with 10 assists for 19 points…last season, Dolder closed out his junior year by scoring a goal in each of the Ferris State playoff games to help the Irish to a trip to the CCHA semifinals at Joe Louis Arena…he has seven multiple point games this season…versus Northeastern (10/20) he personally wiped out a 2-0 first period deficit as he scored a pair of goals just 19 seconds apart early in the second period…the Hutchinson, Minn. native had a goal and an assist in the 5-2 Irish win over Miami (11/3) and added another goal and assist game versus Northern Michigan (11/25)…Dolder added a two-assist game at Nebraska-Omaha (12/20)…the senior right wing also had a goal in each of the games of the R.P.I. Tournament…versus Ferris State, Dolder had a goal and an assist in the series…
ROUGH STRETCH: The month of December did not treat the Irish very well…ND was 1-7-0 in eight games during the month…the lone win was 7-3 Irish victory at Nebraska-Omaha (12/20) which snapped a five-game losing streak…that win also snapped the longest winless streak (0-7-2) for the Irish under Coach Dave Poulin…the last time ND went 10 games without a win was the 1993-94 season when ND had an 0-7-3 winless skid…
KOLY THE GOALIE: Senior goaltender Kyle Kolquist (Sr., Duluth, Minn.) made his third strong start of the season in the 4-2 loss to Ferris State, making 29 saves…he is still looking for his first career win as he is now 0-2-1 on the season…his first two starts of the season came at Lake Superior State (Dec. 2-3) and were just the second and third of his career…Kolquist made 25 saves in a 2-1 loss on December 1 and then made a career high 33 stops in just 40 minutes of the 4-1 loss on December 2…Kolquist has played in six games for the Irish this season after seeing action in just two games (69:09) in his previous three seasons…on November 25, he took over in relief versus Northern Michigan and made 27 saves to help the Irish salvage a 3-3 tie…before his starts at Lake Superior, Kolquist’s only other start came on December 20, 1999 at home verus Princeton (21 saves, 4-2 loss)…in four games this season, the veteran goaltender is 0-2-1 with a 2.92 goals against average and a .919 save percentage…
SHOT MARKS: The 48 shots on goal surrendered by the Irish to Lake Superior State were the most given up by Notre Dame since January 2, 1999 when North Dakota took 44 versus the Irish…the 20 shots taken by Lake Superior in the first period were a season high this season passing the 17 that were given up to Northeastern (10/21) and Northen Michigan (11/25)…
IRON MEN: Senior right wing Ryan Dolder (Hutchinson, Minn.) has now played in 87 consecutive games and was one of just two Notre Dame players to play in all 42 games last season…the other was senior left wing Dan Carlson (Edina, Minn.) who has now played in 142 of 145 games in his three-plus years at Notre Dame (missing two while at the ’98-’99 World Juniors)…Carlson needs to appear in 11 more games to break John Schmidt’s ND record for career games played (152, ’78-’82).
FIVE GOAL OUTBURST: Notre Dame’s five-goal, second period outburst versus Northeastern (10/20) marked the first time that the Irish have scored five goals in a period since November 2, 1996…that night at Bowling Green, ND scored five, third period goals to pull out a 7-5 win versus the Falcons…a year ago, Notre Dame only scored six or more goals in a game once, a 7-4 win over Nebraska-Omaha on February 12th…
SEVEN GOAL OUTBURST: The seven goals scored by Notre Dame in the 7-3 Irish win over UNO (12/20) was the most goals scored by ND this season…in fact, ND had scored just five goals in its previous five games…the last time the Irish scored seven or more goals in a game came on Feb. 12, 2000 in a 7-4 win at home versus Nebraska-Omaha…
STANDING ROOM ONLY: The standing room only crowd of 2,749 at the Notre Dame-Boston College game on November 10 was the largest crowd to watch a Notre Dame home hockey game since March 3, 1995 when a sellout crowd of 3,310 saw the Irish defeat Illinois-Chicago, 5-2…the capacity of the Joyce Center was reduced to 2,667 the following season (1995-96) when new seating was installed…this year, seating has increased to 2,713 due to relocation of the band…since capacity became 2,667 for the 1995-96 season, Notre Dame has played in front of 35 sellout crowds at the Joyce Center….
RISING PROSPECTS: Two members of Notre Dame’s freshman class, Rob Globke (Fr., West Bloomfield, Mich.) and Neil Komadoski (Fr., Chesterfield, Mo.) are ranked among the top U.S. College players by the NHL’s Central Scouting…the November report ranks Globke fourth overall while Komadoski is 18th…Komadoski is eligible for the 2001 draft while Globke would have to opt-in to be selected in 2001…13 of the top 40 players ranked are from the CCHA including three of the top four…
ROOKIE OF THE WEEK: Freshman Rob Globke was selected as the CCHA’s Rookie of the Week for the week ending October 22nd…the 6-2, 200-pound right wing had two goals and an assist in the three games versus Wayne State and Northeastern…he was the first Irish player to receive this honor since Tony Zasowski was named rookie of the week for the week ending January 24, 2000…
FRESHMEN LEADERS: Freshmen Brett Lebda, Aaron Gill and Rob Globke rank among the top ten rookie scorers in the CCHA…Lebda (4-12-16) is tied for sixth with Western Michigan’s Mike Jarmuth as each have 16 points…Gill is eighth with (5-8-13) while Globke, who has missed the last six games is tied for ninth with (7-4-11)…Lebda is tied for first among freshman defensemen with Western Michigan’s Mike Jarmuth (2-14-16)… they all trail Western Michigan’s Jeff Campbell who has 17-11-28 in 21 games this season and ranks sixth in league scoring…
THE KIDS ARE ALRIGHT: Through the first 23 games of the season, the Irish newcomers (seven freshman, one transfer) have shown their abilities by contributing to the ND attack with 16 goals and 31 assists for 47 of the team’s 139 points…that amounts to 29.1% of the goals, 36.9% of the assists and 33.8% of the team’s points…Brett Lebda (Buffalo Grove, Ill.) leads the way with (4g, 12a), followed by Aaron Gill (Rochester, Minn.) with (5g, 8a), Rob Globke with (7g, 4a), Jon Maruk (Eden Prairie, Minn.) with (0g, 5a), Neil Komadoski (Chesterfield, Mo.) with (0g, 1a) and Tom Galvin with (0g, 1a)…
TOP FIVE: While Dan Carlson ranks 32nd on Notre Dame’s all-time scoring list for the history of the program, he is currently just one of five Irish players to reach 100 points since ND returned to the CCHA in 1992…the five are:
ONE TIMERS: With ND’s 1-0 loss to Nebraska-Omaha on Dec. 19, the Irish have been held to one goal or less in eight games this season (0-7-1)…in the last 14 games, the Irish have scored 29 goals (2.08 per game)…
MAKING THE MOST OF A CHANCE: Sophomore defenseman Paul Harris (Ridgefield, Conn.) worked his way into the Irish lineup after battling injuries as a freshman and only playing in nine games …this season, Harris moved into the lineup at the Maverick Stampede after fellow soph Evan Nielsen (Evanston, Ill.) came down with the flu prior to the Boston College game…the 6-2, 210-pound defenseman scored his first collegiate goal on Dec. 29 versus St. Lawrence…he added an assist the following night versus R.P.I. …in 16 games this season, Harris has picked up a goal and three assists for four points…he also owns a team-best +5…
Closing The Deal: Notre Dame has built an impressive record in games that the Irish lead after two periods of play….ND is unbeaten in its last 45 games when holding a lead at the second intermission (39-0-6, including 11-0-3 in 1999-2000) … the Irish are 4-0-1 in 2000-01 when leading after two periods…the last time ND lost after holding a second-intermission lead was Jan. 9, 1998, in the second of three games at Alaska-Fairbanks … UAF’s Sean Fraser tied the game (2-2) with a power-play goal in the third minute of the final period before Chris Kirwan converted a breakaway with 0:45 left in overtime … the Irish also are 24-3-4 since the 1998-99 season when leading at the first intermission (10-1-1 in 1999-2000 and 2-1-1 in 2000-2001).
DID YOU KNOW: According to the CCHA, the average height and weight for a player in the league is six-foot tall and 188-pounds…Notre Dame’s average team height is 72.04 inches – just over six-feet tall – which ranks the Irish fifth in the league in that department…ND is the biggest team in the league weight-wise as the Irish tip the scales at an average of 195.96-pounds per player…
NOT SO SWEET HOME: Notre Dame has struggled at home as the Irish have compiled a 2-9-1 record on the Joyce Center ice and are 0-9-1 in their last ten home games…the last home win came on Oct. 20 versus Northeastern (64)…Notre Dame was 23-10-6 (.667) from 1998-2000 at the Joyce Center and improved that to 25-10-6 (.683) before the current ten-game winless skid…since the building opened, ND is 275-228-34 (.544) in 537 home games…
Bloodlines: Four current members of the Notre Dame hockey program-junior F Brett Henning, junior LW Jon Maruk, sophomore C Connor Dunlop and freshman D Neil Komadoski-hold a unique connection, as each of their fathers enjoyed a lengthy career in the National Hockey League (see p. 39 of the 2000-01 Notre Dame media guide for photos from their playing days). * Lorne Henning played nine seasons with the New York Islanders (’72-’81) and has spent the past 15 years as an assistant and head coach in the NHL. An original member of the Islanders, Henning compiled 73G-111A as a forward over his 543-game career and played a major role in a four-year Stanley Cup dynasty (’80-’83). Henning served as an assistant with the Islanders from ’80-84 and ’87-’94, as head coach for the Minnesota North Stars (’85-’87) and the Islanders (’94-’95), and as a Chicago Blackhawks assistant from ’95-’98 before returning in ’98-’99 to the Islanders, as associate coach.
- Dennis Maruk played 14 NHL seasons-with the California Seals (’75-’76), Cleveland Barons (’76-’78), Minnesota North Stars (’78-’79, `83-’88) and the Washington Capitols (’78-’83)-and finished as the NHL’s fourth-leading scorer in 1982 (60G-76A) while compiling 878 career points (356G-522A) in 888 games.
- Blake Dunlop played 11 seasons in pro hockey (’73-’84), including NHL stints with the Minnesota North Stars (’73-’77), Philadelphia Flyers (`77-’79), St. Louis Blues (`79-’84) and Detroit Red Wings (’83-’84), while totaling 130G-274A in 550 career NHL games.
- Rounding out the quartet is Neil Komadoski, Sr., who played eight NHL seasons as a defenseman with the Los Angeles Kings (’72-’78) and the St. Louis Blues (’77-’80), totaling 16G-76A and 632 penalty minutes in 501 career games.
RISING TO THE TOP: Senior LW Dan Carlson is one of the top returning scorers in the CCHA, as his 35 points in 1999-2000 (17G-18A) rank sixth among current CCHA players, behind Western Michigan’s David Gove (18G-28A), Michigan State’s Adam Hall (26G-13A), Miami’s Pat Leahy (16G-22A), MSU’s Rustyn Dolyny (18G-19A) and Ferris State’s Kevin Swider (15G-21A). Those six players are among the league’s top players again this year: 2 – Gove (17-25-42), t8 – Carlson (7-16-23) and Dolyny (6-17-23), 11 – Swider (11-11-22), t18 – Leahy (4-15-19) and Hall (11-8-19)…
A SPECIAL PLAYER: Dan Carlson has played a key role on both special-teams units during his Notre Dame career and could become the fifth player to rank among Notre Dame career top 10 for both power-play goals and shorthanded goals … Carlson needs six PPGs to crack that ND career top-10 list (nine shy of fifth) while his five career shorthanded goals tie him for 8th in ND history, two back of the record shared by three players.
CENTURY MARK: Senior defenseman Ryan Clark (Littleton, Colo.) played in his 100th career game versus Miami (Dec. 9) and has now played in 106 games in his career…he joins five other Irish players with 100 career games played…senior center Chad Chipchase (Clinton, Ont.) played in his 100th career game versus the Northeastern Huskies (10/21) and has now played in 117 during his career…right wing Matt Van Arkel played in his 100th career game versus Minnesota and has now played in 122 overall…the remainder of that group includes Dan Carlson (142), Ryan Dolder (126) and Jay Kopischke (121).
USHL VETERANS: Notre Dame’s 2000-01 roster-and particularly the freshman class-has plenty of experience with the United States Hockey League, as each of the five scholarship freshman-and junior newcomer Jon Maruk (Twin City Vulcans)-played in the USHL last season … all told, 17 different ND players have skated in the USHL, as members of that league’s traditional programs or the USA Hockey Under-18 Team … that group includes senior D Ryan Clark and sophomore LW Jake Wiegand (Lincoln Stars), senior LW Jay Kopischke (North Iowa Huskies), senior RW Ryan Dolder and Maruk (Twin City Vulcans), sophomore RW Michael Chin and freshman F Kyle Dolder (Des Moines Buccaneers) and sophomore G Tony Zasowski (Omaha Lancers) … Chin also played one year with the USA program, as did nine other current Irish players (see note below).
PATRIOTIC GROUP: Notre Dame’s current roster includes 10 players who have past experience with USA Hockey, as members of the National Team Development Program (NTDP) and/or the National Junior Team … Notre Dame’s current total of eight NTDP alums is the most at any Division I school … that group includes junior F Brett Henning and four members of the sophomore class-RWs Michael Chin and John Wroblewski, C Connor Dunlop and D Paul Harris-plus a trio of freshmen: RW Rob Globke and D Neil Komadoski and Brett Lebda … senior LW Dan Carlson played with Team USA at the 1998-99 World Junior Championship while Henning, Dunlop and junior C David Inman played with the USA at the 1999-2000 World Juniors … four Irish players-Dunlop, Globke, Komadoski and Wroblewski-remain among the top candidates for the USA’s 2000-01 National Junior Team while a pair of 2000 Irish graduates-center Ben Simon and RW Joe Dusbabek-played for the USA at the World Juniors in ’96-’97 (Simon) and ’97-’98 (Simon and Dusbabek).
Double (OT) Dip: Current Irish senior Dan Carlson turned in a rare feat during a three-week stretch of the 1999-2000 season, as the speedy left wing scored in overtime to beat both Western Michigan (4-3) and Ohio State (2-1) … that marked just the second time-and the first in 28 years- that an ND player has scored two overtime goals in the same season, as then-junior winger Paul Regan scored overtime goals in 1971-72 versus Michigan Tech (6-5) and Cornell (5-4).
TAKING IT TO THE NEXT LEVEL: During the past three seasons, the Notre Dame hockey program has sent several players to the professional ranks, with 10 of those recent players competing in 2000-01 … D Mark Eaton-who signed a free agent contract with the Philadelphia Flyers – had a solid 1998-99 season with the Philadelphia Phantoms of the American Hockey League and played 27 games with the Flyers in 1999-2000 before being traded to the Nashville Predators is with their IHL affiliate in Milwaukee … former Irish center and ’96 graduate Jamie Ling is currently with the Dayton Bombers where he serves as a player assistant coach … RW Brian Urick (’99) is with the Edmonton Oilers’ AHL team in Hamilton, Ont…LW Aniket Dhadphale (’99) started the season with the AHL’s Providence Bruins before being sent to Trenton (ECHL) while another ’99 graduate, D Benoit Cotnoir, is with the Mobile (Ala.) Mystics of the ECHL for his second year … five 2000 graduates likewise are active in pro hockey … C Ben Simon was in the camp of the Atlanta Thrashers and played in several preseason games before being assigned to the IHL’s Orlando (Fla.) Solar Bears … RW Joe Dusbabek attended the San Jose Sharks preseason camp and has joined the ECHL’s Roanoke Express … D Sean Molina tried out with the Chicago Wolves and has signed on with the ECHL’s Trenton (N.J.) Titans … D Nathan Borega currently is a member of the ECHL’s Louisiana Ice Gators while D Sean Seyferth has split time in the ECHL with the Dayton Bombers and the Wheeling Nailers.
MAKING HIS MARK: Former Notre Dame hockey standout, Brian Urick (`99) was named the American Hockey League’s Player of the Week for the week ending October 22, 2000…Urick helped lead the Hamilton Bulldogs, the Edmonton Oilers top farm club, to three wins during the week scoring four goals with two assists for six points…he was named First Star twice, following a 6-5 win (2 G’s 2 A’s) versus Quebec and after Hamilton’s 4-3 win over Philadelphia (1 goal)…
Academic All-Americans: Notre Dame is the nation’s only Division I hockey program to produce a GTE/CoSIDA Academic All-American during each of the past four seasons (as part of the fall-winter at-large program), with C Steve Noble earning second-team honors in 1996-97 and first-team honors in ’97-’98, followed by G Forrest Karr in ’98-’99 (second team) and LW Andy Jurkowski in 1999-2000 (third team).
FEELING A DRAFT: Five current Notre Dame players have been selected in the National Hockey League draft since 1997…the five include – seniors Jay Kopischke (8th round, L.A. Kings) and Ryan Clark (9th round, N.Y. Islanders), both taken in the 1997 draft… juniors David Inman (2nd round, New York Rangers) and Brett Henning (9th round, New York Islanders) were both selected in the 1999 draft and sophomore Evan Nielsen (8th round, Atlanta Thrashers) was chosen in the 2000 draft…just two other teams in the Central Collegiate Hockey Association-Michigan (7) and Michigan State (6)-have more draft picks on their 2000-2001 rosters than Notre Dame.
Midwest Magic: Notre Dame continues to reap the benefits of the strong youth hockey programs in the lower Midwest (namely Illinois and Missouri), as one-third of the current roster includes players from Illinois (6) or Missouri (2) … four of those players are products of the USA Hockey National Team Development Program (NTDP): sophomore RW Michael Chin (Urbana, Ill.), sophomore C Connor Dunlop (St. Louis, Mo.) and first-year D Brett Lebda (Buffalo Grove, Ill.) and Neil Komadoski (Chesterfield, Mo.) … sophomore D Evan Nielsen (Evanston, Ill.) was invited to join the NTDP but returned for his senior year at The Taft School … ND’s other Illinois natives include the team’s top two returning goaltenders-junior Jeremiah Kimento (Palos Hills) and Tony Zasowski (Darien)-plus senior RW Matt Van Arkel (Richton Park). … prior to 1995, the ND hockey program had produced just eight total letterwinners from Illinois and two from Missouri.
ROAD TRIP ANYONE?: The Notre Dame hockey program again will travel plenty of miles during the 2000-01 season, as the Irish are slated to traverse the equivalent of nearly 17,000 miles in the upcoming season-after travelling nearly 18,000 in 1999-2000 (17,907, or close to three-quarters of the Earth’s diameter) … the longer trips of 2000-01 include the season-opening game versus Minnesota, a trip to Omaha for the Maverick Shootout (plus a later series with Nebraska Omaha), an upper-peninsula visit to Lake Superior, the RPI Christmas Tournament in Troy, N.Y., a pair of games versus Yale in New Haven, Conn., and a return journey to Fairbanks, Alaska (ND’s third trip to UAF in the last four seasons) … here’s a breakdown of the 2000-01 trips, based on average roundtrip land mileage: 4