Oct. 23, 2000
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CCHA OPENER FOR THE IRISH: The Fighting Irish open CCHA play with a two-game series versus the Michigan State Spartans on Thursday and Friday, October 26-27 at the Joyce Center…game time both nights is set for 7:05 p.m…Michigan State is ranked #9 by USA Today/American Hockey Magazine and #8 by U.S. College Hockey Online…the two-game series closes out a five-game homestand for the Fighting Irish (2-1-0)…All 2000-01 Irish hockey games will be broadcast on WHLY radio (1620 AM) with the play-by-play also available via the internet at www.und.com…Thursday night’s game will be televised by live WHME-TV 46 in South Bend…
IRISH VERSUS SPARTANS: Notre Dame trails in the all-time series that began in 1921, 28-46-6…since rejoining the CCHA for the 1992-93 season, the Irish have won just two of 25 meetings (2-19-4)…ND is 16-16-5 all-time versus the Spartans in games played at the Joyce Center, but just 1-5-5 since rejoining the CCHA…at East Lansing, the Irish are just 12-28-1 all-time and 1-13-0 since 1992-93…a season ago, the two teams met five times, twice at Notre Dame, twice at MSU and once at Joe Louis Arena in the CCHA semifinals…ND was 1-0-1 at the Joyce Center, 0-2-0 at Munn Ice Arena and 0-1-0 at ?The Joe?…
THE COACHES: Notre Dame head coach Dave Poulin owns a 73-102-23 mark (.485) in this his sixth season at Notre Dame….Poulin is 2-12-3 in games versus the Spartans…Michigan State coach Ron Mason is the all-time winningest coach in college hockey and owns an 866-367-75 record in this, his 35th season behind the bench…now in his 22nd season at Michigan State, Mason is 577-257-61 with the Spartans…
IRISH UPDATE: Notre Dame comes into this week’s series with a 2-3-1 record overall…the Irish are 2-1-0 on the current five-game homestand after playing three games last week…on Tuesday night (10/17), Notre Dame defeated Wayne State, 2-1 in overtime. Connor Dunlop (So., St. Louis, Mo.) scored the game winning goal at 2:39 of the overtime period…junior goaltender Jeremiah Kimento (Palos Hills, Ill.) made 25 saves in picking up his first win of the season…Notre Dame split the weekend series with Northeastern, winning on Friday, 6-4, then losing, 5-3, on Saturday night…Friday’s win saw the Fighting Irish battle back from a 2-0 deficit by scoring five times in the second period…seniors Ryan Dolder (Hutchinson, Minn.) and Chad Chipchase (Clinton, Ont.) each scored two goals in the win while David Inman (Jr., Toronto, Ont.) and Dunlop each had a goal…Dolder personally wiped out the Northeastern lead with two goals in 19 seconds early in the second period, the first via the power play…Chipchase notched the game winner and the insurance goal…Kimento ran his current unbeaten string to 2-0-1 with a 25-save performance…in Saturday’s 5-3 loss, the Irish again fell behind, 2-0 in the first period…they were able to tie the game after 40 minutes at 3-3 as Dunlop, Rob Globke (Fr., West Bloomfield, Mich.) and Inman scored even-strength goals…the third period saw Northeastern get a pair of goals to take the 5-3 decision…Kimento made 28 saves in his fourth consecutive start….the Huskies were 2-for-5 on the power play on Friday and 3-for-6 on Saturday night while the Irish were going just 1-for-12 on the weekend… S
COUTING THE SPARTANS: Michigan State hockey information can be found at www.msuspartans.com…
GLOBKE NAMED ROOKIE OF THE WEEK: Freshman Rob Globke was selected as the CCHA’s Rookie of the Week for his play in Notre Dame’s three games last week…the 6-2, 200-pound right wing had two goals and an assist in the three games as the Irish went 2-1 on the week…versus Wayne State, Globke set up ND’s first goal…in Friday night’s game versus Northeastern, the West Bloomfield, Michigan native set up Connor Dunlop’s game tying goal…and Saturday night, the former USA National Under-18 team member scored Notre Dame’s second goal of the game…he currently has a four-game point streak (2-2-4) and on the season now has three goals and two assists for five points in six games…
FIVE GOAL OUTBURST: Notre Dame’s five-goal, second period outburst versus Northeastern 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…
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 43 games when holding a lead at the second intermission (37-0-6, including 11-0-3 in 1999-2000) … the Irish are 2-0-1 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 23-2-3 since the 1998-99 season when leading at the first intermission (10-1-1 in 1999-2000).
SPECIAL TEAMS: The Fighting Irish have had their problems on the power play through the first six games of the season…ND has scored just twice (once, 5-on-3) with the man-advantage in 44 chances for a 4.5% success rate…in three games last week, ND was 1-for-24 (4.2%)…when the Irish are shorthanded, they have surrendered 10 power play goals on 39 chances for a 74.4% success rate…Northeastern scored five of its nine goals last weekend with the man-advantage…
INJURY REPORT: Freshman defenseman Neil Komadoski (Chesterfield, Mo.) will be out of the lineup indefinitely after suffering a shoulder injury in the first period of the Boston College game.
HOME SWEET HOME: This week’s two game set with the Spartans closes out a five-game home stand for the Fighting Irish…after opening the season with three games on the road, Notre Dame’s schedule has the Irish playing eight of their next ten games through the end of November at home…ND is 2-1-0 at home this season and since the Joyce Center opened, the Irish are 275-220-33 (.552) at home…over the last three seasons, Notre Dame is 25-11-6 (.667) at the Joyce Center..
HOT HANDS…Five Notre Dame players bring scoring streaks into the Michigan State series…FOUR GAME STREAKS – David Inman (3-2-5), Connor Dunlop (3-1-4) and Rob Globke (2-2-4)…TWO GAME STREAKS – Dan Carlson (0-3-3) and Paul Harris (0-2-2)…Ryan Dolder had a four-game scoring streak (3-3-6) snapped Saturday night versus Northeastern…the Irish line of Carlson – Dunlop – Globke had three goals and five assists for eight points in the two games with Northeastern…
USA HOCKEY REUNION: This week’s games with Michigan State will feature 15 former members of USA Hockey’s National Developmental Team Program…Notre Dame, with eight and Michigan State, with seven, have the most alums from this program of any other Division I program in the country.
THREES ARE WILD: Senior forward Chad Chipchase (Clinton, Ont.) scored a pair of goals in the Irish 6-4 win over Northeastern on Friday night (10/20), marking the fourth multiple-goal game for the veteran center’s (three games with two goals, one hat trick) career…Chipchase missed most of last season due to a knee injury that limited him to 15 games before knee surgery in January…
GETTING IT DONE: Connor Dunlop is emerging into one of the top notch center icemen in the CCHA through the first six games of his sophomore year…Dunlop leads Notre Dame with four goals giving him a career high in that category after scoring just three goals in 35 games a year ago…with four goals and one assist for five points, the St. Louis, Missouri native is tied for second in points on the team…Dunlop has one power play goal and scored the overtime game winner versus Wayne State on October 17…
SHOOT THE PUCK: After averaging just 22 shots a game in its first two games of the season, the Irish have now averaged 36.0 shots per game over the last four contests…ND fired a season-high 38 shots at Northeastern goaltender Mike Gilhooly on Friday in the 6-4 win over the Huskies…
THE PUCK STOPS HERE: Junior goaltender Jeremiah Kimento (Palos Hills, Ill.) has made four consecutive starts between the pipes for coach Dave Poulin’s Irish…Kimento has also seen action in each of Notre Dame’s first six games this season…in his four game run, the 5-11, 190-pound puckstopper is 2-1-1 (two of those games went into overtime) with a 3.16 goals against and a .891 save percentage…in his career, Kimento is 5-9-3 with a 2.97 goals against and a .889 save percentage…
THE TOP OF THE LIST: Senior right wing Ryan Dolder has picked up where he left off last season as he continues to be among the team leader in scoring…Dolder finished the 1999-2000 season 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…this season, the hard-working right wing leads the Irish in scoring with three goals and three assists for six points…he has scored in four of his last five games (3-3-6)…versus Northeastern 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…
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).
JUNIOR JUMP: Junior C David Inman?who had 10G-10A as a freshman and 13G-7A as a sophomore?will be hoping to be the latest in a recent trend of Notre Dame forwards who have made huge goal scoring jumps in their junior seasons … that group includes LW Aniket Dhadphale (18 combined goals in his first two seasons, 25 as a junior in 1997-98), C Ben Simon (13G in first two years, 18 as a junior in 1998-99) and current senior LW Dan Carlson (18G in first two seasons, 17 as a junior in 1999-2000)…through the first six games of the season, Inman has gotten off to a fast start with three goals and two assists….among those three goals is a power play marker…the Toronto, Ont. native leads the team in shots on goal with 27 and has a +3 rating…
YOUNG D: Notre Dame’s group of eight defensemen came into this season with a combined 190 career games played, compared to 419 games of experience on the blue line heading into 1998-99 … the four veteran D include senior Ryan Clark (88 GP), junior Sam Cornelius (52) and sophomores Evan Nielsen (41) and Paul Harris (9) … half of the blue-line group is comprised of freshmen, including former USA Hockey teammates Neil Komadoski and Brett Lebda, plus Tom Galvin and walk-on T.J. Mathieson.
MAKING THE MOST OF A CHANCE: Sophomore defenseman Paul Harris (Ridgefield, Conn.) has 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 game…Harris has picked up assists in each of the last two games and for the season owns a team-best +5…
CENTURY MARK: Senior center Chad Chipchase played in his 100th career game versus the Northeastern Huskies on Saturday night (10/21)…he is one of five players on the Notre Dame roster to have played in over 100 games in his career…right wing Matt Van Arkel played in his 100th career game versus Minnesota and has now played in 105 overall…the remainder of that group includes Dan Carlson (125), Ryan Dolder (109) and Jay Kopischke (106).
FIRST YEAR SCORING: Notre Dame’s six newest players have stepped right in and contributed through the first six Irish games on the schedule…first-year players have contributed five goals and eight assists for 13 points on the Irish scoresheet…Freshmen Rob Globke leads the way with three goals and and two assists while Brett Lebda and Aaron Gill have each scored a goal and two assists…junior transfer Jon Maruk has chipped in a pair of assists…
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 mdia 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.
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 (Twin City Vulcans) 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).
A 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).
GOAL SCORERS WANTED: Notre Dame will be looking to develop several new goal scorers in 2000-01, as just three returners (senior LW Dan Carlson, junior C David Inman and senior RW Ryan Dolder) had more than six goals in 1999-2000.
RISING PROSPECTS: Two members of Notre Dame’s freshman class are considered top prospects for upcoming NHL drafts … defenseman Neil Komadoski was rated by NHL Central Scouting as the No. 51 prospect for the 2000 draft (even though he is not eligible for the draft until 2001) … first-year RW Rob Globke likewise could develop into a high-end draft prospect but will not be eligible for the draft until 2002.
DISCIPLINED PLAY: Since ranking as the CCHA’s most-penalized team in ’95-’96 (11.31 penalties/gm), ND has ranked as the conference’s least-penalized … the Irish averaged the fewest penalties per game by any CCHA team in ’96-’97 (8.69) and ’97-’98 (6.37) before ranking as the CCHA’s third-least penalized in ’98-’99 (8.40) … ND again was the CCHA’s least-penalized team in 1999-2000, averaging just 7.69 penalties (16.59 PIM), leading to just 5.67 opponent power-play chances per game … over the course of the past four seasons, ND has averaged an impressive 7.74 penalties per game…this season, through six games, the Irish are averaging 10.3 penalties per game for 23.8 minutes per game…
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 seven PPGs to crack that ND career top-10 list (10 shy of fifth) while his four career shorthanded goals rank 11th in ND history, three back of the record shared by three players.
TAKING IT TO THE NEXT LEVEL: During the past three seasons, the Notre Dame hockey program has sent several players on to the professional ranks, with 10 of those recent players competing in 2000-01 … D Mark Eaton?who in the summer of 1998 opted to forego his final three years of college eligibility at Notre Dame and 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 prior to the start of the season … 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) had a solid preseason camp with the Edmonton Oilers and has been assigned to the AHL’s Hamilton (Ont.) Bulldogs … LW Aniket Dhadphale (’99) currently with the AHL’s Providence (R.I.) Bruins while another ’99 graduate, D Benoit Cotnoir, was in the tryout camp of the International Hockey League’s Chicago Wolves before returning to the Mobile (Ala.) Mystics of the East Coast Hockey League (he also played in Mobile last season) … 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 is in the ECHL with the Dayton Bombers.
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).
CENTURY MEN: Senior LW Dan Carlson is on the verge of becoming the fourth ND hockey player in the last three seasons to reach 100 points…through the first six games, Carlson has 35G-59A for 94 points … RW Brian Urick (57G-69A) and LW Aniket Dhadphale (61G-44A) each reached 100 in the ’98-’99 season while C Ben Simon (44G-86A) reached the milestone in 1999-2000 … Carlson needs 15 goals in his final season to join Urick and center Jamie Ling (’92-’96) as the third Irish player since 1993?and 28th overall?to reach 50G-50A in his career (he needs 25G-5A to become ND’s 17th 60-60 player and first since Dave Bankoske did it from 1988-93) … a 41-point season in 2000-01 would land Carlson among ND’s top-20 career scorers (Ling, with 51G-102A, is the only post-1993 player on that list, at 13th).
CLUSTER PARTNERS, PART II: The rotating CCHA cluster schedule has yielded four games for the Irish in 2000-01 versus Ohio State, Miami and Western Michigan?with two vs. the other eight squads in the 28-game schedule … the following CCHA teams will not visit the Joyce Center in 2000-01: Alaska Fairbanks, Lake Superior, Michigan and Nebraska Omaha … the Irish will not make regular-season trips in 2000-01 to Bowing Green, Ferris State, Northern Michigan and Michigan State … ND’s 1999-2000 cluster partners were UAF, MSU and UNO, with the 2001-02 partners to include Bowling Green, Ferris State and Michigan.
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).
FEELING A DRAFT: ND and Boston College both had four players selected in the ’97 NHL draft, most by any Division I school … the drafted players included a pair of forwards who graduated in 2000?Ben Simon (5th round, Chicago Blackhawks) and Joe Dusbabek (7th round, San Jose Sharks)?plus current seniors Jay Kopischke (8th round, L.A. Kings) and Ryan Clark (9th round, N.Y. Islanders) … four ND players have been selected in the first nine rounds of the same NHL draft just once previously, in ’75 … the 2000-01 ND hockey team includes five players that have been selected in the National Hockey League draft … in addition to Clark and Kopischke, ND’s drafted players include a pair of junior forwards who were selected in the 1999 NHL draft?David Inman (2nd round, New York Rangers) and Brett Henning (9th round, New York Islanders)?plus sophomore D Evan Nielsen (8th round, Atlanta Thrashers, 2000) … 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 rapidly-improving 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 also 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) … the 1999-2000 campaign likewise included trips to Omaha and Fairbanks, plus a pair of visits to tournaments in Denver, Colo., a Thanksgiving tournament at New Hampshire and an upper-peninsula visit to Northern Michigan … here’s a breakdown of the 2000-01 trips, based on average roundtrip land mileage:
WHO’S BACK: Notre Dame returns 16 of 24 letterwinners from the 1999-2000 team that went 16-18-8, finished fifth in the CCHA and advanced to the CCHA semifinals … the Irish also return junior D Sam Cornelius (lettered in ’98-’99, 16 GP last season) and sophomore D Paul Harris (9 GP last season) … all told, ND’s 15 returning skaters accounted for two-thirds of the goals and 60 percent of the total offense in 1999-2000 … ND returns five of its top-seven scorers from 1999-2000, including its leading scorer in senior LW Dan Carlson (17G-18A, 9 PPG, 5 GWG) … senior RW and team captain Ryan Dolder (10G-14) was ND’s fourth-leading scorer last season, followed by junior C David Inman (13G-7A) and sophomore C Connor Dunlop (3G-13A) … Inman and Dunlop combine to give ND two of the top young centers in the CCHA while junior Brett Henning (3G-7A) could shift from C to LW this season … including Henning, ND has six veterans who could play at left wing?with that group having a combined 14 years of Division I experience … other top candidates at LW include seniors Chad Chipchase (15 GP during injury-plagued 1999-2000 season) and Jay Kopischke (6G-5A), with Chipchase also capable of playing at C or RW … for the second consecutive season, ND must replace a four-year regular at RW (Joe Dusbabek, with Brian Urick moving on after ’98-’99) … other top returners at RW include sophomore Michael Chin (6G-7A) and senior Matt Van Arkel (4G-1A) … just two 1999-2000 letterwinners return in the D: 6-4, 230-pound senior Ryan Clark and sophomore Evan Nielsen (4G-10A), who could fill the power-play point role filled the past two seasons by Benoit Cotnoir (’99) and Tyson Fraser (’00) … Clark and Nielsen skated together in 30 games last season (including the final 22) … all three Irish Gs are back, led by sophomore Tony Zasowski (ND record 2.56 GAA, 13-9-6 record, .901 save pct.) and junior Jeremiah Kimento (3-8-2 career record, 2.88 GAA, .890 save pct.).
WHO’S GONE: With two of the top-three scorers lost to graduation, ND is one of several CCHA teams looking to receive boosts in goalscoring from other players … the Irish also must replace four of their top-six defenseman from last season: Nathan Borega, Tyson Fraser, Sean Molina and Sean Seyferth … the 6-2, 225-pound Borgea (70 PIM last season) was a four-year enforcer with the Irish while Fraser’s subtle skills included serving as the point man on the Irish power play (he had 3G-11A last season, 7G-49A for his career) … Molina (1G-8A in 1999-2000) appeared in 148 career games (tied for 4th in ND history) and played a role on the second PP unit in 1999-2000 … the graduated D foursome combined to appear in 486 career games (140 for Borega, 131 for Fraser, 67 for Seyferth) … top losses from the forward line include C and team captain Ben Simon and RW Joe Dusbabek … Simon’s 1999-2000 season included 13G-19A and a team-best 10 PPGs … he averaged nearly a point per game in his career (44G-85A, 143 GP) and is ND’s second-leading career scorer since the Irish rejoined the CCHA in 1992 … Dusbabek (8G-19A in 1999-2000) totaled 26G-49A in 126 career games … Academic All-American Andy Jurkowski (5G-8A) made a successful transition from D to LW as senior in 1999-2000 while C Troy Bagne rounds out the 2000 graduates (he had 2G-3A in 1999-2000, 5G-10A in 123 career games).
WHO’S NEW: ND’s fifth consecutive highly-regarded recruiting class includes three products of the USA Hockey National Team Development Program: D Neil Komadoski (Chesterfield, Mo.) and Brett Lebda (Buffalo Grove, Ill) and RW Rob Globke (West Bloomfield, Mass.) … the other two freshmen signees include C Aaron Gill (Rochester, Minn./Rochester Mustangs) and D Tom Galvin (Miller Place, NY./Waterloo Blackhawks) … one other newcomer is junior LW Jon Maruk, who played two seasons at Alaska Anchorage before scoring 32G-42A in 71 games last season with the Twin City Vulcans (which won the 1999-2000 national junior-A title) … Globke is known for strong wide-reaching offensive skills, after ranking as the third-leading scorer on the 1999-2000 USA Under-18 National Team (15G-21A) … Gill is a strong all-around centerman who totaled 26G-23A in 55 games with the Mustangs last season … the 6-1, 205-pound Komadoski?who could help replace the imposing presence of graduated Nathan Borega (6-2, 225)?made a name for himself as the top enforcer on the USA Under-18 National Team and is considered one of the nation’s top prospects for the 2001 NHL draft … Lebda is known for his smooth skating and offensive ability while Galvin is a steady performer with strong all-around skills (both could play roles on the power play).
PRESEASON CCHA POLLS: In the fall of 1999, the Central Collegiate Hockey Association coaches correctly predicted the regular-season finishes of Michigan (1st), Michigan State (2nd), Northern Michigan (3rd, ended tied for 3rd), Miami (9th, ended tied for 9th), Western Michigan (10th, ended tied for 9th) and Alaska Fairbanks (12th) while the CCHA media poll correctly predicted the finishes of NMU, Notre Dame (5th), Miami, WMU and UAF.
Heading into 2000-2001, the polls both have picked Michigan and Michigan State to repeat at the top spots. Michigan received 11 of 12 first-place votes in the coaches poll but the Spartans garnered 19 first-place votes and 467 voting points in the media poll to edge Michigan (which had 20 first-place votes and 460 points).
Nebraska-Omaha was picked third by the coaches, followed by Lake Superior, Notre Dame, Miami, Ferris State, Northern Michigan, Bowling Green, and Ohio State?while Western Michigan and Alaska-Fairbanks were predicted to finish out of the playoffs.
The media poll tabbed Lake Superior and Northern Michigan in third and fourth, followed by UNO, which received one first-place vote. Notre Dame, Bowling Green and Ferris State were next in the media poll, followed by Miami (which also received a first-place ballot), OSU, WMU and UAF.
CCHA OPENER FOR THE IRISH: The Fighting Irish open CCHA play with a two-game series versus the Michigan State Spartans on Thursday and Friday, October 26-27 at the Joyce Center…game time both nights is set for 7:05 p.m…Michigan State is ranked #9 by USA Today/American Hockey Magazine and #8 by U.S. College Hockey Online…the two-game series closes out a five-game homestand for the Fighting Irish (2-1-0)…All 2000-01 Irish hockey games will be broadcast on WHLY radio (1620 AM) with the play-by-play also available via the internet at www.und.com…Thursday night’s game will be televised by live WHME-TV 46 in South Bend…
IRISH VERSUS SPARTANS: Notre Dame trails in the all-time series that began in 1921, 28-46-6…since rejoining the CCHA for the 1992-93 season, the Irish have won just two of 25 meetings (2-19-4)…ND is 16-16-5 all-time versus the Spartans in games played at the Joyce Center, but just 1-5-5 since rejoining the CCHA…at East Lansing, the Irish are just 12-28-1 all-time and 1-13-0 since 1992-93…a season ago, the two teams met five times, twice at Notre Dame, twice at MSU and once at Joe Louis Arena in the CCHA semifinals…ND was 1-0-1 at the Joyce Center, 0-2-0 at Munn Ice Arena and 0-1-0 at ?The Joe?…
THE COACHES: Notre Dame head coach Dave Poulin owns a 73-102-23 mark (.485) in this his sixth season at Notre Dame….Poulin is 2-12-3 in games versus the Spartans…Michigan State coach Ron Mason is the all-time winningest coach in college hockey and owns an 866-367-75 record in this, his 35th season behind the bench…now in his 22nd season at Michigan State, Mason is 577-257-61 with the Spartans…
IRISH UPDATE: Notre Dame comes into this week’s series with a 2-3-1 record overall…the Irish are 2-1-0 on the current five-game homestand after playing three games last week…on Tuesday night (10/17), Notre Dame defeated Wayne State, 2-1 in overtime. Connor Dunlop (So., St. Louis, Mo.) scored the game winning goal at 2:39 of the overtime period…junior goaltender Jeremiah Kimento (Palos Hills, Ill.) made 25 saves in picking up his first win of the season…Notre Dame split the weekend series with Northeastern, winning on Friday, 6-4, then losing, 5-3, on Saturday night…Friday’s win saw the Fighting Irish battle back from a 2-0 deficit by scoring five times in the second period…seniors Ryan Dolder (Hutchinson, Minn.) and Chad Chipchase (Clinton, Ont.) each scored two goals in the win while David Inman (Jr., Toronto, Ont.) and Dunlop each had a goal…Dolder personally wiped out the Northeastern lead with two goals in 19 seconds early in the second period, the first via the power play…Chipchase notched the game winner and the insurance goal…Kimento ran his current unbeaten string to 2-0-1 with a 25-save performance…in Saturday’s 5-3 loss, the Irish again fell behind, 2-0 in the first period…they were able to tie the game after 40 minutes at 3-3 as Dunlop, Rob Globke (Fr., West Bloomfield, Mich.) and Inman scored even-strength goals…the third period saw Northeastern get a pair of goals to take the 5-3 decision…Kimento made 28 saves in his fourth consecutive start….the Huskies were 2-for-5 on the power play on Friday and 3-for-6 on Saturday night while the Irish were going just 1-for-12 on the weekend…
SCOUTING THE SPARTANS: Michigan State hockey information can be found at www.msuspartans.com…
GLOBKE NAMED ROOKIE OF THE WEEK: Freshman Rob Globke was selected as the CCHA’s Rookie of the Week for his play in Notre Dame’s three games last week…the 6-2, 200-pound right wing had two goals and an assist in the three games as the Irish went 2-1 on the week…versus Wayne State, Globke set up ND’s first goal…in Friday night’s game versus Northeastern, the West Bloomfield, Michigan native set up Connor Dunlop’s game tying goal…and Saturday night, the former USA National Under-18 team member scored Notre Dame’s second goal of the game…he currently has a four-game point streak (2-2-4) and on the season now has three goals and two assists for five points in six games…
FIVE GOAL OUTBURST: Notre Dame’s five-goal, second period outburst versus Northeastern 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…
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 43 games when holding a lead at the second intermission (37-0-6, including 11-0-3 in 1999-2000) … the Irish are 2-0-1 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 23-2-3 since the 1998-99 season when leading at the first intermission (10-1-1 in 1999-2000).
SPECIAL TEAMS: The Fighting Irish have had their problems on the power play through the first six games of the season…ND has scored just twice (once, 5-on-3) with the man-advantage in 44 chances for a 4.5% success rate…in three games last week, ND was 1-for-24 (4.2%)…when the Irish are shorthanded, they have surrendered 10 power play goals on 39 chances for a 74.4% success rate…Northeastern scored five of its nine goals last weekend with the man-advantage…
INJURY REPORT: Freshman defenseman Neil Komadoski (Chesterfield, Mo.) will be out of the lineup indefinitely after suffering a shoulder injury in the first period of the Boston College game.
HOME SWEET HOME: This week’s two game set with the Spartans closes out a five-game home stand for the Fighting Irish…after opening the season with three games on the road, Notre Dame’s schedule has the Irish playing eight of their next ten games through the end of November at home…ND is 2-1-0 at home this season and since the Joyce Center opened, the Irish are 275-220-33 (.552) at home…over the last three seasons, Notre Dame is 25-11-6 (.667) at the Joyce Center..
HOT HANDS…Five Notre Dame players bring scoring streaks into the Michigan State series…FOUR GAME STREAKS – David Inman (3-2-5), Connor Dunlop (3-1-4) and Rob Globke (2-2-4)…TWO GAME STREAKS – Dan Carlson (0-3-3) and Paul Harris (0-2-2)…Ryan Dolder had a four-game scoring streak (3-3-6) snapped Saturday night versus Northeastern…the Irish line of Carlson – Dunlop – Globke had three goals and five assists for eight points in the two games with Northeastern…
USA HOCKEY REUNION: This week’s games with Michigan State will feature 15 former members of USA Hockey’s National Developmental Team Program…Notre Dame, with eight and Michigan State, with seven, have the most alums from this program of any other Division I program in the country.
THREES ARE WILD: Senior forward Chad Chipchase (Clinton, Ont.) scored a pair of goals in the Irish 6-4 win over Northeastern on Friday night (10/20), marking the fourth multiple-goal game for the veteran center’s (three games with two goals, one hat trick) career…Chipchase missed most of last season due to a knee injury that limited him to 15 games before knee surgery in January…
GETTING IT DONE: Connor Dunlop is emerging into one of the top notch center icemen in the CCHA through the first six games of his sophomore year…Dunlop leads Notre Dame with four goals giving him a career high in that category after scoring just three goals in 35 games a year ago…with four goals and one assist for five points, the St. Louis, Missouri native is tied for second in points on the team…Dunlop has one power play goal and scored the overtime game winner versus Wayne State on October 17…
SHOOT THE PUCK: After averaging just 22 shots a game in its first two games of the season, the Irish have now averaged 36.0 shots per game over the last four contests…ND fired a season-high 38 shots at Northeastern goaltender Mike Gilhooly on Friday in the 6-4 win over the Huskies…
THE PUCK STOPS HERE: Junior goaltender Jeremiah Kimento (Palos Hills, Ill.) has made four consecutive starts between the pipes for coach Dave Poulin’s Irish…Kimento has also seen action in each of Notre Dame’s first six games this season…in his four game run, the 5-11, 190-pound puckstopper is 2-1-1 (two of those games went into overtime) with a 3.16 goals against and a .891 save percentage…in his career, Kimento is 5-9-3 with a 2.97 goals against and a .889 save percentage…
THE TOP OF THE LIST: Senior right wing Ryan Dolder has picked up where he left off last season as he continues to be among the team leader in scoring…Dolder finished the 1999-2000 season 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…this season, the hard-working right wing leads the Irish in scoring with three goals and three assists for six points…he has scored in four of his last five games (3-3-6)…versus Northeastern 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…
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).
JUNIOR JUMP: Junior C David Inman?who had 10G-10A as a freshman and 13G-7A as a sophomore?will be hoping to be the latest in a recent trend of Notre Dame forwards who have made huge goal scoring jumps in their junior seasons … that group includes LW Aniket Dhadphale (18 combined goals in his first two seasons, 25 as a junior in 1997-98), C Ben Simon (13G in first two years, 18 as a junior in 1998-99) and current senior LW Dan Carlson (18G in first two seasons, 17 as a junior in 1999-2000)…through the first six games of the season, Inman has gotten off to a fast start with three goals and two assists….among those three goals is a power play marker…the Toronto, Ont. native leads the team in shots on goal with 27 and has a +3 rating… YOUNG D: Notre Dame’s group of eight defensemen came into this season with a combined 190 career games played, compared to 419 games of experience on the blue line heading into 1998-99 … the four veteran D include senior Ryan Clark (88 GP), junior Sam Cornelius (52) and sophomores Evan Nielsen (41) and Paul Harris (9) … half of the blue-line group is comprised of freshmen, including former USA Hockey teammates Neil Komadoski and Brett Lebda, plus Tom Galvin and walk-on T.J. Mathieson.
MAKING THE MOST OF A CHANCE: Sophomore defenseman Paul Harris (Ridgefield, Conn.) has 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 game…Harris has picked up assists in each of the last two games and for the season owns a team-best +5…
CENTURY MARK: Senior center Chad Chipchase played in his 100th career game versus the Northeastern Huskies on Saturday night (10/21)…he is one of five players on the Notre Dame roster to have played in over 100 games in his career…right wing Matt Van Arkel played in his 100th career game versus Minnesota and has now played in 105 overall…the remainder of that group includes Dan Carlson (125), Ryan Dolder (109) and Jay Kopischke (106).
FIRST YEAR SCORING: Notre Dame’s six newest players have stepped right in and contributed through the first six Irish games on the schedule…first-year players have contributed five goals and eight assists for 13 points on the Irish scoresheet…Freshmen Rob Globke leads the way with three goals and and two assists while Brett Lebda and Aaron Gill have each scored a goal and two assists…junior transfer Jon Maruk has chipped in a pair of assists…
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 mdia 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.
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 (Twin City Vulcans) 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).
A 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).
GOAL SCORERS WANTED: Notre Dame will be looking to develop several new goal scorers in 2000-01, as just three returners (senior LW Dan Carlson, junior C David Inman and senior RW Ryan Dolder) had more than six goals in 1999-2000. RISING PROSPECTS: Two members of Notre Dame’s freshman class are considered top prospects for upcoming NHL drafts … defenseman Neil Komadoski was rated by NHL Central Scouting as the No. 51 prospect for the 2000 draft (even though he is not eligible for the draft until 2001) … first-year RW Rob Globke likewise could develop into a high-end draft prospect but will not be eligible for the draft until 2002.
DISCIPLINED PLAY: Since ranking as the CCHA’s most-penalized team in ’95-’96 (11.31 penalties/gm), ND has ranked as the conference’s least-penalized … the Irish averaged the fewest penalties per game by any CCHA team in ’96-’97 (8.69) and ’97-’98 (6.37) before ranking as the CCHA’s third-least penalized in ’98-’99 (8.40) … ND again was the CCHA’s least-penalized team in 1999-2000, averaging just 7.69 penalties (16.59 PIM), leading to just 5.67 opponent power-play chances per game … over the course of the past four seasons, ND has averaged an impressive 7.74 penalties per game…this season, through six games, the Irish are averaging 10.3 penalties per game for 23.8 minutes per game…
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 seven PPGs to crack that ND career top-10 list (10 shy of fifth) while his four career shorthanded goals rank 11th in ND history, three back of the record shared by three players.
TAKING IT TO THE NEXT LEVEL: During the past three seasons, the Notre Dame hockey program has sent several players on to the professional ranks, with 10 of those recent players competing in 2000-01 … D Mark Eaton?who in the summer of 1998 opted to forego his final three years of college eligibility at Notre Dame and 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 prior to the start of the season … 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) had a solid preseason camp with the Edmonton Oilers and has been assigned to the AHL’s Hamilton (Ont.) Bulldogs … LW Aniket Dhadphale (’99) currently with the AHL’s Providence (R.I.) Bruins while another ’99 graduate, D Benoit Cotnoir, was in the tryout camp of the International Hockey League’s Chicago Wolves before returning to the Mobile (Ala.) Mystics of the East Coast Hockey League (he also played in Mobile last season) … 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 is in the ECHL with the Dayton Bombers.
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).
CENTURY MEN: Senior LW Dan Carlson is on the verge of becoming the fourth ND hockey player in the last three seasons to reach 100 points…through the first six games, Carlson has 35G-59A for 94 points … RW Brian Urick (57G-69A) and LW Aniket Dhadphale (61G-44A) each reached 100 in the ’98-’99 season while C Ben Simon (44G-86A) reached the milestone in 1999-2000 … Carlson needs 15 goals in his final season to join Urick and center Jamie Ling (’92-’96) as the third Irish player since 1993?and 28th overall?to reach 50G-50A in his career (he needs 25G-5A to become ND’s 17th 60-60 player and first since Dave Bankoske did it from 1988-93) … a 41-point season in 2000-01 would land Carlson among ND’s top-20 career scorers (Ling, with 51G-102A, is the only post-1993 player on that list, at 13th).
CLUSTER PARTNERS, PART II: The rotating CCHA cluster schedule has yielded four games for the Irish in 2000-01 versus Ohio State, Miami and Western Michigan?with two vs. the other eight squads in the 28-game schedule … the following CCHA teams will not visit the Joyce Center in 2000-01: Alaska Fairbanks, Lake Superior, Michigan and Nebraska Omaha … the Irish will not make regular-season trips in 2000-01 to Bowing Green, Ferris State, Northern Michigan and Michigan State … ND’s 1999-2000 cluster partners were UAF, MSU and UNO, with the 2001-02 partners to include Bowling Green, Ferris State and Michigan.