Nov. 21, 2011

Notre Dame, Ind. – Junior goaltender Mike Johnson (Verona, Wis.) has been named the Central Collegiate Hockey Association’s (CCHA) goaltender of the week for his play in Notre Dame’s wins over top-10 teams, Western Michigan and Boston College on Nov. 15 and Nov. 18.

Johnson was at his best in a pair of one-goal wins as the Irish opened the week with a 3-2 win over 10th-ranked Western Michigan at the Compton Family Ice Arena. They followed that with a thrilling, 3-2 overtime win against third-ranked Boston College on Friday night in the “Dedication Game,” for the Compton Center.

In the two games, Johnson played 124:52, giving up four goals for a 1.93 goals-against average while stopping 55-of-59 shots for a .932 save percentage. The two wins extended Johnson’s personal unbeaten streak to eight games (6-0-2), a streak that started on Oct. 21.

In the Nov. 15 win over Western Michigan; Johnson stopped 23-of-25 shots as the Irish rallied from a 1-0 second-period deficit to take a 3-1 lead after two periods. The Broncos would cut the lead to 3-2 in the third, but the junior would stop 13-of-14 shots in the third to preserve the win.

Third-ranked Boston College was the opponent on Nov. 18 and the Eagles brought their game to Notre Dame, firing a season-high 35 shots on the Irish goaltender who stopped all but two in the 3-2 overtime win. Boston College scored the lone first-period goal on a penalty shot by Chris Kreider with 13 seconds left in the stanza. The Irish answered with a pair of second-period goals to take a 2-1 lead before Boston College tied the game with 2:10 left as Johnny Gaudreau scored on a rebound.

That set up the overtime where Johnson stopped all three shots he faced and teammate Bryan Rust (So., Novi, Mich.) scored with 1.1 seconds left for the Notre Dame victory.

The Irish are now unbeaten in their last nine games (7-0-2) and are 9-2-2 overall to go with 6-1-2-0 in the CCHA, good for 20 points and are three points out of first in the conference race. Notre Dame is ranked third in the USA Today/American Hockey Magazine poll and second by USCHO.com. For the season, Johnson is 6-1-2 overall with a 2.20 goals-against average and a .904 save percentage. In CCHA contests, Johnson owns a 4-0-2 league record with a 2.20 goals-against average and a .905 save percentage.

Notre Dame has a busy week on the ice this week with three road games. On Tues., Nov., 22, the Irish travel to Kalamazoo, Mich., for a 7:05 p.m. game against Western Michigan at Lawson Arena. Notre Dame then spends Thanksgiving in Sault Ste. Marie, Mich., as they battle the Lake Superior State Lakers on Nov. 25-26 in a pair of 7:05 p.m. games at Taffy Abel Arena.