Nov. 20, 2007
Notre Dame, Ind. –
Complete Release in PDF Format
• The Series: #9/#9 Notre Dame (9-4-0/7-2-0) vs. Bowling Green(6-3-0/5-2-0)• Date/Site/Time: Tuesday, November 20 • Joyce Center (2,713) • 7:35 p.m.• Broadcast Information: Radio: Notre Dame hockey can be heard live on WWLV 1620 AM on Tuesdaynight with Mike Lockert calling all the action for the Irish.• Internet: Irish hockey can be heard on the Internet at the Notre Damewebsite - www.und.com. Tuesday's game with Bowling Green can be seen live onwww.und.com. All Notre Dame home games and all CCHA gamesare available via gametracker.
IRISH PLAY HOST TO BOWLING GREEN TO START BUSY WEEK: Notre Dame starts a busy holiday week schedule on Tuesday, November 20 when the Irish play host to the Bowling Green Falcons in a 7:35 p.m. game at the Joyce Center. Tuesday’s game is the first of three for Notre Dame this week as the Irish will travel to Troy, N.Y., this weekend to participate in the 57th annual Rensselaer Holiday Tournament. On Friday, Nov. 23, the Irish will face Alabama-Huntsville at 4:00 p.m. The third-place and championship games will be played on Nov. 24 at 4:00 or 7:15 p.m. Notre Dame faces Bowling Green coming off a weekend sweep of Western Michigan, winning by 4-1 and 5-1 scores. The Irish are 9-4-0 on the season and 7-2-0 in CCHA play. They moved to ninth in both the USA Today Poll and the USCHO.com poll. Bowling Green visits the Joyce Center for the first time this season and brings a 6-3-0 overall mark and a 5-2-0 conference record. The two teams met on Oct. 23 at Bowling Green with the Irish taking a 4-2 win at the BGSU Ice Arena. Notre Dame leads the all-time series with a 40-34-6 record. At the Joyce Center, Notre Dame has a 22-12-4 edge. The Irish are unbeaten in their last nine games (8-0-1) against the Falcons. The last Bowling Green win at the Joyce Center came on Jan. 29, 2005. Since then, the Falcons have lost four straight at the Joyce Center.
CCHA DEFENSEMAN OF THE WEEK: Sophomore defenseman Kyle Lawson (New Hudson, Mich.) has been selected as the CCHA defenseman of the week for the week ending Nov. 18. In the weekend sweep of Western Michigan, Lawson collected two assists in Friday’s 4-1 win and was +2 in the series. Lawson and the Notre Dame defense limited the Broncos to 23 shots in the two games and killed all seven WMU power-play chances on the weekend.
BUSY SCHEDULE: Notre Dame is in the midst of five games in nine days with the Bowling Green game being game number three of the streak. The Irish are 2-0-0 in the first two contests and will continue the week with the final two games at the 57th Annual Rensselaer Holiday Tournament on Nov. 23-24. Tonight’s game marks the second time this season that the Irish will play three games in five days and five games in nine days. The first time occurred between Oct. 18-27. In that span, the Irish were 3-2-0.
WESTERN MICHIGAN RECAP: Notre Dame swept its home-and-home series with Western Michigan, taking a 4-1 win at the Joyce Center on Friday night and a 5-1 win at Lawson Arena on Saturday. Here’s a look at the series: Notre Dame got goals from Ryan Thang (So., Edina, Minn.), Dan VeNard (Sr., Vernon Hills, Ill.), Erik Condra (Jr., Livonia, Mich.) and Mark Van Guilder (Sr., Roseville, Minn.) on the way to a 4-1 win over Western Michigan on Friday at the Joyce Center. The Irish out shot the Broncos, 44-12, in the game and scored twice on the power play. Mike Lesperance scored the lone Western Michigan goal. Condra and Van Guilder each added an assist for two-point games while defenseman Kyle Lawson (So., New Hudson, Mich.) had a pair of helpers on the night. Thang scored the game’s first goal at 10:41 of the opening period, his sixth of the season. Lesperance closed the period with a goal at 19:02 as he beat Jordan Pearce (Jr., Anchorage, Alaska) on a rebound to make it 1-1 after one period. The Irish would score three times in the second stanza to break the game open. VeNard collected his second of the season and the game winner at 2:16 for a 2-1 lead. Condra notched his fifth of the year on the power play at 16:48 and Van Guilder closed the scoring with his team-best seventh goal of the year at 18:52 on a five-on-three power-play chance for the final of 4-1. Western goaltender Riley Gill finished with 40 saves in the game while Pearce made 11. The Irish were 2-for-11 on the power play while the Broncos were 0-for-1. On Saturday night, Notre Dame spotted Western Michigan the first goal when Max Campbell scored his third of the year just 1:32 into the game to take a 1-0 lead. The Irish answered with first-period goals from freshman Calle Ridderwall (Stockholm, Sweden) and Justin White (Jr., Traverse City, Mich.). The lead would go to 4-1 after two periods as Dan Kissel (So., Crestwood, Ill.) converted an Evan Rankin (Sr., Portage, Mich.) centering feed at 8:11 and Ryan Thang got his second power-play goal of the weekend at 19:49. Erik Condra closed the scoring in the third period when he scored a short-handed goal at 7:55 for the 5-1 final score. The Irish out shot Western Michigan by a 32-11 margin. Jordan Pearce made 10 saves while Riley Gill stopped 27 shots. Notre Dame was 1-for-6 on the power play while the Broncos were 0-for-6.
STINGY DEFENSE: Notre Dame surrendered just two goals in the weekend series against Western Michigan. In the two games, the Irish out shot the Broncos by a 76-23 margin. In Friday’s game, Notre Dame gave up just 12 shots and followed that by giving up just 11 in Saturday’s game. The 11 shots are the fewest given up by the Irish this season as were the two shots given up in the third period of Saturday’s game.
HIGHS AND LOWS: Notre Dame’s 44 shots in Friday night’s win over Western Michigan are a season high for the Irish. The 11 shots given up by Notre Dame in Saturday’s game are the fewest the Irish have given up this season. Notre Dame’s 11 power-play chances on Friday night were also a season high.
SPREAD THE WEALTH: Notre Dame scored nine goals in the two games of the series against Western Michigan. Seven different players lit the lamp for the Irish. Only Erik Condra and Ryan Thang scored more than one goal. Also scoring for the Irish on the weekend were Dan VeNard, Mark Van Guilder, Calle Ridderwall, Justin White and Dan Kissel.
THE MARKSMEN: Senior Mark Van Guilder and sophomore Ryan Thang each scored their seventh goals of the season in the series against Western Michigan. Van Guilder got his seventh on Nov. 16, scoring his fifth power-play goal of the season. That ties him for 4th in the CCHA and tied him for 5th in the nation. Thang scored once in each game with both goals coming on the power play. Thang now has four man-advantage goals, which ties him for sixth in the CCHA and eighth in the nation.
CONDRA CAPERS: Right wing Erik Condra recorded back-to-back multiple-point games (a goal and an assist) in the wins over Western Michigan. That gives him three multiple-point games this season. On Nov. 1, he recorded the second, five-point game of his career in the 7-3 win over Lake Superior. Condra scored twice and added three assists for five points on the night. His previous five-point game came on Jan. 5, 2007 at Robert Morris when he had a goal and four assists. Condra currently leads the Irish in scoring with six goals and eight assists for 14 points in the first 13 games of the season.
CENTURY CLUB: Notre Dame’s “Century Club” will soon be accepting a new member as junior right wing Erik Condra comes into the Bowling Green game with 96 points in his career. Condra now has 26 goals and 70 assists in 91 career games. Here’s who is ahead of Condra.
"Century Club"Name (Seasons) G A Pts1. Brian Walsh (1973-77) 89 145 2342. John Noble (1969-73) 81 145 226
30. Alex Pirus (1973-76) 57 66 123 John Schmidt (1978-82) 28 95 12332. Jeff Brownschidle (1977-81) 30 92 12233. Ray DeLorenzi (1971-74) 55 59 11434. Aaron Gill (2000-04) 49 62 111 Connor Dunlop (1999-03) 25 86 11136. Jack Brownschidle (1973-77) 31 78 10937. Tim Reilly (1981-86) 43 65 10838. Aniket Dhadphale (1995-99) 61 44 10539. Bob Thebeau (1982-86) 40 63 10340. Kevin Hoene (1968-71) 50 51 101 Matt Hanzel (1985-89) 50 51 10142. Paul Clarke (1973-77) 38 62 10043. Erik Condra (2005-) 26 70 96
FIRSTS: Two Notre Dame players scored their first goals of the season in the 5-1 victory at Western Michigan. Freshman Calle Ridderwall picked up his first goal of the year and the first of his collegiate career when he scored at 12:10 of the first to tie the game at 1-1. Justin White followed with his first at 17:31 off a face off to give the Irish a 2-1 lead while also collecting the game-winning goal.
THE PUCK STOPS HERE: Junior goaltender Jordan Pearce continued his strong play this season, winning his seventh and eighth games of the year versus Western Michigan. On Friday night, Pearce made 11 saves in the 4-1 win at the Joyce Center. In Saturday’s game, Pearce made 10 saves in the 5-1 victory at Lawson Arena. Pearce has now made four straight starts. He recorded back-to-back 32-save games in the previous weekend in a split at Miami. Pearce has started 12 of Notre Dame’s 13 games this season with the 12 appearances being a career high. His eight wins are the most in a season and he is second in the CCHA and the nation in minutes played with 715:03. For the year, Pearce is 8-4-0 with a 2.01 goals-against average and a .915 save percentage with one shutout on the year.
THE SNIPER: Notre Dame defenseman Dan VeNard scored his second goal of the season in the 4-1 win over Western Michigan, the most he has ever scored in a season. The goal was also the game winner, the first of VeNard’s career.
GOOD NEWS AND BAD NEWS: Through 13 games this season, the Irish have some good news and some bad news to report. In Notre Dame’s eight victories, the Irish have scored 36 goals for a 4.00 average. In the four losses, Notre Dame has scored just three goals for a 0.75 goals-per game mark. In the nine wins, the Irish have given up just 14 goals (1.56 goals-against average) while in the four losses, they have given up 13 goals (3.25 goals against).
VERSUS THE BEST: Notre Dame’s 2-1 win over Miami on Nov. 9 marked the 10th time in the program’s history that the Irish knocked off a top-ranked team. In fact, the last four times that Notre Dame has faced a No.1 team, the Irish have come away with the victory. Here’s a list of Irish wins over No. 1 ranked teams in the 40-year history of the program.
11/9/07 - at Miami, 2-110/20/06 - at Boston College, 7-110/22/04 - vs. Boston College, 3-210/23/03 - at Boston College, 1-01/3/99 - at North Dakota, 4-311/20/78 - at Minnesota, 3-21/13/78 - vs. Denver, 5-31/18/74 - vs. Michigan Tech, 7-12/24/73 - vs. Wisconsin, 4-32/23/73 - vs. Wisconsin, 8-5
WINNING AT MIAMI: Notre Dame’s 2-1 win over the RedHawks on Nov. 9 snapped a six-game Irish winless streak (0-5-1) at Oxford, Ohio. The previous Irish win was on March 16, 2003 when they defeated Miami, 5-0, in game three of the first round of the CCHA playoffs to advance to Joe Louis Arena. Last Friday’s win came in Notre Dame’s first-ever appearance at Steve Cady Arena.
IRON MAN: Senior center Mark Van Guilder has his sights set on Notre Dame’s all-time record for most consecutive games played. The record of 153 straight games was set by Tim Wallace `06 who played in every game of his career – 153 straight. Van Guilder has now played in every game of his career – 129 consecutive games played through the first 13 games this year.
STRONG SCHEDULE: Notre Dame goes into the weekend series with Western Michigan having opened the season by playing five of its first 13 games versus nationally ranked teams. The Irish opened the year dropping a 4-1 decision to #14/#15 Wisconsin. They then split a series in South Bend with #5/#5 Denver, winning, 4-3 and losing, 3-1. Last weekend, Notre Dame split with #1/#1 Miami with a 2-1 win on Friday and a 3-1 loss on Saturday. The Irish are 2-3-0 against ranked teams this season.
THE KISSEL EFFECT: Sophomore left wing Dan Kissel (Crestwood, Ill.) collected his first goal of the season in the 2-1 win at Miami. The goal also proved to be the game winner. He added his second goal in the 5-1 win at Western Michigan. In Kissel’s career, he has now played in 31 career games and has scored eight goals. Of his eight goals, four have been game winners. Last season, three of his six goals were winning goals.
DYNAMIC DUO: Notre Dame’s defensive duo of Brock Sheahan (Sr., Lethbridge, Alb.) and Teddy Ruth (Fr., Naperville, Ill.) have proven to be one of the CCHA’s top defensive pairs through the first 13 games of the season. Both Irish defensive stalwarts are +8 for the season, meaning they have been on the ice for nine more goals scored by Notre Dame than the Irish have given up at even strength. That ties them for sixth in the CCHA.
POWER ON: After going 0-for-7 on the power play at Miami, the Irish scored twice with the man advantage on Friday night in the 4-1 win. They followed with a 1-for-6 night in the 5-1 win on Saturday. The Irish have scored two or more power-play goals in a game five times this season.
SENIOR CLASS HONORS: Notre Dame team captain Mark Van Guilder (Sr., Roseville, Minn.) has been nominated for the Lowes Senior CLASS (Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School) Award. The CLASS award was designed to honor the attributes of seniors who remain committed to their university and elects to pursue the many rewards that a senior season can bring. This award provides a fitting honor for a senior leader that has stood up to the challenge. In the end, the award hopes to recognize the prestige and dignity of being a senior hockey player at the college level. Former Irish goaltender David Brown `07 won the Lowes Senior CLASS award following the 2006-07 season.
FRIENDLY CONFINES: Notre Dame recorded its second consecutive sellout crowd of 2,857 on Nov. 16 and the third sellout in five home games this season. Those crowds of 2,857 are the largest crowds to watch a Notre Dame hockey game since March 3, 1995 when 3,310 saw the Irish defeat Illinois-Chicago. Following that season, new seating was installed, reducing capacity at the Joyce Center. At the beginning of November, a new section of seating was added to the student section to increase the capacity. Through five games this year, the Irish are averaging 2,601 fans per game.
PENALTY KILLERS: The Irish surrendered their fourth power-play goal of the season in Saturday’s 3-1 loss to Miami. On the weekend, Notre Dame killed 8-of-9 RedHawk power plays. For the year, the Irish are second in the CCHA and fourth in the nation, having killed 57-of-61 opponent power-play chances for a 93.4% success rate.
RANKINGS UPDATE: Notre Dame opened the 2007-08 season ranked eighth in the nation by both the USA Today/American Hockey Magazine and USCHO.com/CSTV polls. The Irish finished the 2006-07 season ranked fourth in the final USA Today/American Hockey Magazine poll that included the NCAA tournament. The Irish finished the year first in the USCHO.com/CSTV polls that ended with the end of the CCHA Tournament. In all, Notre Dame was ranked for 20 consecutive weeks and was ranked No.1 for seven straight weeks from Feb. 5 to March 25. The Irish have been ranked every week so far this season. Week-by-week with the Irish this season:
2007-08 Irish National RankingsDate USA TODAY USCHO.com
10/01 8th 8th 10/08 7th 8th 10/15 11th 11th 10/22 12th 12th 10/29 13th 14th 11/5 12th 12th 11/12 11th 10th 11/19 9th 9th