Nov. 14, 2007
Notre Dame, Ind. –
Complete Release in PDF Format
• The Series: #11/#10 Notre Dame (7-4-0/5-2-0) vs. Western Michigan(3-5-0/1-3-0)• Date/Site/Time: Friday, November 16 • Joyce Center (2,713) • 7:35 p.m. Saturday, November 17 • Lawson Arena (3,667) • 7:36 p.m.• Broadcast Information: Radio: Notre Dame hockey can be heard liveon Friday night on 1620 WWLV with Saturday's game on ESPN Radio 1490 -South Bend's SportsCenter with Mike Lockert calling all the action forthe Irish. Television: Saturday night's game from Kalamazoo,Mich., will be televised live by Comcast Local and can be seen onChannel 3 on Comcast Cablevision in South Bend. Ben Holden and SeanRitchlin will call all the action.• Internet: Irish hockey can be heard on the Internet at the Notre Damewebsite - www.und.com. Home Irish hockey games not being televised will bestreamed live at www.und.com. All Notre Dame home games and all CCHA gamesare available via gametracker.
IRISH MEET WESTERN MICHIGAN IN HOME-AND-HOME SERIES: The Notre Dame hockey team returns home after splitting a two-game series with No. 1 Miami last weekend. The Irish will face the Western Michigan Broncos in a home-and-home series on Nov. 16-17. On Friday night, Nov. 16, the Irish will play host to the Broncos at the Joyce Center in a 7:35 p.m. games. On Saturday, Nov. 17, the two teams will meet in Kalamazoo, Mich., at Lawson Arena at 7:36 p.m. Saturday’s game will be televised live by Comcast Local with Ben Holden and Sean Ritchlin calling the action. The game can be seen in South Bend on Comcast Cable Channel 3. Notre Dame comes into the game ranked 11th in the USA Today Poll and 10th in the USCHO.com poll after knocking off top-ranked Miami last Friday, 2-1. The RedHawks returned the favor the following night with a 3-1 win. The Irish are 7-4-0 overall and 5-2-0 in the CCHA. Western Michigan comes into the series with a 3-5-0 record and the Broncos are 1-3-0 in conference play. WMU has lost three of its five games this season in overtime. The two teams have met 64 times in the all-time series with Western holding a 34-25-5 edge. At the Joyce Center, Notre Dame leads, 16-12-1 while at Lawson Arena, the Broncos have a 21-9-4 advantage. Last season, the two teams met twice at Lawson Arena with Western Michigan winning the first game, 3-2, and the Irish taking the second game, 3-0. The last time the Broncos won at the Joyce Center was March 13, 2004, a 4-0 win in the CCHA playoffs. Since then WMU is 0-2-0 in South Bend.
BUSY SCHEDULE: The series with Western Michigan begins a busy nine-day period that will see Notre Dame play five games. On Tues., Nov. 20, Notre Dame will play host to the Bowling Green Falcons in a 7:35 p.m. game at the Joyce Center. The Irish will then spend Thanksgiving in Troy, N.Y., on Nov. 23-24 as they participate in the 57th Annual Rensselaer Holiday Tournament. Notre Dame will face Alabama-Huntsville in the opening game at Houston Field House at 4:00 p.m. on Nov. 23 while R.P.I. faces American International in the second game. The third-place and championship games will be played at 4:00 p.m. and 7:15 p.m. on Nov. 24. This is the second time this season that the Irish will play five games in a nine-day span as they did so between Oct. 18-27.
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.
MIAMI RECAP: Notre Dame got first-period goals from Christian Hanson (Jr., Venetia, Pa.) and Dan Kissel (So., Crestwood, Ill.) and goaltender Jordan Pearce (Jr., Anchorage, Alaska) made 32 saves in the 2-1 win over the No. 1 Miami RedHawks on Nov. 9. Hanson opened the scoring at 9:50 when he converted a Robin Bergman (Fr., Stockholm, Sweden) centering pass for his second goal of the season and second in as many games. Kissel got what proved to be the game winner at 16:11 after he and Evan Rankin (Sr., Portage, Mich.) forced a turnover behind the Miami goal. Kissel picked up the loose puck and fired it past Jeff Zatkoff for his first of the season. Miami would cut the lead to 2-1 at 2:25 of the second period on a goal by Nathan Davis. From there, Pearce slammed the door, finishing the game with 32 saves. The Irish were out shot, 33-20, in the game. On Saturday night, the RedHawks stormed the Irish in the opening period, taking a 2-0 lead on goals by Nino Musitelli and Tommy Wingels as they out shot the Irish by a 16-4 margin with Pearce making 14 saves to keep Notre Dame in the game. Pat Cannone made it 3-0 in favor of Miami with the lone goal of the second period at 4:47. The Irish finally broke through at 2:13 of the third period when Evan Rankin jammed the rebound of an Ian Cole (Fr., Ann Arbor, Mich.) shot past Zatkoff for his fourth goal of the season. Notre Dame out shot Miami, 10-3, in the third but that would be the lone goal for the Irish as the RedHawks took the 3-1 win. Miami out shot Notre Dame, 35-28, in the game with Pearce turning in his second 32-save game of the weekend. Zatkoff finished with 27 saves on the night.
STRONG SCHEDULE: Notre Dame goes into the weekend series with Western Michigan having opened the season by playing five of its first 11 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.
TOUGH AS NAILS: Senior right wing Evan Rankin showed his toughness in the 3-1 loss to Miami on Saturday night at Steve Cady Arena. After taking a high hit in the second period that sent him to the locker room for stitches, Rankin returned to action in the third period to record his fourth goal of the season. The Portage, Mich., native has already equaled his goal output from last season when he had four goals and is one off his career high of five goals that he set during his freshman year in 2004-05.
THE PUCK STOPS HERE: Junior goaltender Jordan Pearce recorded back-to-back 32-save games in the weekend series at Miami. He faced 33 shots in the opening night, 2-1 win, and then saw 35 shots on Saturday night in the 3-1 loss at Oxford, Ohio. Pearce has started 10 of Notre Dame’s 11 games this season with the 10 appearances being a career high. His six wins are the most in a season and he goes into the weekend with Western Michigan ranked second in the nation with 595:13 minutes played, just 6:14 less than the national leader, Michigan’s Billy Sauer. Pearce owns a 2.22 goals-against average and a .916 save percentage with one shutout on the year.
GOOD NEWS AND BAD NEWS: Through 11 games this season, the Irish have some good news and some bad news to report. In Notre Dame’s seven victories, the Irish have scored 28 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 seven wins, the Irish have given up just 12 goals (1.71 goals-against average) while in the four losses, they have given up 13 goals (3.25 goals against).
THE KISSEL EFFECT: Sophomore left wing Dan Kissel collected his first goal of the season in the 2-1 win at Miami. The goal also proved to be the game winner. In Kissel’s career, he has now played in 30 career games and has scored seven goals. Of his seven goals, four have been game winners. Last season, three of his six goals on the year 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 11 games of the season. Both Irish defensive stalwarts are +9 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 second in the CCHA with two other players and is one behind Miami’s Mitch Ganzak who is +10 for the year.
POWERLESS: Notre Dame’s power play was stopped in the series at Miami last weekend, going 0-for-7 in the two-game series. The previous weekend against Lake Superior, the Irish were 5-for-10 with the man advantage versus the Lakers.
HOT HAND: Junior center Christian Hanson picked up goals in back-to-back games for the Irish as he scored short-handed in the 4-1 win over Lake Superior on Nov. 2 and then had the first goal of the game in the 2-1 win over Miami on Nov. 9. Hanson has two goals and one assist through the first 11 games this season. The short-handed goal was the first of his career.
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.
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 – 127 consecutive games played through the first 11 games this year.
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 seventh in the nation, having killed 50-of-54 opponent power-play chances for a 92.6% 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.com10/01 8th 8th10/08 7th 8th10/15 11th 11th10/22 12th 12th10/29 13th 14th11/5 12th 12th11/12 11th 10th
CONDRA CAPERS: Right wing Erik Condra (Jr., Livonia, Mich.) recorded the second, five-point game of his career in the Nov. 1, 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 four goals and six assists for 10 points in the first 11 games of the season.
ON THE MARK: Senior center Mark Van Guilder recorded the second four-point game of his career on Nov. 1 against Lake Superior State. Van Guilder scored twice and set up two others in the game. His previous four-point night came at Bowling Green on Feb. 17, 2006 as a sophomore when he had three goals and an assist against the Falcons. The Notre Dame captain leads the Irish in goals (6) and power-play goals (4) this season.
LINING UP: Notre Dame’s trio of Erik Condra, Mark Van Guilder and freshman Robin Bergman (Stockholm, Sweden) played on the same line for the first time this season against Lake Superior State. The trio combined for six goals and eight assists for 14 points over the two games. Bergman scored his first collegiate goal in the 7-3 win and had the first multiple-point game of his career in that game. He added an assist in the 4-1 win on Friday night for a three-point weekend. Condra had (3g, 3a) and Van Guilder added two goals and three assists for their weekend statistics. Bergman scored the lone point for the trio at Miami as he set up Christian Hanson’s first period goal in the 2-1 win over the RedHawks.
NEW KID: Freshman goaltender Brad Phillips (Fr., Farmington Hills, Mich.) made his first career start in goal for Notre Dame on Nov. 2 in the 4-1 win over Lake Superior State. Phillips stopped 16 of the 17 shots he faced, giving up just a five-on-three power-play goal in the game. Phillips did not make the trip to Miami due to illness.
ROAD WARRIORS: Notre Dame’s two wins on the road between Oct. 23 and Oct. 27 (at Bowling Green and Ferris State) gave the Irish seven-consecutive road wins, dating back to Jan. 19, 2007. The seven-consecutive road wins tied a program record that was set between Jan. 7 and Feb. 4, 1977. That seven-game streak also became part of the team’s longest road unbeaten run as the Irish went 8-0-1 between Jan. 7 and Feb. 24 of that season. The streak was snapped on Oct. 28 in a 3-0 loss at Ferris State.
FRIENDLY CONFINES: The sellout crowd of 2,857 on Friday, Nov. 2 at the Joyce Center was the largest crowd 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. This week, a new section of seating was added to the student section to increase the capacity.
HOME SWEET HOME: After four home games this season, Notre Dame is 3-1-0 at the Joyce Center. A year ago, Notre Dame was 13-2-2 at home for an .824 winning percentage. That was the best mark since the 2003-04 season when the Irish were 14-2-2 at the Joyce Center for an .833 winning percentage. Only two other Irish teams have had better home records – 1987-88 team was 18-2-0 (.900) and the 1969-70 team was 12-1-1 (.893).