Sophomore Ryan Thang is Notre Dame's top scorer - 16 goals, 11 assists - this season.  He scored two goals in last year's NCAA Tournament

No. 7/7 Notre Dame Plays Final Home Series Of 2007 Versus Nebraska-Omaha Mavericks

Nov. 28, 2007

Notre Dame, Ind. –

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• The Series:  #7/#7 Notre Dame (12-4-0/8-2-0) vs. Nebraska-Omaha  (5-5-1/4-5-1)• Date/Site/Time:  Fri.-Sat., Nov. 30-Dec. 1, 2007 • Joyce Center  (2,713) • 7:35 p.m/7:05 p.m.• Broadcast Information:  Radio:  Notre Dame hockey can be heard  live on ESPN Radio 1490, South Bend's SportsCenter. Mike Lockert,  "the voice of Irish hockey" will bring you all the play-by-play  action. • Internet Broadcast: At the Notre Dame website - www.und.com.  Both games of the weekend series will be streamed live at und.com.

MAVERICK INVASION: Notre Dame returns home for its final home series of the 2007 portion of the schedule when the Irish play host to the Nebraska-Omaha Mavericks on Fri., Nov. 30 and Sat., Dec. 1 at the Joyce Center. Friday’s game has a 7:35 p.m. start while Saturday’s game will begin at 7:05 p.m. The Irish will next be home on Sunday, Jan. 13 against Michigan State. Notre Dame brings a five-game winning streak into the series, having won all five games over a nine-day span between Nov. 16 and Nov. 24. The Irish have also won four straight games at the Joyce Center. With a record of 12-4-0 overall and 8-2-0 in the CCHA, Notre Dame is currently ranked seventh in both the USA Today/American Hockey Magazine and the USCHO.com/CSTV polls. The Irish are coming off their first-ever tournament win (in three tries) at the Rensselaer Holiday Tournament last weekend where they defeated Alabama-Huntsville (4-1) and Rensselaer (4-3) in the title game. Nebraska-Omaha is now 5-5-1 on the year and 4-5-1 in conference play. After starting the season with a 1-4-0 mark, the Mavericks are currently 4-1-1 over their last six games. Last weekend, the Mavs beat Alaska, 4-3, in the series opener and then tied the Nanooks, 4-4, in Saturday’s contest.

IRISH VERSUS MAVERICKS: The two teams have met 23 times in the all-time series with Notre Dame holding a 10-9-4 edge in the games played. At the Joyce Center, the series is even at 4-4-2. Last year, the teams met four times with Notre Dame having a 2-1-1 edge. At the Joyce Center, the Irish were 1-0-1 in a pair of February games. The last time UNO won in South Bend was Feb. 5, 2005, a 6-3 Maverick win.

TWO-TIMER: Defenseman Kyle Lawson (So., New Hudson, Mich.) has been named the CCHA defenseman of the week for the second consecutive week. Lawson, who helped the Irish to three wins in the week, had one goal and three assists for four points and was +2. In the Nov. 20, 2-1 win over Bowling Green, Lawson was +1 and scored the game-winning goal in the 2-1 victory. Versus Alabama-Huntsville on Nov. 23, Lawson was even and set up one goal. In the championship game against Rensselaer, Lawson set up two goals, including Ryan Thang’s (So., Edina, Minn.) game winner with 3:56 left in the game and was +1. He was also named defenseman of the week for the week ending Nov. 18.

NOVEMBER NUMBERS: Notre Dame enters the final game of November on Friday night against Nebraska-Omaha with an 8-1-0 record during the month. The lone loss came to No. 1 ranked Miami on Nov. 10 by a 3-1 margin. In the eight wins, the Irish have outscored the opposition by a 32-12 margin. The last time a Notre Dame hockey team won eight games in a single month came in Jan. of 1988 when that team went 8-0-0. In Nov. of 1983, the Irish were 9-0-0 to open the season.

RENSSELAER HOLIDAY WRAP-UP: Notre Dame participated in the R.P.I Holiday Tournament for the third time in the program’s history and got its first tournament victory. The Irish defeated Alabama-Huntsville, 4-1, in the opening game and then had to rally from a three-goal deficit to defeat Rensselaer, 4-3, in the championship game. Against UAH, the game was scoreless until the 17:36 mark of the second period when Ian Cole (Fr., Ann Arbor, Mich.) scored his first of the season to give Notre Dame a 1-0 lead. In the third period, the lead would go to 3-0 in favor of the Irish as Ryan Thang and Ben Ryan (Fr., Brighton, Mich.) scored in a 2:06 span at 2:13 and 4:19 to give Notre Dame the 3-0 goal lead. Freshman goaltender Brad Phillips (Farmington Hills, Mich.) lost his shutout bid at 4:50 when Joe Federoff scored for the Chargers. Kevin Deeth (So., Gig Harbor, Wash.) snapped a 14-game goal-less drought at 14:47 of the third period with a power-play goal for the 4-1 final. Notre Dame out shot Alabama-Huntsville, 41-14 in the game. Phillips got his second win of the year, making 13 saves. In the championship game against Rensselaer, the Irish surrendered first-period goals to Chase Polacek and Tyler Helfrich (ppg) for a 2-0 lead in favor of the Engineers. That lead would go to 3-0 when Jonathan Ornelas added a power-play goal in the second period at 5:30, putting Notre Dame down 3-0. The Irish began their comeback at 8:16 of the middle period when Deeth scored his second power-play goal in as many games to cut the lead to 3-1. Justin White (Jr., Traverse City, Mich.) converted an RPI turnover at 9:20, drilling a shot past goaltender Jordan Alford to make it 3-2. In the third period, defenseman Dan VeNard (Sr., Vernon Hills, Ill.) scored on a nice rush for a power-play goal to tie the game at 3-3. Thang then closed out the scoring with a goal at 16:04, for his second game winner of the weekend. Defensman Kyle Lawson set the play in motion, carrying the puck behind the net before centering it to Thang. Notre Dame out shot R.P.I., 33-18 in the game, holding the Engineers to just seven shots over the final two periods. Jordan Pearce (Jr., Anchorage, Alaska) made 15 saves for the Irish while Alford had 29 in the R.P.I. net.

TOURNAMENT HARDWARE: Three Notre Dame players were named to the all-tournament team at the Rensselaer Holiday Tournament. Junior right wing Erik Condra (Livonia, Mich.) recorded three assists on the weekend and was the lone Irish forward selected. Defensemen Brett Blatchford (So., Temperance, Mich.) and Ian Cole joined Condra on the team. Sophomore left wing Ryan Thang was named the tournament MVP after scoring the game-winning goal in each of Notre Dame’s victories.

BOWLING GREEN RECAP: Jordan Pearce made 27 saves and got goals from Ben Ryan and defenseman Kyle Lawson in a 2-1 win over the Bowling Green Falcons Tuesday night at the Joyce Center. Derek Whitmore scored the lone goal for Bowling Green. Ryan gave Notre Dame a 1-0 lead at 6:29 of the first period with his third goal of the season. Whitmore tied the game at 9:15 with his 12th goal of the season and the teams went to the first intermission tied 1-1. In the second, the Irish took the lead for good at 2:05 when Lawson scored from the slot for his third goal of the season. Pearce made the one-goal lead stand up, stopping all 14 shots he faced over the final two periods. Bowling Green out shot Notre Dame, 28-24 in the game. Nick Eno made 22 saves for the Falcons. BG was 0-for-5 on the power play while the Irish were 0-for-4.

FIVE-IN-NINE: The Rensselaer Holiday Tournament closed out a stretch of five games in nine days for Notre Dame. In the nine-day period (Nov. 16-Nov. 24) the Irish won all five games, defeating Western Michigan, 4-1 and 5-1, in a home-and-home series on Nov. 16-17, before defeating Bowling Green on Nov. 20, 2-1 at the Joyce Center. That was followed by the two wins at the R.P.I. Tournament. This was the second time this season that the Irish played five games in nine days. The first time occured beween Oct. 18-27, with Notre Dame going 3-2-0 in that span.

TOURNEY RESULTS: With the victory at the R.P.I. Tournament, the Irish have now appeared in 29 in-season tournaments, winning six times, finishing second, six times with sixth third-place finishes and 11 fourth spots. Notre Dame has now won two of the last three in-season tournaments that the Irish have played in, winning the 2006 Lightning Collegiate Hockey Classic in Oct. of 2006 in Tampa, Fla. All time, the Irish are 22-33-3 in tournament play.

CENTURY CLUB: Notre Dame’s “Century Club” added its newest member last weekend with junior Erik Condra picking up his 100th career point in the 4-3 win over Rensselaer on Nov. 24. In 94 career games, Condra now has 26 goals and 74 assists for 100 career points in 94 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. Erik Condra (2005-) 26 74 100 Paul Clarke (1973-77) 38 62 100

HOT HAND: During November’s hot streak, goaltender Jordan Pearce has played a major role in the team’s success. Pearce has played in seven games with a 6-1-0 record, a 1.86 goals-against average and a .914 save percentage. For the year, Pearce is 10-4-0 with a 2.01 goals-against average and a .915 save percentage with one shutout. His 834:54 minutes played is second in the nation, less than seven minutes behind national leader Billy Sauer of Michigan (841:24). Prior to this season, Pearce had played in 12 career games with 621:56 minutes.

CLUTCH SCORER: Sophomore left wing Ryan Thang leads Notre Dame with nine goals on the season. Of those nine, four have come on the power play and three are game winners. In 58 career games, Thang has now scored 29 goals with 14 coming on the power play and nine of them game winners. His nine game-winning goals already tie him for ninth on the all-time game-winning goals list at Notre Dame.

GOOD NEWS AND BAD NEWS: Through 16 games this season, the Irish have good news and bad news to report. In Notre Dame’s 12 victories, the Irish have scored 47 goals for a 3.92 average. In the four losses, Notre Dame has scored just three goals for a 0.75 goals-per game mark. In the 12 wins, the Irish have given up just 19 goals (1.58 goals-against average) while in the four losses, they have given up 13 goals (3.25 goals against).

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 16 games of the season. Both Irish defensive stalwarts are +8 for the season, meaning they have been on the ice for eight more goals scored by Notre Dame than the Irish have given up at even strength. That ties them for eighth in the CCHA.

TICKLING THE TWINE: Sophomore center Kevin Deeth snapped a 14-game goal-less streak with power-play goals in each of Notre Dame’s wins in the R.P.I. Tournament. Deeth is now tied for fifth on the team in scoring with two goals and eight assists for 10 points. As a freshman, Deeth had 17 goals and 22 assists for 39 points a year ago.

THE SNIPER: Notre Dame defenseman Dan VeNard continues to contribute to the Irish offense. He scored his third goal of the season in Notre Dame’s 4-3 win over R.P.I., this one on the power play. In his senior season, VeNard has picked up his first game winner and first power-play tallies. In has already doubled his career goal-scoring output as he now has five goals and six assists in 87 career games.

IRON MAN: Senior center Mark Van Guilder (Roseville, Minn.) 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 – 132 consecutive games played through the first 16 games this year.

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 the Nov. 17 game.

KILLING PENALTIES: Rensselaer scored a five-on-three power-play goal on Nov. 24 to snap a streak of 18 consecutive penalties killed by the Irish. Over the last five games, Notre Dame has killed 21-of-22 opponent power plays for a 95.5% success rate. For the season, the Irish are second in the CCHA and third in the nation in penalty killing. Notre Dame has surrendered just five power-play goals on 76 chances this season for a 93.4% penalty killing rate.

HIGHS AND LOWS: Notre Dame’s 44 shots in the Nov. 16 win over Western Michigan are a season high for the Irish. The 11 shots given up by Notre Dame in Saturday’s game (Nov. 17) 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.

CONDRA CAPERS: Right wing Erik Condra now has a five-game point-scoring streak that started on Nov. 16. Condra has two goals and six assists for eight points during the five-game run. He now has four 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 12 assists for 18 points in the first 16 games of the 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.

POWER ON: With two power-play goals in the win over Rensselaer, Notre Dame has now scored two or more power-play goals in a game six times this season. The Irish have at least one power-play goal in 11 of the team’s 16 games this season. For the year, Notre Dame is 18-for-96 with the power play for an 18.8% success rate.

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 35 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.