Dec. 8, 2004
Complete Release in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader
* The Series: Notre Dame Fighting Irish (3-8-4/2-7-3) vs. Michigan State Spartans (7-8-1/4-6-0)
* Date/Site/Times: Fri., Dec. 10, 2004 – 8:05 p.m. – Joyce Center (2,713)
Sat., Dec. 11, 2004 – 7:05 p.m. – Munn Arena (6,470)
* Broadcast Information: Radio: Notre Dame hockey can be heard live on ESPN Radio 1580, South Bend’s SportsCenter. Mike Lockert, “the voice of Irish hockey” and Tom Nevala will bring you all the action both nights. Irish hockey can also be heard live via the internet at www.und.com.
Television: Friday’s game will be televised nationally as part of College Sports Television’s (CSTV) Friday night game of the week package. Veteran NHL play-by-play man Mike Emrick and Billy Jaffe will call all the action. The game can be seen via DirecTV channel 610 and will be televised locally in South Bend by WHME-TV Channel 46. Saturday’s game will be televised live by Comcast Local. Ben Holden and Lyle Phair will call the shots in this 7:05 p.m. game. The game will be seen live in South Bend (Comcast Cable channel – 3) and Detroit. Comcast Chicago will televise the game on tape delay.
NOTRE DAME MEETS MICHIGAN STATE:
Notre Dame and Michigan State meet in the second consecutive home-and-home series for each team. The Irish will host the Spartans on Friday night, Dec. 10 in an 8:05 p.m. game that will be telecast nationally by CSTV. The game is available in South Bend on WHME-TV channel 46 and via DirecTv Channel 610. Saturday’s game (Dec. 11) will be played at Munn Arena in East Lansing, Mich., with game time set for 7:05 p.m. That game will be televised by Comcast Local and can be seen in South Bend on Comcast Cable Channel 3. The Irish will be looking to snap a three-game losing streak and are coming off 6-1 and 8-0 losses to Michigan last weekend. The Irish are 3-8-2 overall and 2-7-3 in the CCHA and are tied for 10th in the league standings. Michigan State is coming off a home-and-home split with Bowling Green, losing at home, 2-1 on Dec. 3, and then winning at Bowling Green, 6-4, on Saturday night. The Spartans are currently ninth in the CCHA with a 4-6-0 record and are 7-8-1 on the season. Both teams break for finals and the Christmas Holidays following this weekend. Notre Dame returns to action on Jan. 1-2 when the Irish play host to Rensselaer at the Joyce Center. Michigan State’s next action comes on Dec. 29 in the first round of the Great Lakes Invitational Tournament versus New Hampshire.
THE SERIES:
The two teams have met 88 times in the all-time series with Michigan State holding a 51-29-8 edge. Since the Irish returned to the CCHA in 1992-93, the Spartans have dominated the series with a 24-3-7 record versus Notre Dame. All-time at the Joyce Center, Michigan State leads, 19-16-6 (8-1-6 since 1992-93) and at Munn Arena, the Spartans hold a 30-13-2 mark (15-2-1 since ’92-’93). Notre Dame’s last win at home versus MSU came on Dec. 4, 1999, a 1-0 win. The Irish are 0-3-2 at the Joyce Center since that victory. Notre Dame’s last win at Munn Arena came on Feb. 9, 2002 as Morgan Cey (Sr., Wilkie, Sask.) outlasted Ryan Miller in goal in a 3-2 Irish win. The two teams met twice last season in East Lansing with the Spartans winning, 3-1, before the two teams tied 3-3 in the second game of the series.
VERSUS RANKED TEAMS:
Through the first 15 games of the 2004-05 season, Notre Dame has played nine versus teams ranked nationally. In those nine games, the Irish are 1-6-2. The lone win came against Boston College (Oct. 22) when the Eagles were ranked first in the nation. The ties have come versus Minnesota-Duluth and Northern Michigan.
MICHIGAN RECAP:
Saturday, Dec. 4 – Notre Dame suffered its worst home loss since Dec. 21, 1988 (11-1 to Ferris State) with an 8-0 loss to Michigan at the Joyce Center. Kevin Porter led the Wolverines with two goals and two assists in the game while Jeff Tambellini also scored a pair of goals. Michigan was 5-for-9 on the power play while the Irish were 0-for-8. The Wolverines out shot Notre Dame, 47-16 in the game as Al Montoya recorded the shutout. Morgan Cey started for the Irish and played the first 20 minutes, giving up three goals on 20 shots. David Brown (So., Stoney Creek, Ont.) played the final 40 minutes, stopping 22 of 27 shots.
GAME 1 RECAP:
Friday, Dec. 3 – The Michigan Wolverines got goals from six different players and goaltender Al Montoya stopped 21 of 22 shots for a 6-1 win at Yost Arena. The Michigan win snapped Notre Dame’s three-game winning streak versus the Wolverines. T.J. Hensick (5:24) and Eric Werner (10:18) staked the Wolverines to a 2-0 first-period lead. Michael Bartlett (So., Morton Grove, Ill.) cut that lead in half with a power-play goal at 15:55, but that would be the only Irish goal of the night. Brandon Kaleniecki (PPG), Chad Kolarik, Milan Gajic and Brandon Rogers added goals for Michigan. David Brown played the first 31:11 (four goals, seven saves) and Morgan Cey stopped 21 of the 23 he faced as Michigan out shot the Irish, 34-22.
TV CHANGE:
Fans of Notre Dame hockey should note that games televised by Comcast Local will now be available in South Bend on Channel 3 to local Comcast subscribers. This is due to a relaunching of channels in South Bend that begins on Dec. 8.
SHOT MARGINS:
The Irish have out shot teams in just three of their first 15 games this season and are 0-0-3 in those games. Notre Dame out shot Bowling Green by a 38-30 margin on Nov. 12. On Nov. 5, the Irish out shot Bowling Green, 54-23 and on Oct. 29, Notre Dame out shot Northern Michigan by a 30-27 margin. For the year, the Irish are 3-8-1 when an opponent has more shots in a game.
MISSING IN ACTION:
Sophomore center Jason Paige (Saginaw, Mich.) will sit out Friday’s game with Michigan State to serve a game disqualification penalty that he received in last Saturday’s game with Michigan. In 14 games, Paige has two goals and one assists for three points on the year.
ON THE SIDELINES:
Notre Dame will be without the services of center Matt Williams-Kovacs (So., Calgary, Alb.) who suffered a broken left ankle in the first period of the Oct. 16 game versus Miami and has missed the last 11 games. He had surgery on Monday, Oct. 18 and has resumed skating. Defenseman Dan VeNard (Fr., Vernon Hills, Ill.) went down with a separated right shoulder in the Nov. 13 game versus Western Michigan and has missed the last four games.
THE LAST TIME:
In the Dec. 4 game with Michigan, Notre Dame surrendered five power-play goals in nine chances to the Wolverines. The last time that the Irish gave up five power-play tallies in a game came on Jan. 11, 1994 in a 10-6 loss to Ferris State (5-for-8). The last time the Irish gave up 14 or more goals in a weekend series came on Dec. 5-6, 2003 when they gave up 14 goals in 8-6 and 6-4 losses at Western Michigan.
DEJA VU ALL OVER AGAIN:
The last time the Irish gave up five power-play goals came in a game versus Ferris State in January of 1994. One of the players to score a power-play goal for the Bulldogs that night was Keith Sergott. When Michigan turned the trick on Dec. 4, Sergott was on the ice at the Joyce Center, wearing stripes as he served as an assistant referee for the game.
SPLITTING TIME:
Prior to the Michigan series on Dec. 3-4, Irish goaltenders David Brown and Morgan Cey had been pulled once in favor of the other just one time in their careers (2003-04). Versus Michigan, Brown was pulled in favor of Cey after 31:11 in the Dec. 3 game. The following night, Cey was pulled after the first period in favor of Brown.
TOUGH BARNS:
Since returning to the CCHA in 1992-93, Michigan’s Yost Arena and Michigan State’s Munn Arena have been regular “Houses of Horror” for the Irish. At Yost Arena, the Irish are 1-15-1 in the last 17 regular-season meetings and 2-19-1 overall. At Munn Arena, Notre Dame is 2-15-1 on the home ice of the Spartans.
OUCH:
The Irish surrendered seven power-play goals in the two games versus Michigan. On Dec. 3 in the 6-1 win, the Wolverines were 2-for-7. On Saturday, Dec. 4, they were 5-for-9 making them 7 for 16 on the weekend.
PLANES, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES:
The Irish experienced their own version of Planes, Trains and Automobiles on their journey to Fairbanks, Alaska. The Irish hockey team left the Notre Dame campus at 1:30 p.m. (EST) on Wednesday, Nov. 24 and took five hours for the 112-mile trip to Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport (due to holiday traffic and weather). From there, the 7:20 p.m. (CST) flight to Anchorage, Alaska didn’t leave Chicago until midnight. The six-hour-and-thirty minute flight arrived at 3:30 a.m. (Alaska Standard Time – 7:30 a.m. EST). The Irish flight to Fairbanks left at 1:00 a.m. (AST), so the team had to stay in an Anchorage hotel for five hours before leaving for the airport at 9:45 a.m. (1:45 p.m. EST). The team arrived in Fairbanks at 12:30 p.m. (4:30 p.m. EST) making the normal 16-hour trip a 27-hour ordeal. The Irish went right from the airport to the Carlson Center to practice for an hour-and-a-half before enjoying Thanksgiving dinner at 3:30 p.m. (7:30 p.m. EST).
WES FOR THE DEFENSE:
Sophomore defenseman Wes O’Neill (Essex, Ont.) has become Notre Dame’s offensive and defensive leader this season. Through 15 games, O’Neill is tied for the team lead in goals (4), leads the team in assists (6), points (10), power-play goals (3) and is second in shots on goal (35).
RANK-IN-FILE:
Freshman right wing Evan Rankin (Portage, Mich.)continues to show a nose for the net in his rookie season. The Portage, Mich., native returned to the lineup after missing two games (U.S. Under-18 Team and UAF) with a hip injury to score his fourth goal of the season (first on the power play) in the 3-2 loss to the Nanooks on Nov. 27. Rankin is tied with Wes O’Neill for the team lead in goals with four. He leads Irish freshmen in scoring with four goals and two assists for six points in 14 games this season.
FIRST OF THE YEAR:
Sophomore forward Michael Bartlett scored his first goal of the season versus Michigan. His goal came via the power play and snapped his goal less streak at 13 games. Junior left wing Mike Walsh (Northville, Mich.), who has five assists on the year is still looking for his first goal of the year as is freshman Victor Oreskovich (Oakville, Ont.) who leads the team with 38 shots on goal after 15 games.
SCIBA SCORING:
Sophomore left wing Josh Sciba (Westland, Mich.) picked up a pair of points in the weekend series versus Alaska Fairbanks. Sciba had an assist in the 3-2 win and then followed it with his third goal of the year in the 3-2 loss on Nov. 27.
GILL THE THRILL:
Junior center Tony Gill (Rochester, Minn.) scored the first goal of his Notre Dame career in the 3-2 win over Alaska Fairbanks. The brother of former Irish captain, Aaron Gill, Tony played in 33 career games before getting his first goal.
FIT TO BE TIED:
The Nov. 12 tie with Western Michigan (2-2) is the fourth tie of the season for Notre Dame. Since the 1999-2000 season, Notre Dame has been involved in 45 overtime games. In those games, the Irish are 6-5-34. During the 2003-04 season, Notre Dame had a total of eight overtime contests, going 1-3-4 in those games. The lone overtime win came in game three of the first round of the CCHA playoffs versus Western Michigan. The Irish have not won a regular-season overtime game since Jan. 25, 2002 at Miami, a span of 16 regular-season overtime games (0-2-14).
ALL TIED UP:
The most ties the Irish have ever had in a season is eight and that came during the 1999-2000 campaign. The most overtime games the Irish have participated in is 11 and that came during the 1993-94 season. Notre Dame was 2-4-5 in those games.
GOAL-SCORING STRUGGLES:
The Irish have been held to just 26 goals in the first 15 games of the season (1.73 goals per game average). Over the last seven games, Notre Dame has scored 15 goals (2.14). The Irish have been out scored in the third period this season by a 21-6 margin.
SCORING BY CLASS:
Here’s how Notre Dame scoring breaks down by classes this season.
Class (Skaters), Goals, Assists, Points
Seniors (2), 3, 6, 9
Juniors (5), 4, 15, 19
Sophomores (7), 14, 15, 29
Freshmen (8), 5, 8, 13
Totals 26, 44, 70,
PLAYING SHORT-HANDED:
Notre Dame’s penalty-killing unit led the CCHA and was fourth in the nation in 2003-04, killing penalties at an 87.4% success rate. Prior to the Michigan series, the Irish had given up just three power-play goals in the previous 32 chances over a five-game span for a 90.6% success rate. On the year, the Irish have now given up 23 power-play goals on 113 chances for a 79.6% penalty-killing mark. In the series prior to Michigan, the Irish killed 15 of 16 Alaska Fairbanks power-play chances.
POWER-PLAY STRUGGLES:
Notre Dame’s power-play struggles continued versus Michigan as they were just 1-for-19 on the weekend. In the Dec. 3 game, Notre Dame was 1-for-11 and in the 8-0 shutout on Saturday, the Irish were 0-for-8. On the season, Notre Dame has just 12 power-play goals on 110 chances for a 10.9% success rate.
HAPPY HOMECOMING:
Junior right wing Tim Wallace, an Anchorage, Alaska native, enjoyed the trip back to his native Alaska by scoring a goal and an assist in the 3-2 win over the Nanooks and then added an assist the following night for a three-point weekend. Wallace is third on the team in scoring with two goals and five assists for seven points on the season.
IRON MAN:
Sophomore right wing Tim Wallace (Anchorage, Alaska) has now played in all 94 games in his first two-plus seasons at Notre Dame. The Irish record for consecutive games played belongs to former defenseman Evan Nielsen (’03) who played in 114 consecutive games between his sophomore and senior seasons. Nielsen missed just two games in his career, playing in 156 of 158 games. Wallace played in all 40 games as a freshman and all 39 Irish games in 2003-04. The big left wing has a two goals and five assists for seven points in the first 15 games of 2004-05.
FORMER IRISH GREAT GREG MEREDITH TO RECEIVE NCAA HONOR:
Former Notre Dame hockey All-American, Greg Meredith (1976-80) is one of six NCAA Silver Anniversary Award recipients the NCAA has announced. The Silver Anniversary Award recognizes former student-athletes who have distinguished themselves since completing their college careers 25 years ago. Meredith is Notre Dame’s all-time leading goal scorer with 104 goals in 149 career games. He is also tops in power-play goals (43) and seventh in all-time points with 192 for his career. He is just one of two players ever to score 40 goals in a season (1979-80) at Notre Dame. A four-year letterwinner with the Irish, Meredith was a finalist for a Rhodes Scholarship and was an NCAA postgraduate scholarship recipient. He is currently the managing director for Putnam Lovell NBF Securities Inc., and has held positions with Salomon Brothers, Inc., Nationsbanc Capital Markets, Inc., and Fenway Partners, Inc. From 2001 to 2003, he served as president and chief executive officer at HSBC Capital and was also president and CEO of Printvision, a software company from 2002-03. In addition, Meredith is the founder and president of Proctor Capital, a private investment and strategic advisory firm. He played four years in the NHL for the Calgary Flames and was an assistant coach at Harvard. Meredith currently coaches the St. David’s hockey program for boys and girls between 9 and 11 years of age. He formed the Meredith Family Foundation in 1997, which contributes to programs such as the LOGAN Center, which provides services to individuals with intellectual disabilities, the St. Joseph’s County Special Olympics, and Camp Millhouse, a summer camp for children with significant intellectual disabilities. In addition, the organization funds educational initiatives including the Paul E. Meredith scholarships at Notre Dame. Meredith is the 10th former Irish athlete to receive the award that was started in 1973.
THE PUCK STOPS HERE:
Notre Dame senior goaltender Morgan Cey was named the CCHA’s goaltender of the week and USCHO.com’s defensive player of the week for the week ending Oct. 24th. Cey recorded a career-high 50 saves in downing the top-ranked Boston College Eagles, 3-2, at the Joyce Center on Oct. 22. Twenty-eight of his saves came on 11 BC power-play chances. The 6-3, 177-pound goaltender made 20 saves in the first period, 10 in the second and 20 in the third period. He has gone 1-2-2 in his last five games since his outstanding performance versus Boston College. For the year, Cey is 2-4-3 with a 2.78 goals-against average and a .923 save percentage. Of the 25 goals he’s given up this year, 13 have been on the power play.
SEN-CEY-TIONAL:
Morgan Cey’s 50-save performance versus Boston College was the first 50-save game for a Notre Dame goaltender since Lance Madson (’86-’90) turned in 57 saves in a 6-3 loss to Air Force on Nov. 12, 1988. Cey, now has 37 wins him his career to rank fifth on Notre Dame’s all-time wins list.
DOING IT THE HARD WAY:
Sophomore right wing T.J. Jindra (Faribault, Minn.) picked up the third short-handed goal of his Notre Dame career versus Boston College. The goal was the third game winner of his career. His second goal, at Western Michigan on Nov. 13 was also a game winner. In 54 career games, Jindra now has scored six goals with three of them coming a man down. He also has four game winners in his career with two of them coming short-handed.
THREE-GOAL LEADS:
Notre Dame led Bowling Green by a 3-0 score before giving up four goals to trail, 4-3, before Wes O’Neill’s heroics with three seconds left. The last time the Irish surrendered a three-goal lead was on Nov. 6, 1998. The Irish led Boston College, 5-2 after two periods before settling for a 5-5 tie.
BLUE-LINE SCORING:
Sophomore defenseman Wes O’Neill leads the Irish in scoring after 15 games with four goals and six assists on the season. He is followed on the blue line by sophomore Noah Babin who has a two goals and two assists for four points. Freshman Brock Sheahan (Lethbridge, Alb.) has three assists while junior Chris Trick (Troy, Mich.) has two helpers. Freshman Dan VeNard has one assist for the Irish defensive corps. Through 15 games, the Irish defense has accounted for six of Notre Dame’s 26 goals (24.0%) and 20 of Notre Dame’s 70 points (28.6%).
BEATING THE BEST:
For the second year in a row, Notre Dame faced the Boston College Eagles when the Eagles were the top-ranked team in the nation. For the second year in a row, the Irish sent the Eagles home with a loss as they prevailed on Oct. 22 by a 3-2 score. The last time the Irish had defeated a top-ranked team at the Joyce Center was Jan. 13, 1978 when they upset Denver, 5-3. A year ago, in Boston, the Irish downed the top-ranked Eagles, 1-0. In the 37-year history of the program, Notre Dame owns eight wins over top-ranked teams. The list:
10/22/04 – vs. Boston College, 3-2
10/23/03 – at Boston College, 1-0
1/3/99 – at North Dakota, 4-3
11/20/78 – at Minnesota, 3-2
1/13/78 – vs. Denver, 5-3
1/18/74 – vs. Michigan Tech, 7-1
2/24/73 – vs. Wisconsin, 4-3
2/23/73 – vs. Wisconsin, 8-5
TOUGH PLACE TO WIN:
Notre Dame’s win at Western Michigan on Nov. 13th was just the fourth for the Irish at Lawson Arena since returning to the CCHA in 1992-93. Notre Dame is now 4-16-3 at Lawson since that season. Overall, the Irish are 7-19-4 in the all-time series versus the Broncos in Kalamazoo, Mich.
HOMECOMING HERO:
Notre Dame freshman right wing Evan Rankin (Portage, Mich.) made the most of his return to Kalamazoo, Mich., on Friday night. The Portage, Mich., native returned to Lawson Arena where he first learned to skate and scored the game-tying goal in the third period of the 2-2 tie. He then assisted on Notre Dame’s first goal in the 3-2 win on Saturday. For the year, Rankin leads all Irish freshmen in scoring with four goals and two assists for six points.
CAREER BESTS:
Junior left wing Mike Walsh had the first three-point game and the first three-assist game of his career in the 4-4 tie with Bowling Green. Defenseman Wes O’Neill recorded the first two-goal game of his career versus the Falcons. Freshman right wing Evan Rankin recorded the first multiple-point game of his career as he scored a goal and added an assist versus Bowling Green. Cory McLean equalled his career-high with three points versus the Falcons as he scored once and added two assists in the contest.
BLASTING THE BISCUIT:
The Irish fired 54 shots at Bowling Green goaltender Jordan Sigalet on Nov. 5, including 29 in the second period. The last time the Irish had more than 54 shots on goal came on Oct. 17, 2003 when they fired 59 at – you guessed it – Jordan Sigalet of Bowling Green. He made 56 saves that night in a 5-3 Falcon win.
BISCUIT BARRAGE:
The 52 shots that Boston College fired at Morgan Cey on Oct. 22 was the most shots on goal the Irish have faced since Jan. 23, 2001 when Michigan fired 51 on the Notre Dame goal in a 9-0 Wolverine win.
CAPTAINS:
Senior Cory McLean (Fargo, N.D.) will serve as Notre Dame’s team captain this season. The team’s two alternate captains will be junior Mike Walsh (Northville, Mich.) and sophomore Jason Paige (Saginaw, Mich.). Paige is just the second sophomore in Dave Poulin’s 10 seasons at Notre Dame to be selected as an alternate captain. The first was Steve Noble (’98) who was selected an alternate for the 1995-96 season. He went on to serve as captain in 1996-97 and 1997-98.
GOLD-MEDAL IRISH:
Two former Notre Dame hockey players helped the United States win the gold medal in the recent Deutschland Cup tournament held in Hannover, Germany. Forward Yan Stastny, currently playing for the Nurnberg Ice Tigers in Germany, collected a goal and an assist in the four games. Defenseman Mark Eaton, currently a member of the Nashville Predators, scored a power-play goal in the gold medal game vrsus Slovakia. The U.S. defeated Germany, 5-1, lost to Canada, 5-3, defeated Switzerland, 4-2 and then shutout Slovakia, 4-0, to finish 3-1 in the tournament. The U.S. ended tied with Canada with 3-1 records, but received the gold medal due to greater goal differential over the four games.
CENTRAL SCOUTING RANKINGS:
The National Hockey League’s Central Scouting has announced its preliminary rankings for the June, 2005 Entry Draft. Irish freshman right wing Evan Rankin was one of 10 CCHA players ranked and one of 35 collegiate players recognized. He was ranked 13th overall. Three incoming players were also ranked. Christian Hanson received an A-rating (possible 1st through 4th round draft choice) while goaltender Jordan Pearce was the only USHL goaltender to receive an A-rating. Defenseman Kyle Lawson of the U.S. Under-18 Team was given a B-rating (late round draft choice).
FRESHMAN FIRSTS:
Freshman left wing Mark Van Guilder (Roseville, Minn.) collected his first collegiate goal on Nov. 4 at Bowling Green. He became the second Irish freshman to get his first goal, following Evan Rankin who scored the first goal of his Notre Dame career with a second-period goal versus Boston College (Oct.22). Defenseman Brock Sheahan collected his first career point in Notre Dame’s season opener versus Minnesota-Duluth and fellow defenseman Dan VeNard got his first career point on Nov. 12 at Western Michigan.
FIRST TIMER:
Noah Babin (So., Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.) scored his first career goal for the Irish in the 1-1 tie with Northern Michigan. The sophomore defenseman has played in 41 career games for Notre Dame. He got his second career goal in the 2-2 with Western Michigan on Nov. 12. He is the first Notre Dame hockey player from the state of Florida.
THERE’S NO PLACE LIKE HOME:
Notre Dame’s loss to Minnesota-Duluth on Oct. 8 snapped a 15-game (12-0-3) regular-season home unbeaten at the Joyce Center. The last time the Irish had lost a regular-season home game at the Joyce Center was on Oct. 17, 2003 versus Bowling Green. Notre Dame was 14-2-2 (.833) at the Joyce Center last season. This year, the Irish are 1-3-3 at home and 15-5-5 (.700) in their last 25 home games. The 2003-04 home record of 14-2-2 was the best for the Irish since 1987-88 when that year’s Irish squad was 18-2-0 on home ice.
SHUTOUT STREAKS:
Notre Dame goaltenders David Brown and Morgan Cey each turned in career-best shutout streaks during the 2003-04 season. Brown set a Notre Dame record with his streak of 193:27, set between Oct. 17 and Nov. 8. In his streak, Brown shutout Bowling Green (10/18), Boston College (10/24) and Nebraska-Omaha (10/31) over three consecutive starts. Cey set his mark of 158:53 between Dec. 29 and Jan. 9. Included in his back-to-back shutouts were 1-0 blankings of Maine (12/28) and Findlay (1/3). Cey previously held the Irish record with a run of 149:17 and set in the 2003 CCHA playoffs.
FAMILY MATTERS:
Two Irish junior hockey players – Rory Walsh and Mike Walsh – have fathers who played sports at Notre Dame while attending the University during the 1970’s. Rory Walsh’s father, Brian (’77), was an all-American hockey player for the Irish. A center iceman, the elder Walsh is Notre Dame’s all-time leading scorer after recording 234 career points on 89 goals and 145 assists. Mike Walsh’s father, Max (’74), was an offensive lineman on the Notre Dame football team and a member of the 1973 national championship team. Rory Walsh is one of Notre Dame’s goaltenders and Walsh plays left wing for the Irish.
NHL DRAFTEES:
In June of 2004, the Irish had three players selected in the NHL Entry Draft. Freshman right wing Victor Oreskovich (Oakville, Ont.) was a second-round selection, 55th overall by the Colorado Avalanche. Sophomore defenseman Wes O’Neill was chosen in the fourth round, 115th overall by the New York Islanders. Sophomore goaltender David Brown was selected in the eighth round, 228th overall by the Pittsburgh Penguins. Those three join junior Mike Walsh as Notre Dame players selected by in the draft. Walsh was picked in the fifth round of the 2002 draft by the New York Rangers.
OH CANADA:
Sophomore defenseman Wes O’Neill was one of 44 players invited to Canada’s National Junior Team Development Camp that was held in Calgary, Alberta from August 12-19. O’Neill was the lone collegiate player invited to the camp in hopes of being selected to Canada’s World Junior team this December. The 6-4, 217-pound blueliner was a member of Canada’s Under-18 team last April at the Under-18 World Championships in Belarus. He also played for Team Ontario at the Under-17 World Championships in February of 2003. As a freshman at Notre Dame, O’Neill played in all 39 games with two goals and 10 assists for 12 points. His +7 plus/minus rating was tops among Irish defensemen.
FOUR OF FIVE:
Notre Dame has advanced to Joe Louis Arena and the CCHA finals in four of the last five seasons (2000, 2002, 2003, 2004). Only two other CCHA teams – Michigan and Michigan State – have been there all four years since the 1999-2000 campaign. The Irish also are one of five teams, joining Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State and Northern Michigan, to make it to the CCHA Super Six in each of the last three seasons.
NCAA ACTION:
The Notre Dame Fighting Irish hockey team had a season to remember in 2003-04. The Irish advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in the program’s 36-year history with a 20-15-4 overall record. In their first trip to the tournament, the Irish dropped a 5-2 decision to two-time NCAA defending champion Minnesota in the Grand Rapids Regional.
FROZEN TUNDRA:
Notre Dame has had a steady flow of players in recent years that played their junior hockey with the Green Bay Gamblers of the United State’s Hockey League. Six members of the current Notre Dame team have played in the Land of Lombardi. Senior defenseman Joe Zurenko (Palatine, Ill.) played there during the ’00-’01 season and sophomore blueliners Noah Babin (Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.) and Wes O’Neill were teammates there in ’02-’03. Second-year assistant coach Layne LeBel also spent two seasons (’01-’03) with the Gamblers. Joining the Irish this season is right wing Victor Oreskovich and defenseman Dan VeNard (Vernon Hills, Ill). In 58 games with the Gamblers, Oreskovich had 11 goals and 26 assists for 37 points and played in the league’s Top Prospects all-star game. VeNard spent three seasons in Green Bay. His 2003-04 campaign was cut short by injuries as he had two goals and two assists for four points in 22 games. During the 2004-05 season, the Irish will play a game in Green Bay as they will face Michigan Tech on Tuesday, Jan. 18 at the Resch Center.
STORM WARNINGS:
Three members of the Notre Dame freshman class saw action with the USHL’s Tri-City Storm during the ’03-’04 season. Defensemen Brian D’Arcy (Western Springs, Ill.) and Luke Lucyk (Fox Point, Wis.) were members of the Storm’s highly ranked defense. Forward Mark Van Guilder (Roseville, Minn.) was a key contributor to the USHL’s regular-season champions. Van Guilder was fifth on the team in scoring with 17 goals and 22 assists for 39 points in 60 games. In 11 playoff games, Van Guilder added three goals and two assists for five points. D’Arcy saw his season cut short due to injuries, playing in 32 games with no goals and two assists to go with 36 penalty minutes. Lucyk was a regular on the defense with a goal and nine assists for 10 points in 60 games.
THE IRISH AND THE U.S. DEVELOPMENTAL PROGRAM:
Notre Dame’s current roster includes four players who have past experience with USA Hockey, as members of the National Team Development Program (NTDP). Since the program began, the Irish have had a total of 13 NTDP alums grace their roster. The current contingent includes junior Tim Wallace and sophomores Noah Babin, Michael Bartlett (Morton Grove, Ill.) and Josh Sciba (Westland, Mich.). Other former NTDP players who played at Notre Dame and their years in the national program include: Brett Henning (1997-98), Michael Chin (1997-98), Connor Dunlop (1997-99), Paul Harris (1997-99), John Wroblewski (1997-99), Neil Komadoski (1998-2000), Brett Lebda (1998-2000), Rob Globke (1998-2000) and Derek Smith (2000-01).
HOMETOWNS:
The 2003-04 Notre Dame hockey team features players from nine states and four Canadian provinces – Alberta, British Columbia,Ontario and Saskatchewan. In the nine-year tenure of head coach Dave Poulin, the Notre Dame hockey letter winners have hailed from 20 different states and provinces – those listed below, plus: Colorado, Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Prince Edward Island and Quebec.
2004-05 NOTRE DAME HOCKEY – BY STATE OR PROVINCE:
Michigan (6): Chris Trick, Mike Walsh, Jason Paige, Josh Sciba, Evan Rankin, Andrew Eggert
Illinois (4): Joe Zurenko, Michael Bartlett, Brian D’Arcy, Dan VeNard
Minnesota (3): Tony Gill, T.J. Jindra, Mark Van Guilder
Alberta (2): Matt Williams-Kovacs, Brock Sheahan
Ontario (3): David Brown, Wes O’Neill, Victor Oreskovich
Alaska (1): Tim Wallace
British Columbia (1): Matt Amado
Florida (1): Noah Babin
Massachusetts (1): Rory Walsh
North Dakota (1): Cory McLean
Saskatchewan (1): Morgan Cey
Wisconsin (1): Luke Lucyk
INTERNATIONAL LEADER:
Notre Dame assistant coach, Andy Slaggert, served as the head coach of the U.S. Under-17 Select Team that finished second at the Five Nation’s Tournament from Aug. 24-28 in Halle, Germany. The U.S. Team’s lone loss came to the Czech Republic (the eventual winners). This was Slaggert’s second international appearance with USA Hockey as he served as assistant coach on the 2003 gold-medal winning team at the World Under-18 Select Tournament held in the Czech Republic. The 12-year assistant at Notre Dame has been involved in coaching with USA Hockey since the 1996-97 season.