Dec. 10, 2008
Notre Dame, Ind. – • The Game: #1/#1 Notre Dame (12-3-2/8-2-2-2) vs. Bowling Green (5-8-3/4-5-1-0) • Date/Site/Time: Friday, Dec. 12, 2008 • BGSU Ice Arena (5,000) • 7:05 p.m.
Complete Release in PDF Format 
Complete Release in PDF Format
• The Game: #1/#1 Notre Dame (12-3-2/8-2-2-2) vs. Bowling Green (5-8-3/4-5-1-0)
• Date/Site/Time: Saturday, Dec. 13, 2008 • Joyce Center (2,713) • 7:05 p.m.
• Broadcast Information: Radio: Notre Dame hockey can be heard live on Cat Country 99.9 FM in South Bend. Mike Lockert, now in his seventh season, will call all the action for the Irish. Television: Saturday’s game will be televised live by Comcast and the NHL Network in Canada. The game will be aired via tape delay on the NHL Network in the U.S. at 12:00 noon on Sunday, Dec. 14. Ben Holden and Sean Ritchlin will handle the play-by-play and color commentary.
• Internet: All Notre Dame hockey games can be heard live on the internet via the Notre Dame website at www.und.com. All home games that are not televised will be streamed live on und.com. All Notre Dame home games and all CCHA games are available via gametracker.
SO WE MEET AGAIN: Notre Dame and Bowling Green meet for the second time this season and the second time in three weeks in a home-and-home series on Dec. 12-13. This time, the series will open at Bowling Green on Friday night at 7:05 p.m. with Saturday’s return event at the Joyce Center at 7:05 p.m. Saturday’s game will be televised live by Comcast in Michigan and on the NHL Network in Canada. The U.S. version of the NHL Network will televise the game on tape delay, Sunday, Dec. 14 at 12:00 noon. Ben Holden and Sean Ritchlin will call all the action. Notre Dame enters the weekend with a 12-game unbeaten streak (10-0-2) that started on Oct. 31 at Northern Michigan. The Irish also will go into Friday’s game at Bowling Green with a seven-game road winning streak as they are 7-1-0 away from home this season. The lone loss came in the season opener at Denver (Oct. 11). Notre Dame is 12-3-2 overall and 8-2-2-2 in the CCHA, good for 20 points and second place in the conference. The Irish enter the weekend three points behind first-place Miami with two games in hand. Bowling Green brings a 5-8-3 overall record into the weekend and the Falcons are 4-5-1-0 in the conference for nine points and are tied for ninth in the conference. This series closes out the first half for Notre Dame. The Irish break for finals and the holidays before returning to action at the Shillelagh Tournament in Hoffman Estates, Ill., Jan. 2-3.
IRISH VERSUS FALCONS: Notre Dame and Bowling Green met on Nov. 21-22 in a home-and-home series with the Irish taking a 5-1 win at home and a 9-1 win at the BGSU Ice Arena. Notre Dame leads the all-time series with a 45-34-6 record in the first 85 meetings in the series. At the Joyce Center, the Irish are 25-12-2 against the Falcons while Bowling Green is 22-19-2 at home versus Notre Dame. The Irish have won 10 straight against the Falcons dating back to the start of the 2006-07 season and are 13-0-1 versus Bowling Green since Jeff Jackson took over behind the Irish bench in 2005-06. The last time the Falcons defeated the Irish was Jan. 29, 2005, a 6-2 win at the Joyce Center. They also won the night before, Jan. 28, 2005, 4-1, at Bowling Green.
FERRIS STATE RECAP:Saturday, December 6 – Senior goaltender Jordan Pearce (Anchorage, Alaska) stopped all 25 shots he faced to record his second shutout of the season as Notre Dame blanked Ferris State, 1-0. Dan Kissel (Jr., Crestwood, Ill.) scored the only goal of the game at 17:55 of the second period when he redirected an Ian Cole (So., Ann Arbor, Mich.) pass behind goaltender Pat Nagle. Notre Dame out shot the Bulldogs, 34-25, in the game. Both teams were 0-for-5 on the power play.
Friday, December 5 – Jordan Pearce stopped 30-of-31 shots and Notre Dame got single goals from Ben Ryan (So., Brighton, Mich.), Calle Ridderwall (So., Stockholm, Sweden) and Christian Hanson (Sr., Venetia, Pa.) on the way to a 3-1 win at Ewigleben Arena. After a scoreless first period where Pearce made 13 saves, Ferris State scored first on a power-play goal by Blair Riley, just 53 seconds into the second period. The goal came at the end of a five-on-three Bulldog power play. The Irish tied the game at 8:29 when Ryan put the rebound of an Erik Condra (Sr., Livonia, Mich.) shot past goaltender Tyler Nelson for his third of the season. Ridderwall made it 2-1 with his eighth of the season at 9:41 of the second with the goal coming on the power play, his team-high sixth of the season. Hanson then closed out the scoring with Hanson’s power-play goal at 16:02 of the third period, his team-high 10th goal of the year. On the night, Ferris State out shot the Irish, 31-27. Nelson finished with 24 saves. The Irish were 2-for-8 on the power play while the Bulldogs were 1-for-5.
Jordan Pearce was selected as the CCHA goaltender of the week for the week ending Dec. 7.
CCHA GOALTENDER OF THE MONTH: Jordan Pearce was honored by the CCHA as he was selected as the conference’s goaltender of the month for the week ending Dec. 7. Pearce stopped 55-of-56 shots (.982) in the two wins against Ferris State. On Friday, Pearce made 30 saves in a 3-1 win and followed it with a 25-save night in the 1-0 shutout on Saturday. The two wins ran Pearce’s personal unbeaten streak to 12 games (10-0-2) since Oct. 25. This marks the second time this season that Pearce was named the CCHA’s goaltender of the week.
MR. RELIABLE: Senior goaltender Jordan Pearce has been a regular in the Notre Dame goal over the last two seasons. Since Jan. 5, 2008, Pearce has appeared in 39 of the last 40 Irish games. Of those 39 games, 37 have been starts. Pearce appeared in 11 straight games from Oct. 18 until Nov. 29 when Tommy O’Brien (Jr., Mokena, Ill.) made second career start. Pearce came on in relief after 23:15 of action as O’Brien surrendered two goals on eight shots. Pearce has appeared in 16 of Notre Dame’s first 17 games this season and is 11-3-2 with a 1.66 goals-against average and a .937 save percentage. In his current 12-game unbeaten streak (10-0-2), Pearce has a 1.36 goals-against average and a .949 save percentage. His 40-save performance against the Lakers on Nov. 14, was the most saves in his career, surpassing the previous high of 34 set on Feb. 17, 2006 versus Bowling Green in a 7-4 win. He stopped 55-of-56 shots in the weekend series at Ferris State.
THE LAST TIME: Notre Dame won by the score of 1-0 prior to the Dec. 6 win at Ferris State came on Feb. 16, 2007, a 1-0 overtime win at Alaska. That win came with David Brown `07 in goal and clinched the first-ever regular season CCHA championship for the Irish.
UNBEATEN STREAKS: Notre Dame’s current 12-game unbeaten streak is the longest for the Irish since a 13-game unbeaten streak (10-0-3) that occured from Dec. 11, 1968 to Jan. 20, 1969. The next longest unbeaten streak is a 14-game streak from Dec. 11, 1987 to Feb. 13, 1988 when the Irish won 14 games in a row.
ROAD WARRIORS: As a team, the Irish have now won seven games in a row on the road and are 7-1-0 this season away from the Joyce Center. The current seven-game road streak equals the longest in the program’s 41-year history – from Jan. 7 – Feb. 4, 1977 with wins versus Minnesota-Duluth (2), Michigan State (2), Colorado College (2) and Minnesota (1). The Irish have not lost on the road this season since dropping the season opener at Denver (5-2) on Oct. 11.
CLIMBING THE CHARTS: With the shutout at Ferris State, Jordan Pearce now has two shutouts this season and six for his career. The six career shutouts for Pearce tie him for second on the all-time Notre Dame shutout list with Morgan Cey `05 who had six from 2001 to 2005. David Brown `07 holds the Irish record with 12 during his Irish career.
NICE NOVEMBER: Notre Dame closed out the month of November with a 7-0-2 mark in the nine games played. During the month, the Irish out scored the opposition by a 41-15 margin (4.56 to 1.67). In the two ties, Notre Dame won the CCHA contests with a pair of 2-1 shootout victories. Last season, the Irish were 9-1-0 in the month of November.
ALL GOOD THINGS MUST END: The 1-0 win at Ferris State ended three players six-game scoring streaks. From Nov. 15 to Dec. 5, sophomore Calle Ridderwall had six goals and 10 assists, senior Christian Hanson had six goals and eight assists and freshman Billy Maday had five goals and three assists for eight points. All three streaks ended at Ferris State.
POWER SURGE: After being held scoreless on the power play on Nov. 14 versus Lake Superior State, the Irish went 18-for-42 (42.9%) on the power play through Dec. 5. The streak came to an end on Dec. 6 as the Irish were 0-for-5 with the man advantage. Over the last five games versus Bowling Green (6-for-12), Western Michigan (4-for-4 and 2-for-5) and Ferris State (2-for-8 and 0-for-5), the Irish are 14-for-34 with the man advantage for a 41.2% success rate.
A CHILL (ING) REUNION: When Calle Ridderwall and freshman Billy Maday were put on the same line with center Kevin Deeth in the second game of the Miami series, it marked the first time that Ridderwall and Maday played together at Notre Dame. The two aren’t strangers as they spent the 2005-06 season as linemates with the Chicago Chill Midget AA program, helping the Chill to a second-place finish at the USA Midget AA championships. Maday had 38 goals and 87 assists for 125 points in 74 games with the Chill while Ridderwall had 52 goals and 66 assists for 118 points that season. In 13 games together this season, the duo has combined for 15 goals and and 18 assists with Maday having seven goals and seven assists and Ridderwall eight goals and 11 assists for 19 points in those games.
ON THE SIDELINES: The Irish will be without the services of sophomore goaltender Brad Phillips (Farmington Hills, Mich.) for the entire season. Phillips injured his right knee in the preseason and will be out of action for the year. He was 4-1-0 as a freshman with a 1.53 goals-against average and a .923 save percentage.FIRST POINT: Freshman center Patrick Gaul (Pittsburgh, Pa.) picked up his first collegiate point in the 1-0 win over Ferris State. Gaul started the game-winning play as he moved the puck through the neutral zone to defenseman Ian Cole who set up Dan Kissel’s game winner. Gaul has played in seven games this season for the Irish.
CCHA HONORS: Sophomore Calle Ridderwall and freshman Billy Maday were honored by the Central Collegiate Hockey Association last week as the conference’s offensive player and rookie of the week respectively. Ridderwall helped the Irish to the win and tie versus Western Michigan by scoring two goals and adding three assists for five points. Included was his second consecutive four-point game (2g, 2a) in the 4-1 win over the Broncos on Nov. 28. Maday scored a pair of goals and added an assist for three points on the weekend to take rookie honors. The talented right wing scored a goal and an assist in the 4-1 win over Western Michigan and then added a goal in the 3-3 tie with the Broncos. Maday has been the rookie of the week twice this season.
WINNING TEAMS: Since the start of the 2006-07 season, Notre Dame has the winningest hockey program in the nation. Heading into this weekend’s series versus Bowling Green, Notre Dame ranks first in wins (71) and first in winning percentage (.712). Here are the top five teams by wins and winning percentage (as of Dec 10).
Wins Winning Pct.Notre Dame 71 Notre Dame (.712)Michigan 70 Michigan (.711)Miami 67 Miami (.710)Boston College 63 Boston College (.672)North Dakota 59 New Hampshire (.667)New Hampshire 58
ROOKIE OF THE MONTH: Notre Dame freshman right wing Billy Maday has been named the CCHA rookie of the month for November. In nine games during the month, Maday had seven goals and four assists for 11 points. Included in his seven goals were five power-play markers. Maday scored points in eight of the nine games and was +4 in the month. He finished the month scoring goals in the last five consecutive games, going 5g, 2a in that span.
USA…USA…USA: Irish defensemen Ian Cole (So., Ann Arbor, Mich.) and Teddy Ruth (So., Naperville, Ill.) have been selected to the 22-man roster for the U.S. Junior National Team that will compete in the World Junior Championships from Dec. 26- Jan. 5 in Ottawa, Ont. The tournament pits the top hockey players in the world under the age of 20 against each other. For Cole, this marks the second time that he has been named to the team as he played in last year’s tournament. Ruth becomes the 12th Irish player selected to play for the U.S. Junior National Team. They join fellow defenseman Kyle Lawson (Jr., New Hudson, Mass.) as current Irish players to have played in the tournament during their careers.
LETTERS OF INTENT: Notre Dame head coach Jeff Jackson has announced that five players have signed national letters-of-intent to play hockey at Notre Dame beginning in the fall of 2009: The list includes two defensemen and three forwards. Joining the Irish for next season are: Sam Calabrese (Park Ridge, Ill.), Cam Fowler (Farmington Hills, Mich.), Nick Larson (Apple Valley, Minn.), Kyle Palmieri (Montvale, N.J.) and Riley Sheahan (St. Catharines, Ont.). Calabrese, Fowler and Palmieri all play for the USA Under-18 team while Larson plays for Waterloo in the USHL and Sheahan is a member of the St. Catharines Falcons organization in the Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League. Calabrese and Palmieri are eligible for the 2009 NHL Entry Draft next June while Fowler and Sheahan can’t be drafted until the June of 2010 draft. Larson was selected in the fourth round of last year’s draft by the Calgary Flames.
WE’RE NO. 1: For just the third time in the 41-year history of the Notre Dame hockey team, the Irish are ranked No. 1 in the nation. Both polls, the USA Today/American Hockey Magazine and USCHO.com/CBS College Sports polls, had Notre Dame at the top of their lists. This is the first time since the 2006-07 campaign that Notre Dame has been ranked No. 1 . During that year, the Irish were tops in the nation for seven consecutive weeks. The first time that Notre Dame was ranked No. 1 was during February of 1977 when the Irish were on top for just one week.
RANKINGS UPDATE: Notre Dame entered the 2008-09 season ranked fourth in both the USA Today/American Hockey Magazine and USCHO.com/CBS College Sports polls. The Irish finished the 2007-08 campaign ranked third in the USA Today poll and 12th in the USCHO.com polls. During the `07-’08 season, the Irish were ranked every week of the season for the first time in the program’s 41-year history. Going back to the 2006-07 season, Notre Dame has been ranked in both polls for 47 consecutive weeks, the longest stretch for the Irish icers. During the `06-’07 season, Notre Dame was ranked No. 1 for seven straight weeks from Feb. 5 to March 25. Prior to that, the Irish had been No. 1 just one other time, for a week during the 1976-77 season.
Week-by-week with the Irish this season:
2008-09 Irish National RankingsDate USA TODAY USCHO.com10/01 3rd —10/06 4th 4th10/13 8th 8th10/20 8th 8th10/27 13th 13th11/3 12th 12th11/10 9th 9th11/17 6th 5th11/24 2nd 2nd12/1 1st 1st12/8 1st 1st
PICK SIX: Notre Dame had one of the best power-play performances in program history on Nov. 22 at Bowling Green when the Irish went six-for-12 on the night with the man advantage.Prior to that, the last time Notre Dame scored six power-play goals in a game was Oct. 21, 1994 when the Irish had six ppg’s in an 8-4 win over Waterloo at the Joyce Center. The last time the Irish had 12 power-play chances in a game was on Oct. 8, 2004 at home against Minnesota-Duluth. The Irish were 1-for-12 on the power play in that game.
FRESHMAN LEADER: Notre Dame rookie Billy Maday ranks third on the Irish in scoring with nine goals and seven assists for 16 points in his first 17 games this season. He is tops among freshmen scorers in the CCHA with his 16 points and is currently fifth on the national level. His nine goals and five power-play goals are tops among CCHA freshmen while his nine goals tie for second among freshmen nationally and his five power-play goals are tops among the nation’s rookies.
TAKING ADVANTAGE OF THE MAN ADVANTAGE: Prior to Notre Dame’s series with Bowling Green (11/21-22), Notre Dame’s power-play was hitting at a 15.6% success rate and ranked fifth in the CCHA and 31st in the nation. Since then, the power-play is 18-for-40 for a 45.0% success rate. On the season, Notre Dame’s power play is now 28-for-117 for a 23.9% success rate. That leads the CCHA and is second nationally.
POWER-PLAY PRODUCERS: Four Notre Dame players currently rank in the top eight in the CCHA for power-play point production. Left wing Calle Ridderwall is first (6-8-14) with center Christian Hanson second (5-7-12). They are followed by right wing Billy Maday (5-4-9) and defenseman Brett Blatchford (0-9-9) who are tied for fifth.
WEEKLY HONORS: Defenseman Brett Blatchford (Jr., Temperance, Mich.) and center Christian Hanson were selected as the CCHA’s defensive and offensive players of the week respectively for the week ending Nov. 23. Blatchford had four assists in the two games, including a three-assist game on Nov. 22 and was +3 in the two wins. This is the second consecutive week that Blatchford has captured the league’s top defensive player of the week award. Hanson had four goals and two assists for six points in the two games and was +3 for the series. Hanson scored two goals with one assist in each game for the first three-point games of his career. He also was selected as Inside College Hockey.com’s player of the week for his play in the games against the Falcons.
NINE LIVES: The nine-goal output by the Irish in the 9-1 win at Bowling Green on Nov. 22 marked the first time that Notre Dame had scored nine goals in a game since Nov. 10, 2005 when they scored nine versus Bowling Green in a 9-4 victory.
HANSON HEROICS: Senior center Christian Hanson turned in the first three, three-point games of his career and he did it back-to-back-to-back games during the Bowling Green series and in the first game versus Western Michigan. Hanson had two goals to go with one assist in each game of the Bowling Green series and then followed it up with a three-assist game versus Western. The two-goal games for Hanson were the second and third of his career. During the month of November, Hanson had six goals and nine assists of 15 points in nine games. Hanson is tied for the team lead in scoring with 10 goals and 10 assists for 18 points.