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Notre Dame Hockey Team Hits The Road

Oct. 23, 2001

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ROAD TRIP: Notre Dame’s hockey team takes to the road for the second consecutive weekend for games three and four of six straight road contests. This weekend, the Irish will head east to Boston for single games versus two HOCKEY EAST opponents, Boston College and Northeastern. The Irish will face Boston College, the defending national champions, on Friday, Oct. 26 at Kelley Rink in a 7:05 p.m. (6:05 p.m. South Bend time) start. The following night, Notre Dame travels across town for a meeting with the Northeastern Huskies at Matthews Arena with a 7:05 face-off time (6:05 p.m. in South Bend). Notre Dame started its six-game road sojourn last weekend at Ohio State. The Irish came-from-behind to tie the Buckeyes on Saturday 4-4 but dropped Sunday’s game by a 3-2 margin. Boston College lost two league games to UMass-Lowell (7-2) and Northeastern (4-3). The Boston College game was Northeastern’s only game of the week.

THE BOSTON COLLEGE SERIES: The Irish and Eagles have tangled 21 times with Boston College holding a 13-7-1 mark in the all-time series. At Chestnut Hill, the Irish are 6-6-1. The two teams met twice last year. The first meeting came on Oct. 13 in the opening game of the Maverick Stampede in Omaha, Neb., where the Eagles prevailed, 4-1. On Nov. 10, Boston College visited the Joyce Center and skated away with a 5-3 victory. Notre Dame is 0-5-1 in the last six meetings with the lone tie (5-5) coming in Notre Dame’s last visit to the Kelley Rink on Nov. 5, 1998.

Notre Dame’s last win in the series came at Boston College on Dec. 28, 1994, a 3-2 Irish win.

THE NORTHEASTERN SERIES: Notre Dame and Northeastern have met five times with the Irish holding a 3-2 edge in the series. The two teams met twice at Notre Dame last season with the Irish winning 6-4 while the Huskies took a 5-3 decision. The two teams have played just once at Matthews Arena – Nov. 7, 1998 – with Notre Dame winning 4-3.

HEAD COACH DAVE POULIN: Irish head coach Dave Poulin is now in his seventh season behind the Notre Dame bench. He owns an 81-124-30 (.409) and is 57-91-27 (.403). Versus Boston College, Poulin-coached teams are 0-5-1. Versus Northeastern, Poulin is 2-2-0.

SCOUTING BOSTON COLLEGE: The Eagles are 1-3-1 on the season and 0-2-0 in HOCKEY EAST play. BC is 0-3-1 in its last four games after opening the season with a win versus Vermont. For more information on the Boston College Eagles, check their website at www.bceagles.com.

SCOUTING NORTHEASTERN: The Huskies are 2-2-0 on the year and 1-0-0 in HOCKEY EAST. They will face the University of New Hampshire on Friday, Oct. 26 before facing the Irish on Oct. 27. For more information on the Northeastern Huskies, check their website at www.GoNU.com.

LAST WEEEKEND: The Irish rallied from a pair of two-goal deficits on Saturday at Ohio State for a 4-4 tie at the Value City Arena. OSU led 3-1 and 4-2 before the Irish equalled the score with 5:58 left in the third period. Junior Michael Chin (Urbana, Ill.) got the game-tying goal after Connor Dunlop (Jr., St. Louis, Mo.) won a face-off to Neil Komadoski (So., Chesterfield, Mo.). Komadoski’s shot was stopped by OSU goaltender Mike Betz, but Chin jammed the rebound home for his first goal of the season. Freshman Brad Wanchulak (Edson, Alb.) scored his first collegiate goal in the first period while Aaron Gill (So., Rochester, Minn.) and Evan Nielsen (Jr., Evanston, Ill.) each got their first goals of the season in the second period. Goaltender Morgan Cey (Fr., Wilkie, Sask.) made a career-high 32 saves on the night, including 15 in the second period, to hold off the Buckeyes until the Irish offense started clicking.

On Sunday, the Irish scored the first two goals of the game but Ohio State got the last three in the Buckeyes’ 3-2 victory. Gill and Dunlop got the Irish goals, but OSU’s Scott May scored twice, including the game winner at 13:16 of the third period. Cey made 31 saves in the game as Notre Dame was outshot in both contests, 36-26 and 34-24. The Irish stopped Ohio State’s power play on all seven chances while they failed to score in their three chances on the weekend.

INJURY UPDATE: Left wing Sam Cornelius (Sr., Eden Prairie, Minn.) is out indefinitely with a cracked bone in his left wrist. He has been cleared to resume skating.

Right wing Cory McLean (Fr., Fargo, N.D.) is out indefinitely with a high-ankle sprain suffered in the Oct. 11 game versus Union.

Closing The Deal: Ohio State’s 3-2 win over Notre Dame, that featured two third-period OSU goals that wiped out a 2-1 Irish lead, marked the first time since Jan. 8, 1998 that Notre Dame lost when the Irish took a lead into the third period. The Irish were unbeaten in 50 games (42-0-8) when leading after two periods. The last time the Irish lost after holding a second-intermission lead was Jan. 9, 1998, in the second of three games at Alaska-Fairbanks. UAF’s Sean Fraser tied the game (2-2) with a power-play goal in the third minute of the final period before Chris Kirwan converted a breakaway with 0:45 left in overtime. The Irish also are 27-5-5 since the 1998-99 season when leading after one period of play (17-4-3 over the past three seasons).

FINDING THE NET: Junior forward Michael Chin (Urbana, Ill.) scored the game-tying goal in the 4-4 tie at Ohio State on Oct. 20. The goal was Chin’s first since Dec. 2, 2000 when he scored at Lake Superior State.

FRESHMAN FIRSTS: Freshman right wing Brad Wanchulak (Edson, Alb.) scored the first goal of his Notre Dame career in the 4-4 tie with Ohio State. He was set up on the play with a nifty cross-rink pass from fellow freshman Yan Stastny (St. Louis, Mo.). Wanchulak added his first career assist in Sunday’s game when he set up Connor Dunlop’s goal.

FOUR IN A ROW: Goaltender Morgan Cey has started Notre Dame’s first four games and is the first Irish freshman goaltender to start the first four games of the season since Greg Louder (1990-94) played the first four contests of the 1990-91 season. Cey and Louder are the last two rookies to start the season opener in goal at Notre Dame. Cey made 28 saves in a 2-1 loss to Union College on Oct. 11. Louder made 36 saves in a 7-2 loss at Minnesota on Oct. 23, 1990. Louder went on to start all 33 games that season, missing just 30 minutes of play, while turning in a 16-15-2 record.

SPECIAL TEAMS: The Irish had just three power play chances in the series at Ohio State and were 0-for-3 with the man-advantage. For the season, the Irish are just 1-for-18 on the power play for a 5.6% conversion rate. On the other hand, Notre Dame has killed off seven straight penalties (all against Ohio State and have given up just two power play goals this season in 22 chances for a 90.9% success rate. David Inman has the lone Irish power play goal and that came in the 7-4 loss to Union College. The Irish gave up two power play goals in six chances in the 7-4 loss to Union. They have killed off the remaining 16 in the other three games.

PENALTY SHOTS: Notre Dame sophomore Rob Globke scored on a penalty shot in the 7-4 loss to Union College. The talented forward was pulled down at 3:41 of the third period on a breakaway and was awarded the shot by referee Steve McInchak. Globke was able to pull Union’s Brandon Snee down and slide the puck from his backhand past the diving Snee. The penalty shot was the first for an Irish player since Feb. 5, 1998 when Brian Urick was stopped by Ohio State’s Jeff Maund. The last penalty shot the Irish had to face came on March 13, 1999 when Matt Eisler stopped Michigan’s Bill Muckalt in a CCHA playoff game.

FIVE-GOAL PERIOD: Union College exploded for five third-period goals in the 7-4 win over the Irish on Oct. 12. The last time the Irish surrendered five goals in a period was on Nov. 20, 1998 when Western Michigan scored five goals in the third period of a 9-5 Notre Dame victory. That happened 107 games ago.

GOALS FOR GLOBKE: Sophomore center Rob Globke tied for the team lead in goals scored last season with 17. He picked up where he left off as a freshman with his four-point weekend versus Union College. Globke scored a pair of goals and added two assists in the series. His three-point game on Oct. 12 equalled a career high for him for goals (2) and points (3) in a game. Globke scored once on a penalty shot and once shorthanded in the game.

PERANI CUP STANDINGS: The CCHA has reached an agreement with Perani’s Hockey World to sponsor the league’s “Three Stars of the Game” at games this season. Members of the media are asked to select the game’s three stars for which points are accumulated – 1st Star gets three points, 2nd Star gets two and 3rd Star gets one. Here are the standings for Notre Dame players:

UNDERGRADUATE ASSISTANT COACH: Senior Brett Henning (Huntington, N.Y.) has been named an undergraduate assistant coach with the Notre Dame hockey team. Henning was a three-year regular for the Irish but was forced to retire from hockey after suffering a neck injury last September. A center iceman, Henning played in 89 games for the Irish with eight goals and 15 assists for 23 points. He recorded 30 penalties for 60 minutes and had four power play goals and one game winner.

FOR OPENERS: Notre Dame’s 2-1 season-opening loss to Union College on Oct. 11 makes the Irish 17-18-0 in season openers in the 35 years of hockey during the modern era at Notre Dame. Notre Dame is 0-3 in its last three season openers with the last win coming on Oct. 2, 1998, a 2-1 win over Wisconsin in the first game played at the Kohl Center in Madison, Wis. Notre Dame is also 20-15 in its first 35 home openers. The Irish opened with a win at home last season, a 2-1 overtime win versus Wayne State.

NEW FACE: Freshman forward Ryan Mundt (Edgartown, Mass.) has been added to the Irish roster for the 2001-02 season. The 5-7, 150-pound Mundt played last season at Martha’s Vineyard High School where he led the team in scoring with 36 goals and 37 assists for 73 points. He is that school’s all-time leading scorer. He made the team after trying out in the preseason.

Bloodlines: Four current members of the Notre Dame hockey program – senior forward Jon Maruk, junior center Connor Dunlop, sophomore defenseman Neil Komadoski and freshman forward Yan Stastny – hold a unique connection, as each of their fathers enjoyed a lengthy career in the National Hockey League.

Dennis Maruk played 14 NHL seasons-with the California Golden Seals (’75-’76), Cleveland Barons (’76-’78), Minnesota North Stars (’78-’79, ’83-’88) andthe Washington Capitols (’78-’83)-and finished as the NHL’s fourth-leading scorer in 1982 (60G-76A) while compiling 878 career points (356G-522A) in 888 games.

Blake Dunlop played 11 seasons in pro hockey (’73-’84), including NHL stints with the Minnesota North Stars (’73-’77), Philadelphia Flyers (’77-’79), St. Louis Blues (’79-’84) and Detroit Red Wings (’83-’84), while totaling 130G-274A in 550 career NHL games.

Neil Komadoski, Sr., played eight NHL seasons as a defenseman with the Los Angeles Kings (’72-’78) and the St. Louis Blues (’77-’80), totaling 16G-76A and 632 penalty minutes in 501 career games.

Rounding out the quartet is Peter Stastny who played 15 seasons in the NHL with the Quebec Nordiques (’80-’90), the New Jersey Devils (’90-’93) and the St. Louis Blues (’93-’95) is currently the 23rd all-time scorer in league history with 450 goals, 789 assists and 1,239 points in 997 games. A six-time NHL all-star, Stastny is the highest scoring European-born player in NHL history and was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1998. The 1981 NHL rookie-of-the-year, Stastny is currently a special assignment scout for the St. Louis Blues and will serve as general manager for the 2002 Czech Olympic team.

Notre Dame’s NHL connection doesn’t stop there. Senior Brett Henning who suffered a career-ending neck injury last season is the son of former NHL player and coach Lorne Henning who played nine seasons with the New York Islanders (’72-’81) and has been involved in coaching over the last 15 years. An original member of the Islanders, Henning compiled 73 goals and 111 assists as a forward over his 543-game career and played a major role in a four-year Stanley Cup dynasty (’80-’83). Henning served as an assistant with the Islanders from ’80-84 and ’87-’94, as head coach for the Minnesota North Stars (’85-’87) and the Islanders (’94-’95), and as a Chicago Blackhawks assistant from ’95-’98 before returning in ’98-’99 to the Islanders, as associate coach.

Freshman forward Alexander “Newsy” Lalonde also has NHL lineage as he is a distant relative of NHL pioneer and Hall of Famer, Edouard “Newsy” Lalonde. Lalonde played for the Montreal Canadiens and the New York Americans between 1917 and 1927 for a total of six seasons in which he scored 124 goals and 41 assists for 165 points in 99 games.

ALL-Rookie Team: Sophomore Brett Lebda (Buffalo Grove, Ill.), Notre Dame’s slick skating defensemen tied for third in scoring for the Irish with seven goals and 19 assists, good for 26 points, the most by an Irish freshmen since defenseman Mark Eaton had 29 points during the 1997-98 season. Lebda led all CCHA freshmen defensemen in scoring and was fifth among all league blue liners. He was the first Irish player selected to the all-rookie team since David Inman (1998-99). Forwards Aaron Gill and Rob Globke were honorable mention selections.

Academic All-AmericanS: Notre Dame is the nation’s only Division I hockey program to produce a Verizon/CoSIDA Academic All-American during each of the past five seasons (as part of the fall-winter at-large program). Dan Carlson kept the streak going in 2000-01 by earning third team honors with a 3.49 gpa and a double major in finance and computer applications. He joins two-time selection Steve Noble who took second-team honors in 1996-97 and first-team honors in ’97-’98, goaltender Forrest Karr who was a second teamer in ’98-’99 and left wing Andy Jurkowski who was a third team selection in 1999-2000.

CCHA ALL-ACADEMIC TEAM: Notre Dame 2001 graduate and two-time team MVP, left wing Dan Carlson (Edina, Minn.) was named to the prestigious eight-player CCHA All-Academic Team for 2000-01, making Notre Dame the CCHA’s only school to produce an All-Academic honoree each of the last six seasons. Carlson led the Irish in scoring for the second consecutive season (17-25-42) and was also an honorable mention all-CCHA selection. A six-time Dean’s List student, Carlson graduated from Notre Dame with a 3.49 cumulative grade point average and a double major in finance and computer applications. Notre Dame has produced eight previous first team CCHA All-Academic selections since rejoining the CCHA in ’92-’93: Curtis Janicke and Carl Picconatto (’92-’93), Garry Gruber (’95-’96), Steve Noble (’96-’97, ’97-’98), Forrest Karr and Aniket Dhadphale (’98-’99) and Andy Jurkowski (99′-’00). During that nine-year span, only Western Michigan (10) has produced more CCHA All-Academic selections than Notre Dame’s nine.

CENTURY MEN: Left wing Dan Carlson became the fourth Notre Dame hockey player to reach 100 points for his career in the last four seasons. He finished his career with 50 goals and 82 assists for 132 career points, good for 20th on the school’s all-time scoring list. The Edina, Minn., native joins right wing Brian Urick (57G-69A) and left wing Aniket Dhadphale (61G-44A) who each reached 100 points in the 1998-99 season and center Ben Simon (44G-86A) who reached the milestone in 1999-2000. Carlson is just the fifth Notre Dame player to score over 100 points in his career since the Irish returned to the CCHA in ’92-’93. Only center Jamie Ling (1992-96) has scored more points (51-102-153) than Carlson over the past nine seasons. David Inman is the Irish player with the best chance to reach 100 points this season. The senior forward has 36 goals and 23 assists for 59 points in his career.

Closing The Deal: Notre Dame continued its success in games that the Irish took the lead into the third period. Notre Dame heads into the 2001-02 season having gone unbeaten in its last 50 games when holding the lead at the second intermission (42-0-8, including 7-0-3 in 2000-01). The last time the Irish lost after holding a second-intermission lead was Jan. 9, 1998, in the second of three games at Alaska-Fairbanks. UAF’s Sean Fraser tied the game (2-2) with a power-play goal in the third minute of the final period before Chris Kirwan converted a breakaway with 0:45 left in overtime. The Irish also are 27-4-5 since the 1998-99 season when leading after one period of play (17-3-3 over the past three seasons).

FAN FAVORITES: Notre Dame played in front of three of the top 20 crowds ever to watch Irish hockey during the 2000-01 season. Notre Dame opened the season on Oct. 7 in the Hall of Fame Classic at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minn., in front of 18,064 – the sixth biggest crowd in the history of the program. A weekend series at Ohio State’s Schottenstein Center Feb. 2-3 produced crowds of 12,354 and 10,451, the 14th and 19th largest crowds ever to watch Notre Dame hockey. The largest crowd ever to see the Irish play a hockey game was 21,347 on Dec. 29, 1982 when Notre Dame faced Michigan in the Great Lakes Invitational at Detroit’s Joe Louis Arena. The largest regular season crowd to ever see the Irish was on January 29, 1993 when 20,247 fans saw Notre Dame play Michigan at The Palace in Auburn Hills, Mich.

IRON MEN: Right wing Ryan Dolder finished his Notre Dame career having played in 103 consecutive games including all 42 games in 1999-00 and all 39 this season. Teammate Dan Carlson is the only other Irish player to have played in every game over the 1999-2000 and 2000-01 seasons. He finished his career playing in 101 consecutive games. In his career, Carlson played in 158 of a possible 160 games. The only two he missed came while playing at the World Junior Championships in 1998-99. The longest current consecutive game streak belongs to sophomore Brett Lebda who played in all 39 games last season. He has now played in 43 straight for the Irish.