Oct. 31, 2007
Notre Dame, Ind. –
Complete Release in PDF Format
• The Series: #13/#14 Notre Dame (4-3-0/2-1-0) vs. Lake Superior State(1-2-1/0-0-0)
• Date/Site/Time: Thursday, November 1 • Joyce Center (2,713) • 7:35 p.m. Friday, November 2 • Joyce Center (2,713) • 7:35 p.m.
• Broadcast Information: Radio: Notre Dame hockey can be heard live onESPN Radio 1490 South Bend's SportsCenter for Thursday's game whileFriday's contest will be live on WWLV 1620 AM due to a Notre Dame women'sbaskteball broadcast. Mike Lockert will call the action for the Irish.Television: Both games will be televised live by Comcast Local and can beseen in South Bend by Comcast subscribers on Channel 3. Ben Holden andSean Ritchlin will provide the play-by-play and color commentaryboth nights.
• Internet: Irish hockey can be heard on the Internet at the Notre Damewebsite - www.und.com. Home Irish hockey games not being televised willbe streamed live at www.und.com. All Notre Dame home games and all CCHA games are available via gametracker.
HOME FOR TWO: Notre Dame returns home after it’s 2-1-0 road trip to Bowling Green and Ferris State last week to play host to the Lake Superior State Lakers. The games will be played on Thursday and Friday, Nov. 1-2 at the Joyce Center with face off both nights set for 7:35 p.m. Both games will be televised live by Comcast Local which can be seen in the South Bend area on Comcast Cable Channel 3. Ben Holden and Sean Ritchlin will handle the play-by-play and color commentary for both contests. The Irish bring a 4-3-0 overall record into the series and are 2-1-0 in the CCHA. Lake Superior is 1-2-1 on the year and the series with the Irish marks the conference opener for the Lakers. Notre Dame was 2-1-0 last week, winning 4-2 at Bowling Green on Oct. 23, then splitting at Ferris State with a 3-2 win on Friday night and a 3-0 loss on Saturday to the Bulldogs. Lake Superior visits South Bend after playing host to Clarkson last weekend. The Lakers fell 4-0 in Friday’s game before bouncing back for a 5-1 win in the series finale on Saturday.
IRISH VS. LAKERS: The two teams have met 47 times in the all-time series with the Lakers holding a 23-20-4 edge. Notre Dame has won the last four meetings between the two schools, including three straight last year. In two games at Taffy Abel Arena in the Soo, the Irish took a 4-3 overtime win and a 4-1 win in game two of the series. On March 16, at Joe Louis Arena, the teams met in the CCHA semifinals with Notre Dame taking a 3-0 victory to move to the title game against Michigan. At the Joyce Center, the Irish are 11-8-3 all-time against the Lakers. The last time Lake Superior won at the Joyce Center was Dec. 17, 2005, a 4-0 win.
ROAD WARRIORS: Notre Dame’s two wins on the road last week (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 streak as the Irish went 8-0-1 between Jan. 7 and Feb. 24 of that season.
LAST WEEK IN REVIEW – AT FERRIS STATE: The Irish opened the weekend series in Big Rapids, Mich., with a 3-2 win on Friday night. Senior Evan Rankin (Portage, Mich.) gave Notre Dame a 1-0 lead at 7:23 of the first period when he scored from the top of the left wing circle against Ferris State goaltender Pat Nagle. The score would stay that way until the third period when the Irish scored twice in a 1:14 span. Freshman Ben Ryan (Brighton, Mich.) scored his second goal of the year on a deflection at 1:41 and at 2:55, Ryan Thang (So., Edina, Minn.) turned some great hustle by Dan Kissel (So., Crestwood, Ill.) into a goal when he drilled a wrist shot for the 3-0 lead. It was up to Jordan Pearce (Jr., Anchorage, Alaska) to hold the fort as he gave up a pair of goals to Corey Couturier (the second with the goaltender pulled for a sixth attacker) in the 3-2 win. Pearce finished with 25 saves while Nagle had 31 as Notre Dame out shot Ferris State by a 34-27 margin. In Saturday’s game at Ewigleben Arena, the Irish peppered goaltender Mitch O’Keefe with 37 shots, but failed to get one past him as they dropped a 3-0 decision to the Bulldogs. Ferris State scored two goals short-handed and one with an empty-net in the win. Pearce made a season-high 32 saves in the loss as Notre Dame out shot the Bulldogs, 37-35 in the game. For the weekend, the Irish power play was 0-for-16.
BOWLING GREEN RECAP: Notre Dame ran its unbeaten streak to nine games (8-0-1) versus Bowling Green over the last three seasons with a 4-2 win on October 23 in Ohio. After falling behind 1-0 on a Dan Sexton goal, Notre Dame’s Mark Van Guilder (Sr., Roseville, Minn.) tied the score at 17:43 of the first with a power-play goal. The Falcons would retake the lead just 1:50 into the second period when Derek Whitmore picked up his third goal of the year. The Irish tied the game at 2-2 just over one minute later at 2:51 when Garrett Regan (Jr., Hastings, Minn.) jammed a rebound past Jimmy Spratt. Notre Dame took the lead for good at 18:46 when Evan Rankin pounced on a rebould for his first goal of the year. Erik Condra (Jr., Livonia, Mich.) closed the scoring with a short-handed goal at 4:35 of the third period for the 4-2 final. The Irish out shot Bowling Green, 30-20, in the game. Jordan Pearce made 18 saves for the Irish, including 10 in the third period. Spratt had 26 stops for the Falcons.
TWO-TIMER: Evan Rankin picked up goals in consecutive games against Bowling Green and Ferris State during last week. His goal at Bowling Green proved to be the game winner. His play earned him the Perani Cup first star of each of those games.
THE LAST TIME: Prior to the 3-0 shutout last weekend at Ferris State, the last time that Notre Dame failed to score a goal in a game came on Nov. 18, 2006 when the Irish were shutout, 2-0, by Jeff Lerg at Michigan State.
THREE IN A WEEK: Notre Dame’s three-game schedule last week marked the first time that Notre Dame had played three games in one week since the 2004-05 season. This time the Irish were 2-1-0 with all three games played on the road.
THE GOOD: Notre Dame continues to excel on the penalty kill as the Irish have not given up a power-play goal in their last six games. Last week, in three games, Notre Dame killed all 15 opponent power-play chances and, since giving up a power-play goal to Wisconsin in the season opener, has killed 31-consecutive chances. For the season, the Irish are 33-for-34 for a 97.1% success rate. Among teams that have killed 20 or more power-plays, the Irish are tops in the nation.
THE BAD: After scoring at least one power-play goal in the first five games, Notre Dame has had a power outage as the Irish were 0-for-16 in the two game series with Ferris State and also surrendered a pair of short-handed goals in the 3-0 loss. In the three games last week, Notre Dame was just 1-for-24 with the man advantage (4.2%). For the season, the Irish are 7-for-48 (14.6%). That ranks them 23rd in the nation in that category.
HOME SWEET HOME: With a 1-1-0 mark at the Joyce Center this season, the Irish return home to face Lake Superior this weekend. 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).
TAKE THE HIGHWAY: The Irish have had their share of success on the road over the last two seasons. This year, Notre Dame is 2-1 on the road. A year ago, the Irish were 12-4-1 (.735) away from the Joyce Center. The 12 road wins equaled a school record (1979-80 and 1997-98) for road wins. Only the 1983-84 team’s 10-3-1 road mark (.750) is better.
CCHA OPENERS: Notre Dame’s 3-2 win at Bowling Green on Tuesday night opened the 17th season in the CCHA for Notre Dame. The Irish joined the conference in 1981-82, left following the `82-’83 season and then returned in 1992-93. The win over the Falcons in the CCHA opener gives Notre Dame an 8-7-2 all-time mark in conference lid lifters.
THE MAN BETWEEN THE PIPES: After playing in just three games last season junior goaltender Jordan Pearce has taken over in goal for the Irish this season, playing 416:33 of 420:00 minutes this season (3:27 of empty net time). His 416:33 minutes played is tops among CCHA goaltenders and the most in the nation. His seven starts are a career high and his four wins tie him for the most in his career (4-4-0 in 2005-06). He is 4-3-0 on the year with a 2.16 goals-against average, a .916 save percentage and one shutout.
SCORING FIRST: When Evan Rankin scored at 7:23 of the first period at Ferris State last Friday, it marked the first time this season that Notre Dame had scored the first goal of a game in the first period. Last season, the Irish scored first in 32 of 42 games and were 26-4-2 in those games. So far this season, Notre Dame has been out scored, 6-3, in the first period. Last year, the Irish had a 43-13 edge in the opening stanza. A PLUS START: Freshman defenseman Teddy Ruth (Naperville, Ill.) has gotten his career off to a strong start through the first seven games of the season. Ruth leads Notre Dame with a +5 plus-minus for the season. He and defensive partner Brock Sheahan (Sr., Lethbridge, Alb.) are one-two on the team as Sheahan checks in with a +4.
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 – 123 consecutive games played through the first four games this year.
YOUNG LEADER: Through the first seven games of the 2007-08 season, freshman Ben Ryan is the team’s leader in scoring with two goals and five assists for seven points. He has a pair of multiple-point games to his credit and his goal on Oct. 18 versus Denver was his first power-play and game-winning goal. His seven points are the fifth-best total among freshmen in Division I and his point-per-game total of 1.00 ties him for 10th best in the nation.
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. 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 14th
HOME OPENERS: The October 18 win over Denver in the home opener gives Notre Dame a 22-17-1 record in Joyce Center openers. The Irish have won two straight home openers after beating Minnesota State, 6-1, last season.
TOUGH SCHEDULE: Three of Notre Dame’s first four games came against teams ranked in the top 15 in the nation. The Irish opened the year with a 4-1 loss to #14/#15 Wisconsin (10/12), before splitting a pair with #5/#5 Denver last weekend. The Irish won 4-3 in the series opener before falling 3-1 on Friday night to the Pioneers. The Irish are now 1-2-0 against ranked teams this season. They were 10-2-1 a year ago.
CONTINUED IMPROVEMENT: Notre Dame’s most improved player for 2006-07, Garrett Regan, continued his strong play early this season when he scored his third goal of the season in the 4-2 win at Bowling Green. Regan also had a big game versus Denver on Oct. 18, scoring a power-play goal in the first period before setting up Ben Ryan’s game winner in the third period. Last season, Regan had 14 goals and 12 assists for 26 points. This season, he’s scored three and added an assist for four points in the first seven games.
THE REAL THANG: Sophomore left wing Ryan Thang had his three-game point and goal-scoring streak stopped at Bowling Green on Oct. 23. Through seven games, Thang is tied for the team lead with four goals as he has lit the lamp against Mercyhurst (10/13), twice against Denver (10/18-19) and at Ferris State (10/26). His goal at Ferris State was the game winner, the seventh of his career. Thang has score 24 goals in 49 games during his career with 12 of them coming on the power play.
BRINGING DOWN THE HOUSE: Notre Dame saw its’ streak of eight consecutive sellouts snapped in the home opener on Oct. 18 as 2,413 fans saw the Irish defeat Denver, 4-3. A new sellout streak started the following night as a standing-room only crowd of 2,763 saw Notre Dame drop a 3-1 decision to the Pioneers. A year ago, the Irish sold out their final eight games of the season and 10 of the last 11. For the year, they had 11 sellouts (2,763) in 17 home dates and averaged 2,478 per game. Through two games this season, Notre Dame is averaging 2,588 fans per game.
FIRST TIMERS: Sophomore right wing Stewart Carlin (Jeannette, Pa.) made his first career appearance versus Denver (10/19). Carlin did not play in any games last year and lined up at right wing in his first appearance, getting one penalty for two minutes. Fellow sophomore Dan Kissel (Crestwood, Ill.) made his first appearance of the season since being sidelined in the first week of practice with an injury.
GETTING OFFENSIVE: Senior defenseman Brock Sheahan (Lethbridge, Alb.) was a finalist last season for the CCHA’s defensive defenseman award. This season, Sheahan is showing his offensive game as he already has four assists in the first seven games of the season. For his career, Sheahan now has three goals and 21 assists for 24 points.
CAPTAINS: Senior right wing Mark Van Guilder will serve as Notre Dame’s captain for the 2007-08 season. Joining Van Guilder as alternate captains in `07-’08, are senior defensemen Brock Sheahan (Lethbridge, Alb.) and Dan VeNard (Vernon Hills, Ill.). They will be joined by junior forward Erik Condra (Livonia, Mich.). This is the first season for all four players to serve as captains at Notre Dame.
ALL TIED UP: Notre Dame’s 3-2 overtime win versus Alabama-Huntsville in the NCAA Regionals on March 23, 2007 gave the Irish a 3-1-3 record in overtime last year. The three overtime wins were the most-ever for the Irish in a single season. In 59 overtime games since the start of the 1999-2000 season, the Irish are 10-7-42 in overtime. In two seasons under Jeff Jackson, Notre Dame is 3-1-7 in extra play.
NHL DRAFTEES: The Irish have seven players on the 2007-08 roster who have been selected in the National Hockey League’s Entry Draft. Last June, a total of five Notre Dame players were selected. Leading the way was freshman defenseman Ian Cole (Ann Arbor, Mich.) who was a first-round selection of the St. Louis Blues who took him with the 18th pick overall. Cole became the first Irish player ever selected in the first round and was selected earlier than any other Notre Dame player (Rob Globke `04 was the previous highest selection when he was picked 40th overall by Florida in 2002). Cole was followed by fellow freshman defenseman Teddy Ruth (Naperville, Ill.) who went in the second round, 46th overall to the Washington Capitals. Sophomore Ryan Thang (Edina, Minn.) was selected in the third round, 81st overall by the Nashville Predators. Incoming freshman Ben Ryan (Brighton, Mich.) joined Thang when the Predators made him the 114th pick (fourth round). Freshman goaltender Brad Phillips (Farmington Hills, Mich.) rounded out the Notre Dame selections in the last draft when the Philadelphia Flyers selected him in the seventh round, 182nd overall. Those five join junior right wing Erik Condra (Livonia, Mich.) who was selected in the seventh round, 211th overall by the Ottawa Senators in 2006 and sophomore defenseman Kyle Lawson (New Hudson, Mich.) who was selected in the 2005 NHL Draft by the Carolina Hurricanes in the seventh round, 198th overall.