Nov. 9, 2004
Complete Release in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader
The Series: Notre Dame (1-5-3/0-4-2) at Western Michigan Broncos (4-4-0/2-4-0)
Date/Site/Times: Fri-Sat., Nov. 12-13, 2004 – 7:35 p.m./8:05 p.m. – Lawson Arena (3,667)
Broadcast Information: Radio: Notre Dame games can be heard live on ESPN Radio 1580, South Bend’s SportsCenter. Mike Lockert, “the voice of Irish hockey” calls all the action with Tom Nevala handling the color commentary. Irish hockey can also be heard live via the internet at www.und.com.
Television: Friday’s game will be televised by Comcast-Local with Ben Holden and Lyle Phair handling the play-by-play and color commentary. The game can seen in the South Bend -Michiana area on Comcast SportsNet Chicago which is available on Channel 37 for Comcast Cable subscribers.
IRISH AND BRONCOS SET TO TANGLE:
Notre Dame and Western Michigan get together for the only time during the 2004-05 regular season when the two teams square off on Friday-Saturday, November 12-13 in Kalamazoo. Mich. Friday’s game will begin at 7:35 p.m. and will be televised by Comcast-Live. Saturday’s tilt has an 8:05 p.m. start due to Western Michigan hosting Miami in football earlier in the afternoon. Notre Dame will again look to get on the winning track after dropping a 3-1 decision at Bowling Green last Thursday and then battling the Falcons to a 4-4 overtime tie on Friday night at Notre Dame. The Irish are 1-5-3 on the season overall and own an 0-4-2 mark in the CCHA. Western Michigan is coming off a sweep of Niagara at home last weekend, taking 4-3 and 4-1 wins over the Purple Eagles. This weekend’s series is a rematch of last March’s CCHA first round playoff series that saw Notre Dame win game three in overtime, 5-4, to advance to the CCHA Super Six. Following this weekend’s series, the Irish will play host to the U.S. Under-18 Team on Friday, Nov. 19 at 7:35 p.m. in an exhibition game at the Joyce Center.
THE SERIES:
Notre Dame and Western Michigan have met 58 times in the all-time series with Western owning a 32-22-4 advantage. The teams met five times last year with the Broncos winning two regular-season contests at Lawson Arena, 8-6 and 6-4 before the Irish won their opening round playoff series at the Joyce Center. Notre Dame took game one, 4-2, lost the second, 4-0 and then won a dramatic overtime contest in game three,5-4.
Jason Paige (So., Saginaw, Mich.) was the hero in that game, scoring at 12:35 of overtime. At Lawson Arena, the Broncos have a 19-7-3 record versus the Irish and own a 16-3-2 mark against Notre Dame since the Irish returned to the CCHA in 1992-93. The Irish have lost three in a row at Lawson Arena with the last win coming on Oct. 19, 2002, an 8-5 win. The two teams have split the last 10 overall meetings (5-5-0).
GOAL-SCORING STRUGGLES:
Scoring goals has been a struggle for Notre Dame this season as the Irish have scored just 15 times in nine games (1.67 per game). They showed signs of snapping out of their early season goal-scoring funk versus Bowling Green as the Irish scored a season-high four goals in the 4-4 tie with the Falcons. Notre Dame fired a season-high 54 shots on goal in that game, including 29 in the second period and scored a season-best two power-play goals. Sophomore defenseman Wes O’Neill (Essex, Ont.) had the first multiple-goal game for Notre Dame with a pair of goals and Cory McLean (Sr., Fargo, N.D.) and Mike Walsh (Jr., Northville, Mich.) each had three-point nights.
BOWLING GREEN RECAP:
Dana Hanson and Alex Foster scored third-period goals to snap a 1-1 tie on Thursday night at the Bowling Green Ice Arena to give the Falcons a 3-1 win over Notre Dame. Derek Whitmore got the Falcons on the board first at 6:50 of the first period with a power-play goal. Mark Van Guilder (Fr., Roseville, Minn.) tied the game for the Irish at 8:54 of the second period for his first collegiate goal. Cory McLean collected the lone assist on the goal. In the third period, Hanson broke the tie with a power-play goal at 8:10 and Foster added the insurance goal at 16:21 for the 3-1 final. Bowling Green out shot Notre Dame, 37-31 in the game. Jordan Sigalet made 30 saves in the Falcon goal while Morgan Cey (Sr., Wilkie, Sask.) had 34 stops for the Irish. Bowling Green was 2-for-8 on the power play while Notre Dame was 0-for-6.
Friday’s game two saw the Irish offense click early as Notre Dame took a 2-0 first-period lead on power-play goals by Cory McLean and Wes O’Neill. The lead would go to 3-0 as freshman Evan Rankin (Portage, Mich.) scored his second goal of the year at 4:11 of the middle period. Bowling Green broke through on Morgan Cey at 5:50 as James Unger’s power-play goal cut the Notre Dame lead to 3-1. Ben Geelan made it 3-2 at 10:45 of the second period as Jordan Sigalet held his team in the game as Notre Dame poured 29 shots on goal. In the third period, the Falcons would tie the game at 8:17 on a John Mazzei goal and then go ahead at 11:32 when Derek Whitmore scored at the end of a Falcon power play. As time was running out, O’Neill came to Notre Dame’s rescue when he scored at 19:57 to tie the game in overtime. Junior defenseman Chris Trick (Troy, Mich.) made the key play keeping the puck in at the right point and getting a shot on goal that Sigalet stopped, but then couldn’t control the rebound as O’Neill fired it home. Notre Dame would out shoot Bowling Green, 54-23 in the game. Sigalet made 50 saves in the game while Cey had 19 for Notre Dame. The Irish were 2-for-7 on the power play while the Falcons were 1-for-6.
SLOW START:
Notre Dame’s 1-5-3 start is its worst since opening the 1995-96 season with a 1-8-0 record. The Irish won game 10 to improve to 2-8-0 that year. The 0-4-2 start in the CCHA is the worst start for Notre Dame in conference play since starting the 1992-93 season (the year of Notre Dame’s return to the CCHA) with an 0-8-1 record in the first nine league contests.
HOMECOMING:
Notre Dame freshman right wing Evan Rankin will be making a homecoming of sorts when the Irish play Western Michigan this weekend. A native of nearby Portage, Mich., a suburb of Kalamazoo, Rankin grew up in the shadows of Lawson Arena and skated many times on the home ice of the Broncos.
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.
ON THE SIDELINES:
Notre Dame will be without the services of sophomore center Matt Williams-Kovacs (So., Calgary, Alb.) who suffered a broken left ankle in the first period of the Oct. 16 game versus Miami. He had surgery on Monday, Oct. 18 and is out six to eight weeks.
SHOT MARGINS:
The Irish have out shot teams in just two of their first nine games this season and are 0-0-2 in those games. 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.
CALL IT AFTER TWO:
Wes O’Neill’s third-period goal with just three seconds left versus Bowling Green pulled out a 4-4 tie for the Irish on Nov. 5. On the year, O’Neill’s goal was just the second scored by the Irish in the third period through nine games. To make matters worse, the Irish have been out scored by a 13-2 margin in the final period of play.
FATHER’S DAY GIFT:
Notre Dame’s 4-4 tie with Bowling Green was the third of the season for the Irish. Since the 1999-2000 season, Notre Dame has been involved in 44 overtime games. In those games, the Irish are 6-5-33. 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 15 overtime games (0-2-13).
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 0-1-2 in his last three games since his outstanding performance versus Boston College. For the year, Cey is 1-2-3 with a 2.42 goals-against average and a .931 save percentage. Of the 15 goals he’s given up this year, eight 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. For Cey, the win was the 36th of his Notre Dame career, tying him for fifth on the all-time wins list with Bob McNamara (1979-83).
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.
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
FRESHMAN FIRSTS:
Freshman left wing Mark Van Guilder 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).
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 37 career games for Notre Dame. He is also the first Notre Dame hockey player from the state of Florida.
WES FOR THE DEFENSE:
Sophomore defenseman Wes O’Neill has become Notre Dame’s offensive and defensive leader this season. Through nine games, O’Neill leads the Irish in goals (3), assists (5) and points (8) while being second in shots on goal. Defensively he plays in every situation and is -1 for the season.
WHAT CAN BROWN DO FOR YOU?:
Sophomore goaltender David Brown (Stoney Creek, Ont.) burst on the scene as a freshman, setting Irish records for single-season goals-against average (2.32), save percentage (.825) and shutouts (4). This season, he has played in three games and has an 0-3-0 record to go with a 4.33 goals-against average and a .887 save percentage. Six of the 13 goals he’s surrendered this year have come on the power play.
POWER-PLAY NUGGETS:
Wes O’Neill’s second period power-play goal versus Boston College came on a 5-on-3 Notre Dame power play. It marked the third time this season that the Irish scored 5-on-3 after scoring two in 39 games last season. Through nine games this year, Notre Dame and its opponents have been involved in six, 5-on-3 power-play goals (ND has three, opponents have three). Versus Bowling Green, the Irish recorded their first multiple power-play goals, scoring twice with the man advantage.
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.
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. In 44 career games, Jindra now has scored five goals with three of them coming a man down. He also has three game winners in his career with two of them coming short-handed.
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 1-2-3 at home and 15-4-5 (.729) in their last 24 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.
SPECIAL TEAMS:
Through the first nine games of the 2004-05 season, the Irish have struggled on the power play, scoring just seven times in 75 chances for a 9.3% success rate. Last year, the Notre Dame power play clicked at a 17.8% rate, scoring 32 times in 180 chances. On the penalty kill, the Irish have given up 14 power-play goals in the first nine games (six of those came in two games at Miami) and for the year are 57 of 71 killing penalties (80.3%). Last season, Notre Dame was tops in the CCHA and fourth in the nation with an 87.4% penalty killing ratio.
BLUE-LINE SCORING:
Sophomore defenseman Wes O’Neill leads the Irish in scoring after nine games with three goals and five assists on the season. He is followed by sophomore Noah Babin who has a goal and an assist for two points on the year. Junior Chris Trick (Troy, Mich.) has two assists and freshman Brock Sheahan (Lethbridge, Alb.) have the other assists for the Irish. Through nine games, the Irish defense has accounted for four of Notre Dame’s 15 goals and 13 of Notre Dame’s 40 points.
SCORING BY CLASS:
Here’s how Notre Dame scoring breaks down by classes this season.
Class (Skaters) Goals Assists Points
Seniors (2) 2 5 7
Juniors (5) 2 10 12
Sophomores (7) 8 8 16
Freshmen (8) 3 2 5
Totals 15 25 40
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.
POWER-PLAY FIRST:
Junior center Matt Amado (Surrey, B.C.) recorded his first career power-play goal on Oct. 7 in the 2-2 with Minnesota-Duluth. The goal gave the Irish a 1-0 lead. Amado has played in 74 games in his career and has 11 goals and 14 assists for 25 points.
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.
IRON MAN:
Sophomore right wing Tim Wallace (Anchorage, Alaska) has now played in all 88 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 goal and three assists for four points in the first nine games of 2004-05.
TERRIFIC TRIO:
Notre Dame’s outstanding goaltending duo of senior Morgan Cey and sophomore David Brown combined to set Notre Dame records for the lowest goals-against average and save percentage in a season during the 2003-04 season. Along with junior Rory Walsh, the trio combined to turn in school record 2.48 goals-against average and .922 save percentages over 39 games. The previous Notre Dame record for goals- against average (2.60) came in the 1999-00 season and the previous best save percentage (.910) came in the 2002-03 campaign. Cey was 5-7-1 on the year with a career-best goals against (2.42) and save percentage (.924). Brown was 14-7-3 overall and set Irish records with a 2.32 goals-against average and a .925 save percentage. The freshman puck stopper also set a Notre Dame record with four shutouts on the year. Cey added a pair of whitewashings on the year to give him a school record six shutouts for his career. Walsh was 1-1-0 on the year with a 3.53 goals-against average and a .881 save percentage.
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 is 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.
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.
YOUNG D:
Notre Dame’s defensive corps will go from one of the most experienced in the league to one of the youngest as the Irish graduated four senior defensemen. Between them, Tom Galvin (142), Neil Komadoski (146), Brett Lebda (152) and T.J. Mathieson (46) combined to play 486 career games. The four returning defensemen – senior Joe Zurenko (73), junior Chris Trick (58), and sophomores Wes O’Neill (39) and Noah Babin (31) – played just 201 career games prior to the start of 2004-05.
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.
PATRIOTIC GROUP:
Notre Dame’s current roster includes four players who have past experience with USA Hockey, as members of the National Team Development Program (NTDP) and/or the National Junior Team. 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 (Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.), Michael Bartlett (Morton Grove, Ill.) and Josh Sciba (Westland, Mich.)
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.
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.
MOVING ON:
Following the 2003-04 season, five members of the Notre Dame hockey team saw their careers continue on the professional level. Defenseman Neil Komadoski (Chesterfield, Mo.), a third round draft choice of the Ottawa Senators in 2001, signed with Ottawa and finished the season with the Senators’ AHL affiliate in Binghamton, N.Y. Defenseman Brett Lebda (Buffalo Grove, Ill.) signed as a free agent with the Detroit Red Wings and finished the year with the AHL’s Grand Rapids Griffins. Team captain Aaron Gill (Rochester, Minn.), signed as a free agent with the AHL’s Cleveland Barons and was then signed by the San Jose Sharks following the season. Defenseman Tom Galvin (Miller Place, N.Y.) inked his first pro contract with the East Coast Hockey League’s (ECHL) Atlantic City Boardwalk Bullies and finished the year there. Right wing Rob Globke, a second round choice of the Florida Panthers in 2002 signed with the Panthers following the season and will begin his pro career during the 2004-05 campaign.
RIVALRY CLUSTERS:
The CCHA begins its third season with the 12 teams grouped in “rivalry pairings.” In the pairings, Notre Dame is paired with Bowling Green. The league’s other pairings include Michigan-Michigan State, Miami-Ohio State, Lake Superior State-Northern Michigan, Ferris State-Western Michigan and Alaska Fairbanks-Nebraska-Omaha.
Each season the teams are divided into three, four-team clusters and play a 28-game conference schedule. Cluster teams will face each other four times during the season with two games against each of the remaining eight teams.
In 2004-05, Notre Dame will play Bowling Green, Michigan and Michigan State four times with two games at home and two away. The Irish will also host two-game series with Ferris State, Nebraska-Omaha, Northern Michigan and Ohio State while traveling for two games to Alaska Fairbanks, Lake Superior State, Miami and Western Michigan.
ALL-CCHA:
For the first time since as a member of the CCHA, Notre Dame placed three players on the all-CCHA postseason team. Defenseman Brett Lebda and forwards Aaron Gill and Rob Globke were selected second team all-CCHA for the 2003-04 season. Prior to this season, the Irish have had two players named twice. In 1998-99 Benoit Cotnoir (first team) and Ben Simon (second team) were named to the team and in 1981-82, Dave Poulin and John Schmidt were second team selections.
CCHA ALL-ACADEMIC TEAM:
Notre Dame has had at least one player named to the CCHA all-Academic Team in eight of the last nine seasons. Graduated senior Rob Globke (West Bloomfield, Mich.) joined the list following the 2003-04 season as he was selected to the team after turning in a 3.339 grade-point average in Marketing and leading the Irish in scoring with 19 goals and 21 assists. Fellow senior, defenseman T.J. Mathieson (Clarksville, Md.) was an honorable mention selection to the team after turning in a 3.835 grade point in Aerospace Engineering. The lone year the Irish failed to place anyone on the 10-man team was 2002-03. Notre Dame’s other eight first-team CCHA all-Academic team selections since rejoining the CCHA in ’92-’93 are: Curtis Janicke and Carl Picconatto (’92-’93), Garry Gruber (’95-’96), Steve Noble (’96-’97, ’97-’98), Forrest Karr and Aniket Dhadphale (’98-’99), Andy Jurkowski (99′-’00), Dan Carlson (2000-01) and David Inman (2001-02). During that 12-year span, only Western Michigan (14) has produced more CCHA All-Academic selections than Notre Dame’s 11.