Jan. 15, 2007
Notre Dame, Ind. – The Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA) has selected Notre Dame freshman Ryan Thang (Edina, Minn.) as the conference rookie of the week for his play in Notre Dame’s weekend sweep at Lake Superior State on Jan. 12-13.
Thang scored two goals and added one assists for three points and was a +2 as the Irish defeated 15th-ranked Lake Superior, 4-3 in overtime and 4-1 at Taffy Abel Arena at Sault Ste. Marie, Mich. With a goal in each game, Thang extended his current goal-scoring streak to four straight games, the longest streak for an Irish player this season.
In Friday’s 4-3 overtime win, Thang beat Laker goaltender Jeff Jakaitis on a wrist shot from the bottom of the right wing circle at 10:27 of the second period to give the Irish a 2-1 lead. The goal was his 12th of the season and he had three shots in the game and was +1 for the evening.
On Saturday, Thang scored one goal and added an assist in the 4-1 win over the Lakers. First he assisted on a second-period power-play goal by Erik Condra that gave the Irish a 2-0 lead. The freshman then ran his goal-scoring streak to four games at 3:54 of the third period when he whipped a wrist shot over Jakaitis’ glove hand to give Notre Dame a 3-0 lead. He was +1 in the game and finished with four shots on goal.
This marks the second time this season that Thang has been named the CCHA rookie of the week as he took the honor the week of Nov. 13 following an Irish sweep of Bowling Green.
For the year, Thang is fourth on the team in scoring with 13 goals and 10 assists for 23 points and he ranks third with a +15. His 13 goals are tied for the team lead with Mark Van Guilder (Jr., Roseville, Minn.) while he leads the team with 74 shots on goal in 24 games. He also has five power-play goals, one short-handed marker and four game winners. He currently ranks fourth in the CCHA among freshman scorers and his four game winners tie him for the lead in the CCHA.
Notre Dame is currently 19-4-1 overall and 13-2-1 in the CCHA. The 27 points in the CCHA puts the Irish in first place, two points ahead of second-place Miami with Notre Dame having two games in hand on the RedHawks. The Irish are currently ranked fifth in both the USAToday/American Hockey Magazine and USCHO.com national polls.
Thang and his teammates return to action this weekend with a weekend series at Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo, Mich., on Jan. 19-20. Game time both nights at Lawson Arena is set for 7:35 p.m.