Jan. 28, 2009
Notre Dame, Ind. –
Complete Release in PDF Format 
• The Games: #1/#1 Notre Dame (19-3-3/13-2-3-3) vs. #7/#8 Michigan (18-8-0/12-6-0-0)
• Date/Site/Time: Friday, January 30, 2009 • Joyce Center (2,713) • 8:05 p.m. Saturday, January 31, 2009 • Yost Arena (6,637) • 7:35 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: Friday’s game will be televised live on CBS College Sports Television while Saturday’s contest can be seen on FSN-Detroit.
• 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.
THE STRETCH RUN: Notre Dame returns to action this weekend after a bye week as the Irish face the Michigan Wolverines in a home-and-home series. On Friday night, Jan. 30, the two teams meet at Notre Dame’s Joyce Center in an 8:05 p.m. game. That contest will be televised by CBS College Sports with Matt McConnell and Dave Starman providing the play-by-play and analysis. Saturday night, Jan. 31, the series moves to Ann Arbor, Mich., for a 7:35 p.m. game that will be televised on FSN Detroit. Dan Dickerson and Fred Pletsch will call the action from Yost Arena. The Fighting Irish enter the series ranked No. 1 in the nation with a 19-3-3 overall record and a 13-2-3-3 mark in the CCHA, good for 32 points and first place in the conference. Notre Dame is four points ahead of second-place Miami with two games in hand. The Irish are six ahead of third-place Alaska and have four games in hand on the Nanooks. The lead is eight points over Ohio State, Nebraska-Omaha (2 games in hand) and Michigan as all three of those teams are tied for fourth with 24 points. Michigan enters the series ranked seventh in the USA Today/American Hockey Magazine poll and eighth by USCHO.com/CBS College Sports poll. The Wolverines are 18-8-0 overall and 12-6-0-0 in the CCHA with 24 points. Michigan is coming off a series sweep of Michigan State last weekend, winning 6-2, at Joe Louis Arena on Friday and 5-3 versus the Spartans on Saturday at home.
IRISH VERSUS WOLVERINES: The Notre Dame-Michigan series is the oldest series on the books for the Irish as the two teams have met 115 times in the series and the Wolverines own a 65-45-5 edge in those games. The series started in 1921-22 with a home-and-home series between the two schools. At the Joyce Center, the series is tied at 21-21-2. At Yost Arena, Michigan has a 36-21-3 advantage. On neutral ice, Michigan has an 8-3-0 edge. The two teams met three times in 2007-08 with Michigan winning the regular season series via a 3-2 win at Yost Arena and then a 5-1 victory in a game played at the Palace of Auburn Hills as a Notre Dame home game. In the postseason, the Irish won one of the biggest games in the program’s history, knocking off the Wolverines, 5-4, in overtime in the Frozen Four semifinal game on April 10. That win sent Notre Dame to its first-ever NCAA championship game.
NCAA SEMIFINAL RECAP:
April 10, 2008 Notre Dame 5 • Michigan 4 (ot) Semifinals – Frozen Four
Freshman left wing Calle Ridderwall scored his second goal of the game at 5:44 of overtime, lifting fifth-ranked Notre Dame to a 5-4 victory over top-ranked Michigan in the NCAA Frozen Four semifinals at Denver’s Pepsi Center … with the win, the Irish moved on to face Boston College in their first-ever national championship game … Ridderwall, who came into the game with just three goals on the season, drilled the rebound of a Dan VeNard shot over goaltender Brian Hogan’s right shoulder to set off a wild on-ice celebration … Ridderwall led the Irish attack with two goals while Mark Van Guilder, Ryan Thang and Kevin Deeth added solo goals … Chad Kolarik scored twice for the Wolverines while Matt Rust and Carl Hagelin added single goals … Notre Dame scored three times in the opening period to take a 3-0 lead at the intermission on goals by Ridderwall, Van Guilder and Thang (shg) … Brian Hogan replaced starting goaltender Billy Sauer at the start of the second period and it seemed to lift Michigan … the Wolverines scored twice in a 15-second span midway through the period on goals by Kolarik and Rust … they tied the game just 2:16 into the third period when Kolarik got his second of the game to make it 3-3 … the Irish retook the lead at 11:30 when Deeth scored off a two-on-one with Dan Kissel, chipping a shot over Hogan for his 10th goal of the year … Michigan would get the equalizer at 14:39 when Hagelin beat Pearce from a bad angle along the goal line to tie the game at 4-4 and send the game to overtime … Michigan finished the game with a 33-29 shot advantage … Jordan Pearce had 29 saves in the win while Hogan finished with 18 saves and Sauer six in the game.
GAME SUMMARY 1 2 3 OT - F#5 Notre Dame 3 0 1 1 - 5#1 Michigan 0 2 2 0 - 4
1st Period ND – Calle Ridderwall 4 (Justin White), 5:00; ND – Mark Van Guilder 13 (Ryan Thang, Brock Sheahan), 5:42; ND – Ryan Thang 18 (unassisted), SHG, 19:25. 2nd Period UM – Chad Kolarik 29 (Kevin Porter, Bryan Hogan), 8:48; UM – Matt Rust 12 (Aaron Palushaj, Carl Hagelin), 9:03. 3rd Period UM – Kolarik 30 (Max Pacioretty, Palushaj), PPG, 2:16; ND – Kevin Deeth 10 (Dan Kissel, Ian Cole), 11:30; UM – Hagelin 11 (Rust, Palushaj), 14:39. Overtime ND – Ridderwall 5 (Dan VeNard, White), 5:44.
Saves: ND: Jordan Pearce (65:44) 11 – 7 – 7 – 4 – 29 UM: Billy Sauer (20:00) 6 – x – x – x – 6 Bryan Hogan (45:44) x – 6 – 5 – 7 – 18 Power Play: ND: 0-3; UM: 1-5 Penalties: ND: 5 for 10 min.; ND: 3 for 6 min. Attendance: 18,544 (sellout)
LAKE SUPERIOR RECAP: Saturday, Jan. 17 – Notre Dame battled back from 2-0, 2-1 and 3-2 deficits in game two of the weekend series to get a 3-3 tie with Lake Superior State in 65 minutes of action. In the shootout, Billy Maday (Fr., Burr Ridge, Ill.) and Calle Ridderwall (So., Stockholm, Sweden) each scored while goaltender Jordan Pearce (Sr., Anchorage, Alaska) stopped two-of-three Laker shots for a 2-1 shootout win. Notre Dame got goals from Ben Ryan (So., Brighton, Mich.), Erik Condra (Sr., Livonia, Mich.) and Kevin Deeth (Jr., Gig Harbor, Wash.) in the game. That offset Laker goals from Steven Kaunisto (shg), Chad Nehring and Fred Cassiani (ppg). The Irish out shot Lake Superior by a 35-14 margin. Pearce had 11 saves on the night while Pat Inglis (11) and Brian Mahoney-Wilson (21) combined for 32 for the Lakers. Condra’s goal was short-handed and Deeth’s game-tying goal came on the power play at 13:15 of the second period.
Friday, Jan. 16 – Senior goaltender Jordan Pearce held off a strong third-period attack by Lake Superior State, stopping all 14 shots he faced for a 3-2 Notre Dame win. In the game, Pearce finished with 31 saves. The Lakers took a 1-0 lead at 9:56 of the first period on a Josh Sim power-play goal. The Irish would answer with goals from Justin White (Traverse City, Mich.) at 15:12 and a power-play goal from Calle Ridderwall at 18:32 for a 2-1 lead after one period. In the second stanza, Christiaan Minella (Aurora, Colo.) scored what proved to be the game winner at 12:34. Will Acton made it a one-goal game as he beat Pearce at 16:01 to make it 3-2, but that would end the scoring. Lake Superior out shot the Irish, 33-27, on the night. Brian Mahoney-Wilson made 24 saves for the Lakers.
THE STREAK: The win and the tie at Lake Superior State (Jan. 16-17) extended Notre Dame’s current unbeaten streak to a school-record 20 games (17-0-3). The previous longest unbeaten streak for the Irish was 15 games. The last time the Irish lost a game was on Oct. 25 at home against Miami. The Irish also have a 16-game unbeaten streak (13-0-3) in the CCHA play since dropping their first two games to Miami in October. With three shootout wins, the Irish have picked up all 32 points available to them in those 16 league contests.
ROAD WARRIORS: Notre Dame’s 3-3 tie at Lake Superior on Jan. 17 snapped an Irish nine-game road winning streak, but continued what is now a 10-game road unbeaten streak (9-0-1). Notre Dame dropped its season opener on the road at Denver (Oct. 11). Notre Dame is now 9-1-1 on the road this season.
HOBEY BAKER CANDIDATE: Notre Dame goaltender Jordan Pearce is listed among the candidates for the 2009 Hobey Baker Award on the award’s website – hobeybaker.com. Fans can now vote for their choice for the award at the website. The first phase of the voting will continue until March 8. On March 19, the 10 finalists will be announced. The Hobey Baker Hat Trick of the three finalists will be announced on April 2 with the winner selected on April 10.
MR. RELIABLE: Notre Dame’s All-American and Hobey Baker candidate – 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 47 of the last 48 Irish games. Of those 47 games, 46 have been starts. Pearce has now appeared in 22 straight games for the Irish, making 21 starts in that span. The last game he did not start was on Nov. 29 when Tommy O’Brien (Jr., Mokena, Ill.) made his 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 24 of Notre Dame’s first 25 games this season and is 19-3-2 with a 1.56 goals-against average and a .936 save percentage with four shutouts. In his current 20-game unbeaten streak (17-0-3), Pearce has a 1.36 goals-against average, a .944 save percentage and three shutouts. Pearce’s 40-save performance against Lake Superior State on Nov. 14, were 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.
MORE ON PEARCE: With his last win over Lake Superior State (Jan. 16), Jordan Pearce picked up his 47th career win and is now in fourth place on Notre Dame’s all-time wins list. The win puts him two behind Dick Tomasoni `72, who had 49 in his career.
Here are the top five goaltenders in wins at Notre Dame:
Name (Years) WinsLance Madson (`86-'90) 56David Brown (``03-'07) 55Dick Tomasoni (`68-'72) 49Jordan Pearce (`05- ) 47Dave Laurion (`78-'82) 45
THE LONG AND SHORT OF IT: Senior right wing Erik Condra recorded his second short-handed goal this season in the 3-3 overtime tie/shootout win for the Irish. The goal was the sixth shortie of Condra’s career and moved him into fourth on Notre Dame’s all-time short-handed goals list. He is one behind the leaders – Dave Bankoske (`93), Mike McNeill (`88) and Kevin Humphreys (`81) who had seven in their Irish careers.
CLUTCH SCORER: Ryan Thang’s game-winning goal on Jan. 9 against Alaska was his second of the season and his first since Oct. 18 against Sacred Heart. The game winner gives him 13 for his career and moves him into a tie for the top spot on Notre Dame’s all-time game-winning goal list. Thang is now tied with Rob Globke `04, Brian Urick `99 and Dave Poulin `82 – as all four players now have 13 game winners to their credit.
PRACTICE ON THE POND: Notre Dame took its Friday practice (Jan. 23) outdoors to a local rink – Merrifield Park in Mishawaka, Ind. – as the players got the chance to play a little shinny. Over 250 kids and adults attended the event that was complete with temperatures in the low teens, stocking caps, hot chocolate and a great deal of laughter. The kids in attendance got a chance to meet the Notre Dame players while they scrimmaged and afterwards with an autograph session. This is the second time the Irish have done this, doing it prior to their series with Bowling Green last January.
A CHILL (ING) REUNION: When Calle Ridderwall (So., Stockholm, Sweden) and freshman Billy Maday (Burr Ridge, Ill.) were put on the same line with center Kevin Deeth (Jr., Gig Harbor, Wash.) 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 21 games together this season, the duo has combined for 18 goals and and 22 assists with Maday having seven goals and 10 assists for 17 points while Ridderwall has 11 goals and 12 assists for 23 points in those games.
STARTING POINT: In last April’s 5-4 overtime win against Michigan in the NCAA semifinals, then freshman Calle Ridderwall scored twice in the game, including the overtime game winner. That game proved to be the breakout game for Ridderwall. After finishing last season with five goals and two assists in 39 games, the sophomore from Stockholm, Sweden is second in scoring for the Irish with 10 goals and 13 assists for 23 points in the first 25 games this year.
BALANCING ACT: Balance has been a key for Notre Dame in the 2008-09 season. The Irish have 13 players with 10 or more points so far this year with Christian Hanson (Sr., Venetia, Pa.) leading the team with 26 points on 14 goals and 12 assists. The Irish have just two players with 10 or more goals (Hanson and Ridderwall – 10) but have nine players with five or more goals. Ten players on the Notre Dame roster have scored game-winning goals this year.
RED HOT HANSON: Senior center Christian Hanson is off to the best start of his collegiate career. Through the first 25 games of the season, Hanson leads the Irish in scoring with 14 goals and 12 assists for 26 points. He also has six power-play goals, one short-handed marker and four game winners. He now has career-bests in goals (14), assists (12), points (25), power-play goals (6) and game winners (4). The 6-4, 228-pound center has points in 11 of his last 16 games (10-10-20). In 18 CCHA games this season, Hanson is tied for the league lead in scoring with 24 points and is second in goals scored with 12.
WINNING TEAMS: Since the start of the 2006-07 season, Notre Dame has the winningest hockey program in the nation. Heading into this weekend against Michigan, Notre Dame ranks first in wins (78) and first in winning percentage (.728). Michigan is second with 77 wins and a .723 winning percentage. Here are the top five teams by wins and winning percentage (as of Jan. 28).
Wins Winning Pct.Notre Dame 78 Notre Dame (.728)Michigan 77 Michigan (.723)Miami 71 Miami (.686)North Dakota 67 New Hampshire (.665)Boston College 65 Boston College (.657)New Hampshire 62 North Dakota (.640)
STREAK SNAPPED: Josh Sim’s first period power-play goal on Jan. 16 for Lake Superior State, snapped Jordan Pearce’s shutout streak at 171:26, a career high for the senior goaltender. The streak is the second longest for a Notre Dame goaltender as David Brown `07 had a 193:27 streak from Oct. 17 to Nov. 8, 2003 without giving up a goal. <>BACK-TO-BACK BLANKINGS: The Irish are recorded back-to-back shutouts at the Joyce Center on Jan. 9-10 versus Alaska by 2-0 and 3-0 scores. Senior goaltender Jordan Pearce was between the pipes for both blankings. That marks the second time this season that the Irish have had back-to-back shutouts. In October, Notre Dame shut out Sacred Heart, 3-0 and 7-0, on Oct. 17-18. The last time the Irish had back-to-back shutouts in CCHA play came on March 15-16, 2003, when Morgan Cey `05 blanked Miami, 1-0 and 5-0, in games two and three of the CCHA playoffs. The Irish have never had back-to-back shutout wins in a CCHA regular-season series before last weekend.
CLIMBING THE CHARTS: With the two shutouts versus Alaska, Jordan Pearce now has four shutouts this season and eight for his career. The seven career shutouts move Pearce into second on the all-time list. David Brown `07 holds the Irish record with 12 during his Irish career.
JOINING THE CENTURY CLUB: Senior right wing Erik Condra recorded the 100th assist of his Notre Dame career on Ryan Thang’s third-period goal in the 3-0 win over Alaska on Jan. 10. The assist makes him just the 10th player in the 41-year history of the program to record 100 assists in his career. In Friday’s game with Alaska, Condra recorded the 40th goal of his Irish career. He is currently 19th on Notre Dame’s all-time points list with 142 career points.
STREAK NUMBERS: In Notre Dame’s 20-game unbeaten streak, the Irish have given up one goal or less in 12 of the 20 games. The Irish have only given up three goals, four times – a 3-3 tie with Lake Superior (11/14), a 3-3 tie with Western Michigan (11/29), a 4-3 win over Bowling Green (12/13) and the 3-3 tie with Lake Superior (1/17). During the streak, the Irish have out scored the opposition by a 72-29 margin (3.60 to 1.45).
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.
LOWE’S SENIOR CLASS AWARD: Two members of the Notre Dame hockey team are among a list of 20 candidates for the Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award. Named to the list last week are senior forward Erik Condra and goaltender Jordan Pearce. The award is given annually to an NCAA Division I student-athlete in nine sports based on achievement’s in the “Four C’s” of classroom, character, community and competition. CLASS is an acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School. Last season, senior Mark Van Guilder `08 was one of 10 finalists for the award and in 2007, goaltender David Brown `07 was selected as the first winner of the hockey award.
POWER-PLAY PRODUCERS: Five Notre Dame players currently rank in the top 10 in the CCHA for power-play point production. Left wing Calle Ridderwall is tied for second (8-9-17) with center Christian Hanson tied for fourth (6-7-13). Defenseman Brett Blatchford (0-11-11), right wing Billy Maday (5-6-11) and center Kevin Deeth (3-8-11) who are tied for 10th.
THE PLAYMAKER: With assists in each game of the Shillelagh Tournament, junior defenseman Brett Blatchford (Temperance, Mich.) is tied for third in the CCHA in assists with 18 and is tied for second among all CCHA defensemen with 18 points this season. The smooth-skating defenseman has already exceeded his output of last year when he had 12 assists in 45 games. He leads Notre Dame defensemen in scoring and is tied for 22nd nationally among defensemen in scoring.
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.
BETTER DECEMBER: The Irish finished up the month of December with a 4-0-0 record, out scoring the opposition by an 11-5 margin (2.75 to 1.25). Notre Dame takes an 11-0-2 mark over the last two months into January.
HAVING FUN IN JANUARY: The Irish continued their winning ways in January as they are now 5-0-1 during the month. During January, Notre Dame has out scored the opposition by a 17-7 margin (2.83 to 1.17).
GETTING HOT AT THE RIGHT TIME: Center Ben Ryan has recorded points in six of his last eight games since Dec. 12. In that span, the sophomore center has four goals and four assists for eight points. On the year, Ryan has seven goals and seven assists for 14 points. Three of his seven goals have been game winners.
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 22-for-79 for a 27.8% success rate. On the season, Notre Dame’s power play is now 34-for-156 for a 21.8% success rate. That leads the CCHA and is fourth nationally.