Jan. 2, 1998
Irish Return to CCHA Play at Home vs. Miami
- Two-game home weekend to test undermanned Notre Dame squad
- Irish look to translate road success to better home-ice record
- Simon, Dusbabek remain in Finland with U.S. team, due back Jan. 4
- Urick, Carlson and Noble step up at Mariucci Classic
The Notre Dame hockey team (10-8-2, 5-5-2 CCHA) returns to Central
Collegiate Action this week with a pair of home games versus Miami
University (13-3-0, 8-3-0 CCHA) at the Joyce Center Fieldhouse (Jan.
2-3) ... the Irish again will be without sophomore forwards Ben Simon
and Joe Dusbabek, who will be wrapping up play with the United States
team at the World Junior Championship in Finland ... the games versus
the RedHawks represent Notre Dame's only home action in a nine-game
stretch (from Dec. 27-Jan. 25) ... the next Irish home game will be Jan.
30 against Michigan ... Miami has won the last four games against Notre
Dame, with three of those games decided in the closing minutes (two in
the last 40 seconds) ... Notre Dame is 4-4 in one-goal games this
season, a marked improvement from its 3-12 record in one-goal games last
season ... Notre Dame already has surpassed its victory and point total
from last season (9-25-1) ... senior C Steve Noble has stepped into
Simon's vacant spot on the first line, alongside freshman LW Dan Carlson
and junior RW Brian Urick (that line scored four of Notre Dame's five
goals last week versus Brown).
AROUND THE HORN: Notre Dame is 7-4-0 away from home this season
and 3-4-2 at home, with 38 of 64 goals (59 percent) coming on the road
... the Irish are tied with Michigan and Boston College as the
third-youngest team in Division I hockey ... the Irish penalty-killing
unit has allowed just seven more goals (12) than it has scored (5) ...
Notre Dame remains the CCHA's least-penalized team (6.55/gm) for the
second straight season ... the Irish are on pace to set records for team
goals-against average (2.70), save percentage (.904) and penalty-killing
percentage (.867) ... Notre Dame's top scorers are sophomore C Ben Simon
(8-13-21), junior RW Brian Urick (8-10-18), senior C Steve Noble
(5-13-18), freshman LW Dan Carlson (6-10-16) and junior LW Aniket
Dhadphale (12-4-16) ... Notre Dame's 18 starting skaters have included
as many as seven freshmen and six sophomores ... the Irish were picked
seventh (out of 11 teams) in the preseason CCHA coaches poll and stand
seventh heading into the New Year, just four points behind third-place
Miami.
THE SERIES: Miami holds a 15-5-2 edge, including a 13-1-2 mark
vs. the Irish in the last 16 meetings ... three of the last four games
have produced narrow Miami wins ... Notre Dame's only win vs. Miami
since '83 came late in 1995-96, at Miami (5-2) ... Notre Dame senior C
Steve Noble has nine career points vs. Miami (3G, 6A) ... Miami swept
last year's series, winning two close games at home (2-1, 4-3) and once
at Notre Dame (6-3) ... in last year's first game (10/26), Matt Eisler
extended his shutout streak to over 120 minutes but Miami won on goals
in the first two minutes of the third by Joe Bodnar and Ryan Brindley
... Noble's power-play goal put the Irish ahead late in the second ...
Whitecotton's wraparound goal with 40 seconds left won the second
meeting of 1996-97 (11/23) ... Joe Dusbabek, Terry Lorenz and Brian
Urick scored for the Irish while Mark Tropper, Vitali Andreev and
Copeland scored for Miami ... on Jan. 3, the Irish answered a Tom White
goal with scores from Lyle Andrusiak, Dusbabek and Sean Seyferth but
Miami tied the game in the second on goals by Leahy and Mark Shalawylo
before winning in the third on goals from Tropper, C.J. Buzzell and
Randy Robitaille.
RECAP (11/15/97) - RedHawks edge Irish, 5-4: Adam Copeland
capitalized on a giveaway and scored with 20 seconds left ... the Irish
had three leads, only to see Miami quickly gain the equalizer ... Miami
converted two of three power-play chances, with the last providing a 4-3
lead at the second intermission ... Gregor Krajnc picked off an
attempted clear by Mark Eaton and fired the puck to Copeland for the
winning goal ... Lyle Andrusiak forged the fourth tie midway through the
third period, poking the puck home in a scramble at the top of the
crease ... Miami went ahead 4-3 in the second, behind goals from Tim
Leahy and Krajnc ...Benoit Cotnoir opened the scoring with a power-play
goal five minutes into the game ... Miami tied the game 54 seconds
later, when Alex Kim knocked home his own rebound ... Joe Dusbabek put
the Irish ahead midway through the first period, after redirecting a
Ben Simon pass inside the right post ... Miami tied the game five
minutes before the first intermission, on Dan Boyle's power-play goal
... Notre Dame claimed its third lead early in the second, when Eaton
sent a lead pass up the middle for Andrusiak, who nudged a backhander
inside the left post.
REDHAWKS NOTES: Miami (13-3-0 overall, 8-3-0 CCHA) stands third
in the CCHA, behind Michigan (9-2-1) and Michigan State (8-2-1) ... the
RedHawks are ranked fourth in the USA Today/American Hockey Magazine
coaches poll and in the U.S. College Hockey Online coaches poll (the top
three teams are Boston University, MSU and North Dakota ... Miami has 10
seniors and returned 18 of 22 letterwinners from the '96-'97 team that
went 27-12-1 and finished second in the CCHA ... the RedHawks won last
week's Denver Cup (9-6 over DU, 4-2 over New Hampshire) ... three Miami
players rank among the CCHA's top-10 scorers, led by All-American D Dan
Boyle and F Tim Leahy ... Trevor Prior ranks fourth in the CCHA with a
2.47 GAA ... Miami owns the CCHA's top power-play unit (.310) and ranks
sixth in penalty-killing (.844) ... Miami also owns CCHA wins over OSU
(3-0), UAF (11-3, 6-3), WMU (2-1/OT, 4-2), at FSU (6-2) and NMU (5-2),
with other wins over Waterloo (10-2) and St. Lawrence (2-1, 6-5) ...
Miami's losses have come at OSU (4-5), at Lake Superior (3-4/OT) and vs.
NMU (2-3).
FRIEND OR FOE?: Several current players from Notre Dame and Miami
played together on previous teams ... they include: Notre Dame junior D
Scott Giuliani and Miami senior RW Adam Copeland (Burlington Cougars),
Notre Dame junior G Forrest Karr and Miami junior C C.J. Buzzell
(Wisconsin Capitols), Notre Dame sophomore D Nathan Borega and Miami
sophomore C Dustin Whitecotton (Vernon Vipers), Whitecotton and Notre
Dame sophomore D Tyson Fraser (Team British Columbia), Notre Dame
sophomore D Sean Molina and Miami sophomore F Mark Shalawylo (USA Viking
Cup), Shalawylo and Notre Dame D Andy Jurkowski (Wisconsin Capitols),
Notre Dame sophomore D Sean Seyferth and Miami senior D Brooke Chateau
and senior F Vitali Andreev, and Notre Dame sophomore C Ben Simon and
Miami junior D Josh Harrold (Cleveland Jr. Barons).
HOMETOWN HEROES: Of the 274 players that had played for a CCHA
team through the first month of the season, 56 hail from Ontario, 53
from Michigan, 20 from B.C. and 19 from Minnesota ... Notre Dame had
played the most Minnesotans (seven, all forwards) while Miami had played
five, Ohio State three and four other teams had played one ... Notre
Dame's Minnesota natives who had played as of Nov. 16 are junior RW
Brian Urick (Minnetonka), junior C Craig Hagkull (Arden Hills),
sophomore F Troy Bagne (Moorhead), sophomore RW Joe Dusbabek
(Faribault), freshman LW Dan Carlson (Edina) and freshman LW Jay
Kopischke (Alexandria) ... junior C Neal Johnson (Edina) saw his first
action of the season in last week's win over Brown while freshman G Kyle
Kolquist (Duluth) has yet to play for the Irish this season ... each of
the Minnesota natives last week had the chance to skate in their home
state when Notre Dame took part in the Mariucci Classic at the
University of Minnesota.
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Steve Noble notched four points in the win over Brown. (File Photo)
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RECAP - Irish go 1-1 at Mariucci Classic: (12/27, Northeastern 4
ND 2): Freshman D Mike Jozefowicz (2 goals) was the unlikely offensive
hero as Northeastern came back from a two-goal deficit ... Notre Dame
jumped ahead, with Benoit Cotnoir scoring early in the first (assisted
by Bagne) before providing a second-period slapshot that was tipped home
by Aniket Dhadphale ... Notre Dame lost despite a 33-32 shot advantage
... Northeastern closed the gap to 2-1 midway through the second period
before using three goals in a five-minute span to surge ahead midway
through the third ... Huskies goalie Marc Robitaille had 32 saves ...
Notre Dame had a 53-second, two-man advantage with seven minutes to play
but couldn't close the gap. (12/28, ND 5 Brown 1): Notre Dame used a
four-goal outburst in the second period to blow by Brown ... the line of
Dan Carlson, Steve Noble and Brian produced four goals while Forrest
Karr made 26 saves ... Notre Dame outshot Brown 45-27, the most Irish
shots since the opener vs. Western Ontario (55) ... Brown scored on the
power play early in the final period ... Noble--who had three
assists--put the Irish on the board midway through the first, on a
transition slapshot inside the blueline ... Urick padded the lead,
knocking home a rebounded shot from Tyson Fraser ... midway through the
second, Noble fired a pass from the left corner into the slot for
Carlson, who scored with a high shot to the glove side ... Troy Bagne
later scored on a low rocket shot from the right-side that tucked inside
the left post ... Urick capped the scoring by slapping in a deflected
Carlson shot from the bottom of the right circle.
PLAYING FOR YOUR COUNTRY: Notre Dame sophomore forwards Joe
Dusbabek and Ben Simon have spent the past week as members of the U.S.
team competing at the World Junior Championship in Finland ... the U.S.
fell to Slovakia (6-3) before beating Kazakhstan (8-2), with Dusbabek
scoring a goal in that win and Simon registering an assist ... the U.S.
then lost to Russia (3-2) in the final minute before posting a 5-1 win
over Switzerland, with Simon notching an assist ... the U.S. lost to the
Czech Republic in quarterfinal action on Dec. 31 and will play Canada on
Jan. 2, with the winner moving onto the fifth-place game (vs. the
Sweden/Kazakhstan winner) while the loser will play in the seventh-place
game ... Dusbabek and Simon are two of 10 current college players on the
U.S. team ... Simon helped the U.S. capture the silver medal at the
'96-'97 World Junior Championship in Switzerland, the best U.S. finish
in the 22-year history of the tournament ... Dusbabek and Simon were
among 22 players to emerge from a 28-player tryout camp ... they join
MSU F Mike York as the only CCHA players on the 1997-98 U.S. junior
squad ... Boston College placed three players on the national junior
team, followed by Notre Dame (2) ... 18 of the junior national team
members--including both Notre Dame players--competed with the U.S. in
late August at the Tampere Cup in Finland ... Simon missed three Irish
games last season (two losses at Princeton, 2-5 and 2-3 in OT, and a 3-6
home loss to Miami) while helping the U.S. capture the silver medal ...
Simon is one of five returning forwards from that 1996-97 U.S. world
junior team, joining York, former linemate Jeff Farkas, Jesse Boulerice
(Mooers, N.Y.) and Toby Peterson (Colorado College) ... the U.S. also
returned D Chris Hajt (Amherst, N.Y.) and Paul Mara (Belmont, Mass.) and
G Robert Esche (Whitesboro, N.Y.) ... Dusbabek and Simon have faced five
of their national teammates this season: Boston College's Farkas, F
Brian Gionta and D Mike Mottau, MSU's York and Wisconsin F Dustin Kuk
... the other current college players on the national junior team are
Minnesota F Aaron Miskovich, Peterson and Providence F Jay Leach.
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Forrest Karr is unbeaten in five starts between the pipes in 1997. (File Photo)
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FOLLOW THAT KARR!!: Junior Forrest Karr has combined with senior
Matt Eisler to form a formidable goaltending duo for the Irish this
season ... Karr is 4-0-1, posting road wins at Ohio State (3-2, 28
saves), Western Michigan (2-1, 11), Wisconsin (4-2, 14) and vs. Brown at
the Mariucci Classic (5-1, 26) while earning a home tie vs. Lake
Superior (3-3, 21) ... Karr ranks 2nd in the CCHA with a 1.73
goals-against avg. while his .919 save pct. is tops in the CCHA ... Karr
and Eisler (2.98, .902) have helped the Irish post a 2.70 team GAA and
.904 save pct., both well on pace to set Irish team records.
FRESH START: Freshman D Mark Eaton and rookie LW Dan Carlson have
made a significant impact ... the smooth-skating and heady Eaton is
third on the team in plus-minus (+9) and has totaled 10 points,
including nine assists ... the speedy Carlson ranks second on the team
in plus-minus (+9) and has six goals and 10 assists for 16 points
(fourth on the team) ... Carlson had a goal and two assists in the 5-1
win over Brown and totaled two goals and an assist in the two-game sweep
of Western Michigan, including the game-winning goal at WMU (2-1) and a
game-winning assist in the 4-2 home win over the Broncos ... he also had
an assist and scored the late game-tying goal vs. Ferris State (5-5).
BACK TOGETHER: Sophomores Nathan Borega and Tyson Fraser have
skated together for the last eight games, after spending the bulk of
their freshman season as a defensive tandem ... in their first game back
together, Fraser and Borega scored both Irish goals in the 4-2 loss to
Lake Superior ... they have helped Notre Dame allow just 13 goals in the
last six games ... the 6-2, 225-pound Borega is +3 for the season and
has totaled just 12 penalties (0.61/gm) despite his physical style of
play (he has just two penalties in the last 10 games) ... Fraser has an
assist in 10 games this season and ranks sixth on the team in plus-minus
(+5) ... Fraser's 10 assists are tied for third among all Irish players
... he has just five penalties this season and 22 in 49 career games.
RETURN OF THE SNIPER: Junior LW Aniket Dhadphale has returned to
the form that saw him lead the Irish in goals as a freshman (13), when
he converted on 18.1 percent of his 72 shots ... Dhadphale then endured
a sophomore slump, scoring just five times on 109 shots (4.6 percent)
... this season, Dhadphale has more than doubled his sophomore goal
total and is tied for second in the CCHA with 12 goals, trailing only
Michigan's Bill Muckalt (20) ... Dhadphale has converted on 23.1 percent
of his 52 shots (an average of one goal per every 4.3 shots on goal)
after scoring just once per every 21.8 shots last season.
SIMON SAYS: Notre Dame sophomore C Ben Simon has been Mr.
Reliable, recording at least one point in 15 of the 18 games he has
played ... Simon leads the Irish and ranks eighth in the CCHA with 21
points, including a season goal total (8) that is double his '96-'97
output (4), when Simon did not score a goal until the 15th game of the
season ... Simon's three power-play goals equal his freshman year total
while his three shorthanded goals are more than Notre Dame's team total
(2) for all of 1996-97.
TAKING ADVANTAGE OF HIS (MAN-UP) OPPORTUNITIES: Junior D Benoit
Cotnoir has totaled 48 career points (17 G, 31 A) from the blue line,
with over 62 percent (5 G, 13 A) of his 29 points during the past two
seasons coming on the power play.
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Brian Urick scored twice against Brown. (File Photo)
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BACK IN THE GROOVE: Junior RW Brian Urick totaled just one goal
in the first 13 games this season but has added seven goals in his last
seven outings, including both Irish scores in the 3-2 loss to Wisconsin
and two scores in the 5-1 win over Brown ... Urick is tied for second on
the team with 18 points (8G, 10 A) while he leads the team with 75 shots
on goal ... Urick ranked among Notre Dame's scoring leaders the past two
seasons--he shared for the team scoring lead last season (13 G, 12
A)--and has totaled 33 goals and 37 assists in 90 career games ... Urick
scored on 15.1 percent of his shots during his first two seasons and
owns a .107 shooting pct. this season.
THE EISMAN COMETH: Despite some recent rough outings, senior G
Matt Eisler owns a 2.98 goals-against average and .902 save pct. while
leading the Irish to a .867 penalty-killing pct. ... Eisler was named
the CCHA defensive player of the week, after making 63 saves and
allowing just four goals in the sweep at St. Cloud State on Oct. 17-18
(4-3, 4-1) ... he had 32 saves in the 6-1 win at Michigan State and 33
in the 4-2 win over Western Michigan ... his 2.98 GAA would rank third
in Irish history--behind John Barry's 2.00 in 1968-69 and Chris
Cathcart's 2.83 in 1970-71--while his .902 save pct. is just behind Mark
Kronholm's Irish record (.907, in 1970-71) ... Eisler's .879 career save
pct. ranks fourth in Irish history while his 2,485 career saves rank
sixth, within range of Kronholm (2,566), Bob McNamara (2,577, 1979-83)
and Dave Laurion (2,600, 1978-82), the current Alaska Fairbanks head
coach.
DUS STILL DUE: Sophomore RW Joe Dusbabek--who is missing four
games while at the World Junior Championship--failed to score during the
first eight games (18 shots) this season, before redirecting a pass from
classmate Ben Simon for a 2-1 Irish lead in the 5-4 loss at Miami on
Nov. 15 ... after sharing for the team scoring lead last season (13 G,
12 A), Dusbabek was looking to use that goal at Miami as a jumpstart but
he has not scored in the last nine games (16 shots) ... his longest goal
drought last season was six games, en route to finishing as runner-up
for CCHA rookie of the year ... he has eight assists for the season but
has just four in the last 15 games, giving him only five points since
posting two assists in each win at St. Cloud State on Oct. 17-18 ... he
has scored on just 2.8 percent of his 36 shots (averaging just 2.0
shots/gm), after ranking third on the 1996-97 Irish with a 15.5 percent
shooting accuracy ... Dusbabek has managed just two or fewer shots in 14
games and has five-plus shots just once (seven, in 2-1 win over BG).
THIRD PERIOD KEY: Third-period production has been crucial in
Notre Dame's games this season ... after dominating the third-period
scoring earlier this season, Notre Dame now is being outscored 26-20 in
the final 20 minutes ... the Irish have outscored the opposition 13-5 in
the third period of the 10 Notre Dame wins ... conversely, in Notre
Dame's eight losses, the opposition has owned a 17-3 third-period
scoring edge ... in the last 14 games, Notre Dame has been outscored
21-7 in the third period ... the Irish opened with three wins thanks to
an 8-0 third-period scoring edge but, in the fourth game, Boston College
soared to three goals in a five-minute, third-period span to post a 3-2
win ... that trend has continued through several games this season, with
Lake Superior using three third-period goals for a 4-2 win before
scoring in the final two minutes to force a 3-3 tie the next night ...
most recently, Northeastern scored three goals in a five-minute stretch
during the final period to complete a 4-2 comeback win over the Irish.
YOUNG GUNS: The 1996-97 Notre Dame hockey team was
second-youngest in Division I, with an average age of 19 years and 11
months on Nov. 1, 1996 ... the Irish remain young in '97-'98, with an
average age of 20 years and two months as of 10/28/97, according to NHL
Central Scouting, which lists Harvard (19, 7) and Boston University (20,
0) as the youngest teams in the nation while Notre Dame is tied with
Boston College and Michigan as having the third-lowest average age in
Division I hockey ... more than half (14) of the players on Notre Dame's
27-man roster began their careers with the Irish immediately following
graduation from high school, with seven joining the program after one
year of junior hockey and only six spending two years in junior hockey.
ROAD WARRIORS: Notre Dame is 7-4 away from home this season,
posting wins at St. Cloud State (4-3/ot, 4-1), #2 Michigan State (6-1),
Ohio State (3-2), Western Michigan (2-1) and Wisconsin (4-2) while
beating Brown (5-1) at last week's Mariucci Classic ... the Irish have
lost road games in the final minute at MSU (3-1, with MSU breaking a 1-1
tie in the final four minutes) and Miami (5-4, with Miami winning with
20 seconds left) before losing a 3-2 second-intermission lead at Ferris
State (the Bulldogs won 4-3) and failing to hold a 2-0 lead on
Northeastern at the Mariucci Classic ... Notre Dame has been
particularly impressive during the third period of several road games,
scoring twice to force overtime in the first game at St. Cloud,
clinching the second win over the Huskies with two more third-period
goals and using a four-goal, third-period flurry in the big win at
Michigan State ... Notre Dame has scored 38 goals away from home on 311
shots on goal, for an average of 8.2 shots per goal (12.2 shooting pct.)
... conversely, in its nine home games, Notre Dame is just 3-4-2 and has
scored just 26 goals on 259 shots, for an average of 10.0 shots per goal
(10.0 shooting pct.).
PENALTY-KILLING PLUS: Notre Dame's penalty-killing unit has
scored one goal for every 2.4 it has allowed this season, totaling five
shorthanded goals while allowing 12 opponent power-play scores ... the
five shorthanded goals are more than double the Irish total from all of
1996-97 (2), with sophomore C Ben Simon scoring three of the SHG's while
junior D Benoit Cotnoir and freshman LW Dan Carlson have netted the
others ... Notre Dame's "-7" penalty-killing effort this season is best
in the CCHA, ahead of two teams that are "-8": Lake Superior (13 PPG
allowed/5 SHG) and Ohio State (13/5) ... the other CCHA teams break down
as follows: Michigan State (-9), Western Michigan (-12), Michigan (-13),
Miami (-14), Northern Michigan (-18), Ferris State (-20), Bowling Green
(-20) and Alaska Fairbanks (-22).
SHOWING DISCIPLINE: After ranking among the CCHA's most-penalized
teams in 1994-95 (11.59 penalties/gm) and 1995-96 (11.33), Notre Dame
last season became the conference's least-penalized squad (8.69/gm) ...
through 20 games this season, the Irish again are the CCHA's
least-penalized squad, totaling 131 penalties for an average of just
6.55 per game--while posting a 2.70 team goals-against average that
would blow away the existing Irish record (3.40, in 1987-88) ... the
Irish have allowed just 12 opponent power-play goals, second-fewest in
the CCHA behind Michigan State's 10 ... Notre Dame has totaled four or
fewer penalties in eight games this season and averaged just 4.50
penalties/gm over the past six outings ... after Notre Dame, the CCHA's
least-penalized teams this season are: Michigan State (8.75), Miami
(8.88), Ferris State (9.26), Michigan (9.40) and Ohio State (9.78) ...
the CCHA's most-penalized teams are Alaska Fairbanks (10.90), Northern
Michigan (10.33), Western Michigan (10.30), Lake Superior (10.24) and
Bowling Green (10.20) ... hard-hitting Irish sophomore D Nathan Borega
has just 12 penalties this season (two in the last 10 games) and less
than one per game in his career (43 in 55 games) ... other disciplined
Irish skaters include: senior C Steve Noble (four penalties in '97-'98,
20 in last 54) and sophomore D Tyson Fraser (five penalties in '97-'98,
21 in 49 career games) ... junior RW Brian Urick struggled with untimely
penalties his first two seasons (58 in 70 games) but has just five
penalties this season.
SPECIAL IMPROVEMENT: Despite a 4-for-50 power-play effort (.080)
in its last nine games, Notre Dame's season power-play pct.
(.162/18-for-111) is up considerably from last season (.127) and ranks
sixth among CCHA teams ... the Irish netted at least one power-play goal
in 10 of the first 11 games, including each of the first seven (the
longest PPG streak in 1996-97 was three games) ... Notre Dame ranked 4th
in the CCHA for penalty killing last season (.813) and opened this
season with 16 straight penalty kills before allowing a Boston College
score ... the Irish then killed off 22 straight power plays, including
15 in a two-game weekend series vs. then-#2 MSU ... the team's season
penalty-killing pct. now stands at .867 (78-for-90), fourth-best in the
CCHA ... the Irish record for season penalty-killing pct. was set by the
1969-70 team, which stopped 86.1 percent of opponent power plays.
HOLD ON TO THAT LEAD: Notre Dame is 8-2-0 this season when
leading at the first intermission (with losses to Boston College and
Northeastern), after going just 4-5-0 last season when ahead after the
first 20 minutes ... half of Notre Dame's eight losses this season have
come after the Irish held a lead at the second intermission, as Notre
Dame is 8-4-1 in games when leading after 40 minutes (losses to Boston
College, Ferris State, Lake Superior and Northeastern).
GO-TO-GROUP: Notre Dame head coach Dave Poulin remarked before
the season that the Irish likely would not have a 30-goal scorer and
would need to count on several players for timely goals ... although
junior LW Aniket Dhadphale (12 goals) and sophomore C Ben Simon (8) have
set early paces for 20-25 goal seasons, the Irish truly have relied on
balanced--and sometimes unexpected--scoring, as seen in freshman Chad
Chipchase's hat trick in the 4-3 loss at Ferris State ... the team's
#2-#6 scorers all have between 14-18 points, while six players have
between 5-8 goals ... three players--Simon and senior C Lyle
Andrusiak--have come through with a pair of game-winning goals while
junior RW Brian Urick has three GWGs and three other players have scored
one game-winner (Dhadphale, senior C Steve Noble and freshman LW Dan
Carlson) ... after Simon's 21 points (8-13), Notre Dame's top
goal-scoring threats have come from Urick (8-10), Dhadphale (12-4),
Noble (5-13), Carlson (6-10), junior D Benoit Cotnoir (6-8) and
Andrusiak (6-4) ... three other players have compiled high assist
numbers: freshman D Mark Eaton (1-9), sophomore D Tyson Fraser (1-10)
and sophomore RW Joe Dusbabek (1-8).
FEELING A DRAFT: Notre Dame matched Boston College with the most
players selected in the 1997 NHL draft (four): Ben Simon (5th rd,
Chicago), Joe Dusbabek (7th rd, San Jose), Jay Kopischke (8th rd, L.A.)
and Ryan Clark (9th rd, N.Y. Islanders) ... Notre Dame has seven former
NHL draft picks on its roster (second to Michigan's nine among CCHA
teams), with the others being senior C Steve Noble (St. Louis Blues),
junior RW Brian Urick (Edmonton Oilers) and junior LW Aniket Dhadphale
(San Jose Sharks).
THE PRE-CCHA DAYS: Nearly 40 percent of the 272 players that had
played for a CCHA team this season (as of Nov. 11) are products of
either the United States Hockey League (54) or the North American Hockey
League (52) ... Ferris State an Miami each had used eight former USHL
players as of Nov. 11 while Notre Dame had played seven: junior C Craig
Hagkull (Des Moines Buccaneers), junior G Forrest Karr (Wisconsin
Capitols), sophomore D Sean Molina (Dubuque Fighting Saints), freshman D
Ryan Clark (Lincoln Stars), freshman RW Ryan Dolder (Twin City Vulcans)
freshman D Mark Eaton (Waterloo Blackhawks) and freshman LW Jay
Kopischke (North Iowa Huskies) ... Ohio State (9) and FSU (7) had
featured the most NAHL players while Notre Dame has one--sophomore C Ben
Simon (Cleveland Junior Barons) ... 20 former high school or prep
players (that went directly to college) had skated for a CCHA team
through the first month of the season, with Michigan accounting for
seven of those players while Notre Dame had five: senior G Matt Eisler,
junior RW Brian Urick, sophomore C Troy Bagne, sophomore RW Joe Dusbabek
and freshman LW Dan Carlson ... Notre Dame's other nine players who had
seen action as of Nov. 11 include two each from: the Midwest Junior B
League (senior C Steve Noble and junior LW Aniket Dhadphale, both from
the Stratford Cullitons), the Provincial Junior A League (junior D Scott
Giuliani/Burlington Cougars and freshman RW Matt Van Arkel/Milton
Merchants), the Saskatchewan Junior A League (senior C Lyle
Andrusiak/Notre Dame Hounds and junior D Benoit Cotnoir/Weyburn Red
Wings) and the British Columbia Junior Hockey League (sophomore D Tyson
Fraser/Royal City Outlaws and sophomore D Nathan Borega/Vernon Vipers
... freshman F Chad Chipchase played for the Waterloo Siskins of the
Western Ontario League.
NOTRE DAME HOCKEY - making strides
(all improvements indicated by "+")
1996-97 1997-98 Change
Wins 9-25-1 10-8-2 +1
Winning pct. 27.1% 55.0% +27.9%
One-goal games 15 (3-12) 8 (4-4)
Goals per game 2.63 3.20 +0.57
Shots per game 27.2 28.5 +1.3
Shooting pct. 9.7% 11.2% +1.5%
Opponent shots/gm 31.8 28.1 +3.7
Shot margin -4.6 +0.4 +5.0
Power-play pct. 12.7% 16.2% +3.5%
Power-play goals/gm 0.66 0.90 +0.24
Shorthanded goals/gm 0.06 (2) 0.25 (5) +0.19
Penalties per game 8.69 6.55 +2.14
Penalty-killing pct. 81.3% 86.7% +5.4%
Goals-against-avg. 3.73 2.70 +1.03
Save pct. 88.2% 90.4% +2.2%
Goal margin -1.11 0.50 +1.61
Shorthanded goals allowed/gm 0.20 (7) 0.00 (0) +0.20
1st period goals/gm 0.66 (23) 0.95 (19) +0.29
1st period goal margin -0.46 (23-39) +0.40 (19-11) +0.86
3rd period goals/gm 0.94 (33) 1.00 (20) +0.06
3rd period goal margin -0.26 (33-42) -0.30 (20-26) -0.04
Ahead at 1st intermission 4-5-0 (.444) 8-2-0 (.800) +.356
Ahead at 2nd intermission 6-2-0 (.750) 8-4-1 (.654) -.096
20-GAME CHECKUP: As they head into the New Year, the Irish can
point to many statistical trends that show significant progress from the
1996-97 campaign ... Notre Dame has improved or remained on the same
pace in most of the 23 categories listed above, including a winning pct.
(.550) that is double that of last season (.271) ... the most
significant offensive improvements have come in the areas of goals per
game (up 0.57), shot margin (up +5.0/gm), shooting pct. (up 1.5%),
power-play pct. (up 3.5%) and power-play goals per game (up 0.24) ...
noteworthy improvements on the defensive end include the 86.7 percent
penalty-killing unit (up 5.4%), a 2.70 goals against average (1.03
better than last season), a 90.4 save pct. (up 2.2) and just 6.55
penalties per game (2.14 fewer than in '96-'97) ... Notre Dame already
has more that twice the shorthanded goals (5) it totaled in all of
1996-97 (2) and owns a 19-11 first-period scoring edge (the opponents
outscored the Irish 39-23 last season) ... the Irish are 4-4 in one-goal
games this season, after going 3-12 a year ago, and 8-2-0 when leading
at the first intermission (4-5-0 last season).
Central Collegiate Hockey Association Standings
TEAM (overall record) W L T PTS GF GA PEN Power Play Penalty-Kill
1. Michigan (15-4-1) 9 2 1 19 76 48 175 (3) 20.9% (7) 83.3%
2. Michigan State (16-2-2) 8 2 1 17 64 32 188 (9) 14.7% (1) 90.7%
3. Miami University (13-3-0) 8 3 0 16 82 45 142 (1) 31.0% (6) 84.4%
Northern Michigan (9-6-3) 7 4 2 16 64 57 186 (11) 10.4% (9) 80.4%
5. Lake Superior (7-7-3) 6 5 3 15 57 60 174 (4) 17.4% (2) 88.5%
6. Ferris State (6-10-3) 5 6 3 13 67 70 176 (2) 21.4% (10) 79.4%
7. Notre Dame (10-8-2) 5 5 2 12 64 54 131 (6) 16.2% (4) 86.7%
Ohio State (9-8-1) 6 7 0 12 62 51 176 (8) 15.2% (3) 87.1%
9. Alaska Fairbanks (5-12-2) 4 11 1 9 64 89 207 (5) 16.4% (11) 78.8%
Western Michigan (5-13-2) 4 11 1 9 43 61 206 (6) 16.2% (5) 84.5%
11. Bowling Green (4-14-2) 2 8 2 6 51 78 204 (10) 12.7% (8) 82.1%
National Hockey Polls
USA Today/American Hockey Magazine Coaches Poll (12/29)
1. Boston University (7; 11-1-2) 96
2. Michigan State (3; 16-2-2) 93
3. North Dakota (10-3-1) 88
4. Miami (13-3-0) 70
5. New Hampshire (13-4-1) 46
6. St. Cloud State (12-4-2) 41
7. Michigan (15-4-1) 40
8. Colorado College (11-5-2) 32
9. Yale (8-3-0) 19
10. Boston College (11-6-2) 14
Others receiving votes: Providence (4), Northeastern (3), Colgate (2),
Cornell (2).
U.S. College Hockey Online Coaches Poll (12/30)
1. Boston University (21; 11-2-2) 290
2. Michigan State (6; 16-2-2) 273
3. North Dakota (2; 10-3-1) 227
4. Miami (13-3-0) 209
5. New Hampshire (13-4-1) 179
6. St. Cloud State (1; 12-4-2) 147
7. Michigan (14-4-1) 129
8. Colorado College (11-5-2) 78
9. Yale (9-3-0) 58
10. Northeastern (10-5-2) 19
Others receiving votes: Colgate (13), Wisconsin (11), Providence (7),
Clarkson (4), Boston College (3), Northern Michigan (2), Ferris State
(1).
WMPL Coaches Poll (12/16)
1. Boston University (4) 124
2. Michigan State (3) 118
3. North Dakota (3) 114
4. New Hampshire 97
5. Miami 80
6. Michigan 73
7. Colorado College 69
8. St. Cloud State 48
9. Providence 45
10. Yale 39
Others receiving votes: Boston College (33), Wisconsin (20), Colgate
(19), Cornell, Princeton, Clarkson, Northeastern, Michigan, Ohio State.
