1995 Results

The 1995-96 Notre Dame hockey season began with high hopes and former Irish standout Dave Poulin was a driving force behind that feeling. The addition of a talented incoming class added to the excitement and that freshman class let its presence be known when Brian Urick tallied four goals in the Central Collegiate Hockey Association opener at Alaska-Fairbanks, won by Notre Dame (7-4).

The Irish lost their next seven games, but rebounded by shutting out Ohio State, 4-0, and posting the biggest victory of the season by defeating nationally-ranked Lake Superior State (6-3).

A week later, Notre Dame pulled out a 4-3 win over Ferris State, with freshman Aniket Dhadphale scoring the game-winner in the final three minutes.

Notre Dame headed to the Christmas break with the prospect of facing some of the nation's best teams at the Wisconsin Badger Showdown in Milwaukee, Wisc. The Irish proved they were up to the challenge by surprising host Wisconsin, 3-2, in the opener. Defending national champion Boston University loomed in the title game and the Irish kept the game close, in a 1-1 tie at the end of the first period, and trailed by just two goals going to the third before BU pulled away (7-3).

The Irish came out of the break with a renewed confidence, as senior Wade Salzman totaled 68 saves in 2-2 ties against both Ohio State and Miami of Ohio. The tight play continued as Notre Dame played in its third overtime in six games, versus Illinois-Chicago, with the Irish gaining their first overtime victory of the season (5-4).

Following a tough 11-1 loss at eventual national champion Michigan, the Irish returned home to sweep two games from Army (7-3, 4-2), led by a total of 10 points from the freshmen.

Notre Dame dove back into CCHA play versus Bowling Green and led 2-1 going into the third period before the Falcons scored three straight goals. Dhadphale attempted to lead a comeback by scoring with 1:54 left but Bowling Green prevailed, 4-3. That loss was a sign of things to come as the Irish proceeded to go 0-7-1 in CCHA games following the Army victories, until a 5-2 win over Miami.

But when Bowling Green returned to the Joyce Center, another exciting game was in store. This time the Irish trailed 3-2 going into the final period before Jamie Ling tied the game with under nine minutes remaining. The comeback fell short again when Bowling Green scored in overtime, giving the Irish another one-goal loss.

The season moved on to the semiannual game with Michigan at The Palace at Auburn Hills. The game proved to be more costly than anticipated, as Ling broke his ankle in the third period and was lost for the rest of the season, with the 5-2 defeat being a sidenote to the loss of the Irish leading scorer.

Notre Dame returned home to face Michigan State and again showed great resiliency by leading the Spartans, 3-1, going to the third period. Brett Bruininks increased the lead to 4-1 and the Irish looked to be in control, but Michigan State came back to score three goals in the final 3:33 to earn the tie.

The Irish next posted a 5-2 win at Miami, led by a goal and assist from Benoit Cotnoir and two assists from Terry Lorenz. Days later, Notre Dame lost 8-2 at Bowling Green, despite goalkeeper Matt Eisler's 46 saves, and the season ended with a home loss to Ferris State (6-3) in a game that was tied 3-3 going to the third period.

1995-96 NOTRE DAME HOCKEY RESULTS
9-23-4 overall, 6-20-4 CCHA
5-11-3 home, 3-11-1 away, 1-1-0 neutral

    10/13   GUELPH                     L, 1-2 (OT)
    10/19   *at Alaska-Fairbanks       W, 7-4
    10/20   *at Alaska-Fairbanks       L, 4-6
    10/21   *at Alaska-Fairbanks       L, 4-7
    10/27   BOSTON COLLEGE             L, 5-7
    10/31   *at Michigan State         L, 2-6
    11/3    *WESTERN MICHIGAN          L, 2-3
    11/4    *at Western Michigan       L, 2-6
    11/10   *ILLINOIS-CHICAGO          L, 2-3
    11/11   *OHIO STATE                W, 4-0
    11/24   *LAKE SUPERIOR ST.         W, 6-3
    11/25   *LAKE SUPERIOR ST.         L, 1-3
    12/1    *at Ferris State           W, 4-3
    12/2    *at Ferris State           L, 3-6
    12/9    *at Lake Superior State    T, 3-3
    12/28   #Wisconsin (N)             W, 3-2
    12/29   #Boston University (N)     L, 3-7
    1/5     *at Ohio State             T, 2-2
    1/6     *at Ohio State             L, 2-5
    1/12    *MIAMI, OHIO               T, 2-2
    1/13    *MIAMI, OHIO               L, 3-6
    1/19    *ILL.-CHICAGO              W, 5-4 (OT)
    1/20    *at Michigan               L, 1-11
    1/26    ARMY                       W, 7-3
    1/27    ARMY                       W, 4-2
    1/30    *BOWLING GREEN             L, 3-4 (OT)
    2/2     *at Illinois-Chicago       L, 3-5
    2/3     *at Michigan State         L, 1-7
    2/9     *MICHIGAN                  L, 1-4
    2/10    *BOWLING GREEN             L, 3-4
    2/13    *at Western Michigan       L, 1-4
    2/16    *^Michigan (N)             L, 2-5
    2/20    *MICHIGAN STATE            T, 4-4
    2/23    *at Miami, Ohio            W, 5-2
    2/24    *at Bowling Green          L, 2-8
    3/2     *FERRIS STATE              L, 3-6
* = CCHA game
# = Wisonsin Showdown (Milwaukee, WI)
^ = at The Palace   (Auburn Hills, MI)

AVG. ATTENDANCE: 3,682 overall; 2,487 home; 3,808 away.