Men's Ice Hockey defeated Michigan State 4 to 2 on Saturday, November 20th, 2010.
Two-time monogram winner for the Irish in his first two seasons ... big, physical forward with a strong shot and a quick release ... continues to improve all aspects of his game ... has the tools to become a dominant power forward in the college game ... continues to mature into a team leader for the Irish ... uses his size to drive to the net or out of the corners to create offense ... has the tools to be a prototypical power forward ... will be a factor for Notre Dame in 2011-12, .... can be a dominant force on the power play in front of the net ... most effective when he plays with a physical edge to his game ... played in 43 games as a sophomore, turning in career highs in goals (10), assists (9) and points (19) ... for his career, has played in 78 games with 16 goals and 14 assists for 30 points ... has three power-play goals and four game winners ... came to Notre Dame after playing two seasons for the Waterloo Black Hawks of the United States Hockey League (USHL) ... was a teammate of current Irish senior Billy Maday in `07-'08 with the Black Hawks ... selected in the fourth round (108th overall) of the 2008 NHL Entry Draft by the Calgary Flames ... one of two Minnesota natives on the Notre Dame roster along with sophomore Anders Lee (Edina) ... one of 15 former USHL players on the Notre Dame roster ... signed in early-signing period (Nov. of `08) along with Sam Calabrese, Kyle Palmieri and Riley Sheahan.
AS A SOPHOMORE: Played in 43 of the team's 44 games, scoring 10 goals with nine assists for 19 points, all career highs ... had two power-play goals and two game winners ... whistled for 21 penalties resulting in 42 minutes ... was +5 for the season ... one of six players to score 10 or more goals for the Irish ... had one multiple-goal game and three with two or more points ... opened the season with a goal (ppg, gwg) and an assist in 6-3 win over Holy Cross in opening game of the Warrior Ice Breaker Tournament ... followed that with two goals against Boston University in 5-4 loss to the Terriers in the Ice Breaker title game (Oct. 10) ... ran scoring streak to three games with an assist in 4-2 home-opening win versus Lake Superior (Oct. 14) ... fourth goal of the season came in 3-1 win at Michigan (Nov. 12) ... had a goal (ppg) and an assist in 5-2 victory versus Northern Michigan (Dec. 12) ... notched game-winning goal in 2-1 home win versus Alaska (Jan. 14) ... had goals in back-to-back games of a series sweep versus Ferris State ... scored once in 3-1 win on Feb. 18 ... picked up second goal of weekend in 5-2 victory on Feb. 19 versus the Bulldogs ... final goal of the season came in 4-3 loss to Lake Superior in game two of CCHA second round contest ... played in eight postseason games, scoring one goal with two assists for three points.
AS A FRESHMAN: Played in 35 of the team's 38 games as a rookie ... scored six goals with five assists for 11 points ... had one power-play marker with two game-winning goals ... whistled for 18 penalties resulting in 47 minutes ... was -11 on the year ... had 58 shots on goal with a .103 shooting percentage ... first career goal was the game-winning goal in 2-0 shutout of Providence College (Oct. 16) when he came out from behind the net and tucked a wrist shot under the cross bar at 10:13 of the second period ... held off the scoresheet for 14 games before striking with his second goal of the year, another game winner in a 2-0 shutout of Michigan (Dec. 13) ... had a career-best two-goal and three-point game (2g, 1a) in a 5-2 win over Michigan State (Jan. 15) ... followed with an assist in the 4-4 tie the following day for a four-point weekend ... fifth goal of the season was Notre Dame's lone goal in a 1-1 tie at Lake Superior State (Jan. 23) ... got his final goal of the season on the power play in 3-2 win over Nebraska-Omaha (Jan. 30) ... hammered a centering pass in the slot from Ryan Thang past Mavericks' goaltender John Faulkner ... assisted on an Irish goal in the 8-2 loss to Ohio State in game two of the CCHA playoffs ... in two postseason games had one assist.
PREP & PERSONAL: Graduated from Waterloo West High School in Waterloo, Iowa ... also attended St. Thomas Academy in Mendota Heights, Minn. (2005-07) and Eastview High School in Apple Valley, Minn. ... played three years of high school hockey, helping St. Thomas to the 2006 Minnesota State Class A championship with a third-place finish the following season ... was captain of Cadets and an all-conference selection as a junior ... selected in the first round (fifth overall) by Waterloo in the 2006 USHL Entry Draft ... spent two seasons with the Black Hawks (2007-09) ... was seventh in scoring in `08-'09 with 19 goals and 17 assists for 36 points ... 11 goals came on the power play and two were game winners ... led Waterloo with 144 minutes in penalties ... was scoreless in three playoff games as Waterloo was swept in the opening round by Green Bay ... played for gold-medal winning Team USA in the 2008 World Junior A Challenge ... in `07-'08, finished the year fourth in scoring with 19 goals and 19 assists for 38 points in 57 games ... had 12 power-play goals and one game winner while accumulating 66 minutes in penalties ... played for Team USA in the 2007 World Junior A Challenge ... selected to play in the USHL Prospects/All-Star game in `08 and `09 ... full name is Nick Christopher Larson ... son of Dan and Michelle Larson and stepmother, Sandy ... has four brothers ... born on Nov. 14, 1989 in St. Paul, Minn. ... political science major in Notre Dame's College of Arts and Letters.
