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March 9, 2005
The Series: Notre Dame Fighting Irish (5-25-6/3-20-5) vs. Michigan
Wolverines (26-7-3/23-3-2)
Date/Site/Times: Fri.-Sun., March 11-13, 2005 - 7:35 p.m. - Yost
Arena (6,637) - Ann Arbor, Michigan
Broadcast Information:
Radio: Notre Dame hockey can be heard live
on ESPN Radio 1580, South Bend's SportsCenter. Mike Lockert, "the
voice of Irish hockey" and Tom Nevala will bring you all the action
both nights. Irish hockey can also be heard live via the internet at
www.und.com.
Television: Saturday's game will be televised live by Fox Sports
Detroit beginning at 7:35 p.m. Ken Daniels and Fred Pletsch will
handle the play-by-play and color commentary.
THE SECOND SEASON BEGINS:
The first round of the CCHA playoffs begin
this weekend with the best-of-three opening round. Notre Dame, the
12th seed travels to No. 1 seed Michigan for games on Friday, March
11 and Saturday, March 12 with a third game, if necessary, on Sunday,
March 13th. All three games will be played at Yost Arena with a 7:35
p.m. starting time. Saturday night's game is scheduled to be
televised live by Fox Sports Detroit. The two teams have met in
postseason action five times in the past, with two meetings in the
WCHA playoffs and three in CCHA postseason play. Michigan has won
three of the series (1976, 1993 and 1998) with the Irish winning in
1980 and 1982. Notre Dame finished the season with its worst record
ever, 5-25-6 overall and 3-20-5 in CCHA play. The Irish finished the
year by dropping seven in a row and are in the midst of a 17-game
winless skid (0-15-2). Notre Dame has not won a game since Jan. 2, a
2-1 win at home over Rensselaer. Michigan, on the other hand,
finished the season with six straight wins and was unbeaten in its
last nine games (7-0-2). The Wolverines are ranked fourth in both
national polls with a 26-7-3 record and finished first in the CCHA
with a 23-3-2 record. The winner of the Notre Dame-Michigan series
advances to the CCHA Super Six that begins on Thursday, March 17 at
Joe Louis Arena, in Detroit.
IRISH VERSUS WOLVERINES:
Notre Dame and Michigan met four times
during the regular season with the Wolverines winning all four games
by a combined score of 29-6. The last meetings came on Feb. 18-19.
All-time, the two teams have met 105 times with Michigan holding a
59-41-5 record. In postseason action, Michigan has a 6-5 edge in 11
games played (the first three meetings were total-goal series). At
Yost Arena, the Wolverines are 32-20-3 versus the Irish and since
Notre Dame returned to the CCHA in 1992-93, Michigan is 17-2-1 at
home (one win came in 1998 playoffs).
IRISH VERSUS WOLVERINES - POSTSEASON:
The two teams have met a total
of five times in the postseason, twice in the WCHA and three times in
the CCHA. Here are the results:
1976 - WCHA: at Michigan (UM 8, ND 3; ND 5, UM 4, Michigan wins total
goals, 12-8).
1980 - WCHA: at Michigan (ND 8, UM 3; UM 4, ND 3, Notre Dame wins
total goals, 11-7).
1982 - CCHA: at Notre Dame (ND 6, UM 5; ND 5, UM 3, Notre Dame wins
total goals, 11-8).
1993 - CCHA: at Michigan (UM 13, ND 2; UM 8, ND 1, Michigan wins
series, 2 games to 0).
1998 - CCHA: at Michigan (ND 4, UM 2; UM 2, ND 1 (ot)); UM 4, ND 3;
Michigan wins, 2 to 1).
IRISH IN THE CCHA PLAYOFFS:
Notre Dame has qualifed for the CCHA
playoffs in 11 of their 15 seasons in the league and are 13-21 in 34
postseason contests. Last season, the Irish defeated Western
Michigan, two games to one, in the opening round of the playoffs and
then lost, 6-5 in overtime, to Ohio State in the first game at the
Super Six. In the 11 first round series the Irish have participated
in, they have played four at home and seven on the road. Of the
seven road series, the Irish have won twice, 2002 at Nebraska-Omaha
and 2003 at Miami.
FOUR OF FIVE:
Notre Dame has advanced to Joe Louis Arena and the
CCHA finals in four of the last five seasons (2000, 2002, 2003,
2004). Only two other CCHA teams - Michigan and Michigan State -
have been there all four years since the 1999-2000 campaign. The
Irish also are one of five teams, joining Michigan, Michigan State,
Ohio State and Northern Michigan, to make it to the CCHA Super Six in
each of the last three seasons.
TOUGH BARNS:
Since returning to the CCHA in 1992-93, Michigan's Yost
Arena and Michigan State's Munn Arena have been regular "Houses of
Horror" for the Irish. At Munn Arena, Notre Dame is 2-16-1 on the
home ice of the Spartans. At Yost Arena, the Irish are 1-15-1 in the
last 17 regular-season meetings and 2-17-1 overall. The Irish last
won at Yost Arena on Nov. 23, 2002, a 4-3 victory.
RECORD-SETTING IRON MAN:
Junior center Tim Wallace (Anchorage,
Alaska) became Notre Dame's all-time "Iron Man" when he played in his
115th consecutive game on March 5. He passed Evan Nielsen ('03) who
held the previous mark of 114. Wallace played in all 40 games as a
freshman, all 39 games in 2003-04 and all 36 to date this season. The
Irish center scored a goal in each of the games in the Michigan State
series. He now has a career high 14 points on five goals and nine
assists. S Ont.) made 26 saves for the Irish while Dominic Vicari had
17 saves for the Spartans.
CONGRATS TO THE SLAGGERTS:
Congratulations to Notre Dame assistant
coach Andy Slaggert and his wife, Tara, on the birth of their third
son, Carter James, on Friday, March 4 at 3:45 p.m. Carter joins
brothers, Graham (5) and Landon (2) on the Slaggert's top line.
OUT OF ACTION:
The 2004-05 season is one that sophomore right wing
Matt Williams-Kovacs (Calgary, Alb.) would like to forget. He
suffered a broken right ankle on Oct. 16 at Miami and missed the next
14 games. He returned to the Notre Dame lineup on Jan. 2 versus
R.P.I. and played in that game and the first period of the Jan. 7
Lake Superior game when he suffered a broken right wrist and will be
lost for the remainder of the season. He was scoreless in six games
this season. Senior defenseman Joe Zurenko (Sr., Palatine, Ill.)
will miss the remainder of the season with a concussion suffered on
Feb. 11 vs. Ferris State. He has missed the last five games.
SCORING STRUGGLES:
The Notre Dame offense has struggled all season
long in the goal-scoring department. For the regular season, the
Irish had just 59 goals in 36 games for a 1.64 goals-per game average
that was last among the nation's 58 Division I teams. Notre Dame
trails Army by .26 goals per game as the Cadets have averaged 1.90
goals-per-game this season. Over the final eight games of the
season, the Irish scored 16 goals (2.00). For the year, the Irish
have been outscored by a 127-59 margin. In 18 of the 36 games played
to date, the Irish have scored a goal or less. Notre Dame's previous
low for goals-per-game in a season occurred during the 1999-2000
season when the Irish scored just 2.45 goals per game.
BREAKING THE STREAK:
The Irish come into the playoff series with
Michigan looking to snap the longest winless streak in the program's
history. The Irish have gone 17 games (0-15-2) since their last win
on Jan. 2. The previous longest winless streak was from Nov. 5, 1988
to Jan. 2, 1989. The Irish were 0-14-2 in that winless streak.
VERSUS RANKED TEAMS:
Through the first 36 games of the 2004-05
season, Notre Dame has played 15 contests versus teams ranked teams.
In those 15 games, the Irish are 1-12-2. The lone win came against
Boston College (Oct. 22) when the Eagles were ranked first in the
nation. The ties have come versus Minnesota-Duluth and Northern
Michigan.
CLIMBING THE CHARTS:
On Feb. 18 versus Michigan, Morgan Cey (Sr.,
Wilkie, Sask.) moved into second place on Notre Dame's all-time
minutes played list. He has now played 6,316:35 minutes in his
career. He trails only Lance Madson (1986-90), who played 6,900:09
minutes in his career.
MR. STRETCH DRIVE:
Over the course of his four seasons at Notre
Dame, Morgan Cey has been Notre Dame's go-to-guy in the stretch drive
in each season including the postseason. The senior goaltender has
played in 36 games, making 35 starts. He has played 2074:25 minutes,
giving up 88 goals with 995 saves. He is 16-16-1 with a 2.55
goals-against average and a .919 save percentage. Included in his 16
wins are three shutouts.
THE PUCK STOPS HERE:
Goaltender Morgan Cey continues to make his
mark in the Notre Dame record books (see table above). On the
season, the senior goaltender is 3-15-5 with a 2.97 goals-against
average and a .911 save percentage. He made 50 saves in downing the
top-ranked Boston College Eagles, 3-2, at the Joyce Center on Oct.
22. Of the 69 goals he's given up this year, 27 have been on the
power play.
SEN-CEY-TIONAL:
Morgan Cey's 50-save performance versus Boston
College was the first 50-save game for a Notre Dame goaltender since
Lance Madson ('86-'90) turned in 57 saves in a 6-3 loss to Air Force
on Nov. 12, 1988. Cey, now has 38 wins in his career to rank sixth
on Notre Dame's all-time wins list.
BEATING THE BEST:
For the second year in a row, Notre Dame faced the
Boston College Eagles when the Eagles were the top-ranked team in the
nation. For the second year in a row, the Irish sent the Eagles home
with a loss as they prevailed on Oct. 22 by a 3-2 score. The last
time the Irish had defeated a top-ranked team at the Joyce Center was
Jan. 13, 1978 when they upset Denver, 5-3. A year ago, in Boston,
the Irish downed the top-ranked Eagles, 1-0. In the 37-year history
of the program, Notre Dame owns eight wins over top-ranked teams.
The list:
10/22/04 - vs. Boston College, 3-2
10/23/03 - at Boston College, 1-0
1/3/99 - at North Dakota, 4-3
11/20/78 - at Minnesota, 3-2
1/13/78 - vs. Denver, 5-3
1/18/74 - vs. Michigan Tech, 7-1
2/24/73 - vs. Wisconsin, 4-3
2/23/73 - vs. Wisconsin, 8-5
TWO-GOAL LEAD:
When Chris Trick (Jr., Troy, Mich.) and Tim Wallace
scored second period goals against Michigan State on March 4, it
marked the first time since Nov. 13 (25 games) that the Irish had a
two-goal lead in a game. On Nov. 13, the Irish jumped out to a 2-0
lead at Western Michigan and went on to win the game, 3-2.
HOT IRISH:
Tim Wallace has the lone scoring streak for the Irish,
getting goals in each of the last two games (2-0-2). Senior center
Cory McLean (Fargo, N.D.) had a four-game point streak (1-4-5)
stopped on March 5 and now has points in six of his last eight games
(2-5-7). Junior center Matt Amado (Surrey, B.C.) has points in three
of his last four games (2-1-3).
WES FOR THE DEFENSE:
Sophomore defenseman Wes O'Neill (Essex, Ont.)
has become Notre Dame's offensive and defensive leader this season.
Through 36 games, O'Neill leads the team in goals (6), points (19)
and power-play goals (5). His 13 assists are second on the team and
his 71 shots are second overall. O'Neill has career highs in goals
(6), assists (13), points (19) and power-play goals (5) this season.
As a freshman he had two goals and 10 assists for 12 points.
SHOT MARGINS:
For the season, Notre Dame has out shot its opponents
just 10 times over the first 36 games. When Notre Dame out shoots an
opponent, the Irish are 2-3-5. Notre Dame has been held to less
than 20 shots in a game 11 times this year. When out shot on the
year, the Irish are 3-21-1. Notre Dame is 1-1 when shots are even.
BLUE-LINE SCORING:
Sophomore defenseman Wes O'Neill leads the Irish
in scoring after 35 games with six goals and 13 assists for 19
points. He is followed on the blue line by sophomore Noah Babin
(5-6-11) and junior Chris Trick is third with a three goals and six
assists for nine points. Freshman Brock Sheahan (Lethbridge, Alb.)
checks in with four assists on the year while Dan VeNard (Fr., Vernon
Hills, Ill.) has a goal and an assist. Freshman Luke Lucyk (Fr., Fox
Point, Wis.) also has a goal and an assist on the season. Through 36
games, the Irish defense has accounted for 16 of Notre Dame's 59
goals (27.1%) and 48 of Notre Dame's 161 points (29.8%).
EARLY LEADS:
When Noah Babin scored at 9:26 of the first period in
the Feb. 12 game versus Ferris State, it marked the first time the
Irish scored the first goal of a game since Jan. 14 versus Ohio
State. It also marked the first time that Notre Dame had a lead in a
game since the 15:52 mark of the first period in that Jan. 14 game.
On March 4 at Munn Arena, the Irish got the first goal of the game
for just the second time in the last 13 games. The Irish have scored
the first goal just 13 times this season and are 4-6-3 in those games.
POWER-PLAY STRUGGLES:
The Irish snapped an 0-for-13 drought on the
power play when they scored a ppg in the second period versus
Michigan State on March 5. Over the last foru games, the Irish are
1-for-16 with the man advantage. That comes after going 4-for-14 in a
pair of games versus Ferris State. Prior to those four man-advantage
goals, the Irish were just 2-for-44 (4.5%) over the previous seven
games (Jan. 18 to Feb. 5). Since Dec. 10 (22 games), the Irish are
just 11-for-120 with the power play (9.2%). On the year, the Irish
have scored 23 power-play goals in 227 chances (10.1%).
PLAYING SHORT-HANDED:
Notre Dame's penalty killers have surrendered
23 power-play goals in the last 97 opponent chances dating back to
the Ohio State series (76.3% penalty killing rate) on Jan. 14-15.
Included in that span of games was the Irish shutting Wisconsin's No.
2-ranked power play (12-for-12) on Jan. 21-22. For the year, Notre
Dame has given up 47 power-play goals in 237 chances for an 80.1%
succes rate. Last season, Notre Dame's penalty-killing unit was tops
in the CCHA and was fourth in the nation in 2003-04, killing
penalties at an 87.4% success rate.
TV TIME:
With game two of the CCHA playoffs scheduled to appear on
Fox Sports Detroit, Notre Dame hockey will have appeared on
television a record 13 times during the 2004-05 season. The Irish
have appeared on College Sports Television (CSTV) three times this
year. After this weekend they will have appeared on Fox Sports
Detroit four times and Comcast Local a total of six times. Coming
into CCHA playoffs, the Irish are 2-8-2 when appearing on television.
The Irish are 0-3 on Fox Sports Detroit, 1-2-0 on CSTV and 1-3-2 on
Comcast Local.
NOAH KNOWS:
Defenseman Noah Babin (So., Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.)
has recorded career highs this season in goals (5), assists (6) and
points (11). In January, Babin had a career-best four-game
point-scoring streak (1-3-4) that saw him have a hand in every Irish
goal over a four-game span. He scored on Jan. 7 at Lake Superior,
assisted on ND's lone goal versus the Lakers on Jan. 8 and then
assisted on each Notre Dame goal in the 4-1 and 3-1 losses to Ohio
State. On the year, Babin is second among Notre Dame defensemen in
scoring (tied for third on the team) with career highs in goals (4),
assists (6) and points (10). As a freshman last year, Babin had one
assist in 31 games.
CAREER FIRSTS:
Sophomore defenseman Noah Babin and freshman right
wing Mark Van Guilder (Roseville, Minn.) each collected the first
multiple-point games of their Notre Dame careers in the 4-3 loss to
Ferris State on Feb. 11. Both players had a goal and an assist in
the game. Babin now has five goals and six assists for 11 points on
the year while Van Guilder checks in with three goals and five
assists for eight points.
THREE RANKED BY NHL:
Three hockey players who have signed national
letters-of-intent to attend Notre Dame have been ranked by the
Nathional Hockey League's (NHL) Central Scouting in their mid-term
rankings for the June 2005 draft. Christian Hanson (Venetia,
Pa./Tri-City Storm) was ranked 52nd among all North American skaters.
He leads Tri-City in scoring with 15 goals and 32 assists for 47
points in 52 games. Defenseman Kyle Lawson (New Hudson, Mich./USA
Under-18) is ranked 195th. He has three goals and 14 assists for 17
points in 30 games for the U.S. Under-18 Team. He will defer until
the 2006-07 season. Goaltender Jordan Pearce (Anchorage,
Alaska/Lincoln Stars) was ranked ninth among goaltenders eligible for
the draft. He is 20-7-4 for Lincoln with a 3.09 goals-against
average and a .895 save percentage. Hanson and Pearce both played in
the USHL Top Prospects game.
RORY'S STORY:
Junior goaltender Rory Walsh (Milton, Mass.) saw his
first action in the Jan. 29 game versus Bowling Green since Dec. 5,
2003 at Western Michigan. He played the final 30:33 minutes, giving
up just one goal on 12 shots. He also saw action in the 9-2 loss to
Michigan on Feb. 18 when he played the final 9:02 of the game, giving
up one goal on three shots. That was his fifth appearance in goal in
his Notre Dame career.
FIT TO BE TIED:
Notre Dame's tie versus Nebraska-Omaha (Feb. 4)
was the first overtime game for the Irish since a Jan. 8 overtime
loss to Lake Superior. For the season, the Irish are 1-1-6 in
overtime with the win coming on Dec. 10 versus Michigan State. That
was the first regular-season overtime win since Jan. 25, 2002, a span
of 16 overtime games (0-2-14). Since the 1999-2000 season, Notre
Dame has been involved in 49 overtime games. In those games, the
Irish are 7-6-36. During the 2003-04 season, Notre Dame had a total
of eight overtime contests, going 1-3-4 in those games. The lone
overtime win came in game three of the first round of the CCHA
playoffs versus Western Michigan.
ATTENDANCE MARK:
Notre Dame's "home" game at Allstate Arena versus
Wisconsin on Jan. 22 drew 8,173 fans who braved a winter snowstorm to
watch college hockey. The crowd was the most to see a college hockey
game in Chicago and is the largest home crowd ever for the Irish.
Due to the bad weather, there were close to 3,000 no-shows for the
game.
IRISH AT ALLSTATE:
Notre Dame has now played twice at Allstate
Arena. On Jan. 18, 2003, the Irish dropped a 3-1 decision to Yale in
front of 5,091 fans. That was the first collegiate hockey game
played in Chicago since Illinois-Chicago dropped its program in 1996.
HOME AWAY FROM HOME:
The Irish also played another home game on the
road when they faced Michigan at the Allen County War Memorial
Coliseum in Ft. Wayne, Ind. That game drew 7,948 fans for the first
college hockey game played there.
CAPTAINS:
Senior Cory McLean (Fargo, N.D.) will serve as Notre
Dame's team captain this season. The team's two alternate captains
will be junior Mike Walsh (Northville, Mich.) and sophomore Jason
Paige (Saginaw, Mich.). Paige is just the second sophomore in Dave
Poulin's 10 seasons at Notre Dame to be selected as an alternate
captain. The first was Steve Noble ('98) who was selected an
alternate for the 1995-96 season. He went on to serve as captain in
1996-97 and 1997-98.
FRESHMAN FIRSTS:
Defenseman Luke Lucyk (Fr., Fox Point, Wis.) joined
fellow freshman defender Dan VeNard by scoring the first goal of his
collegiate career on Feb. 4 versus Nebraska-Omaha.. VeNard got the
firs tof his career on Jan. 18 in the 6-2 loss to Michigan Tech as he
beat Huskies goaltender Cam Ellsworth on a breakaway.
ALL TIED UP:
The most ties the Irish have ever had in a season is
eight and that came during the 1999-2000 campaign. The most overtime
games the Irish have participated in is 11 and that came during the
1993-94 season. Notre Dame was 2-4-5 in those games.
NO TRICK TO THIS GAME:
After scoring just one goal in the first 77
games of his Notre Dame career, Irish defenseman Chris Trick (Jr.,
Troy, Mich.) has scored twice this season. In 33 games this season,
the junior has career highs in goals (2), assists (6) and points (8).
BUCKEYE MASTERY:
Ohio State has had Notre Dame's number since the
start of the 2000-01 season. In the 14 games played between the two
teams, the Buckeyes own a 10-1-3 record, including a pair of wins in
each of the last two CCHA Super Six opening games.
RANK-IN-FILE:
Freshman right wing Evan Rankin (Portage, Mich.)
continues to show a nose for the net in his rookie season. The
Portage, Mich., native returned to the lineup after missing two games
(U.S. Under-18 Team and UAF) with a hip injury to score his fourth
goal of the season (first on the power play) in the 3-2 loss to the
Nanooks on Nov. 27. He set up Matt Amado's game winner versus
Michigan State and led the team with six shots on goal in the game.
He leads Irish freshmen in scoring with four goals and five assists
for nine points in 28 games this season. He has points in each of his
last two games.
GILL THE THRILL:
Junior center Tony Gill (Rochester, Minn.) scored
the first goal of his Notre Dame career in the 3-2 win over Alaska
Fairbanks. He got his second goal of the year on Feb. 5 versus
Nebraska-Omaha.
THIRD PERIOD BREAKDOWNS:
Through the first 35 games of the season,
Notre Dame has been out scored by a 125-58 margin. Much of the
disparity has come in the third period when the Irish have been out
scored 50-14 (-36).
THREE-GOAL LEADS:
Notre Dame led Bowling Green by a 3-0 score on
Nov. 5, before giving up four goals to trail, 4-3. Wes O'Neill saved
tje dau for the Irish when he scored with three seconds left in an
eventual 4-4 tie. The last time the Irish surrendered a three-goal
lead was on Nov. 6, 1998. The Irish led Boston College, 5-2 after
two periods before settling for a 5-5 tie.
CAREER BESTS:
Junior left wing Mike Walsh (Northville, Mich.) had the
first three-point game and the first three-assist game of his career
in the 4-4 tie with Bowling Green. Defenseman Wes O'Neill recorded
the first two-goal game of his career versus the Falcons. Freshman
right wing Evan Rankin recorded the first multiple-point game of his
career (goal and assist) versus Bowling Green. Cory McLean equalled
his career-high with three points versus the Falcons as he scored
once and added two assists in the contest.
PLANES, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES:
The Irish experienced their own
version of Planes, Trains and Automobiles on their journey to
Fairbanks, Alaska. The Irish hockey team left the Notre Dame campus
at 1:30 p.m. (EST) on Wednesday, Nov. 24 and took five hours for the
112-mile trip to Chicago's O'Hare International Airport (due to
holiday traffic and weather). From there, the 7:20 p.m. (CST) flight
to Anchorage, Alaska didn't leave Chicago until midnight. The
six-hour-and-thirty minute flight arrived at 3:30 a.m. (Alaska
Standard Time - 7:30 a.m. EST). The Irish flight to Fairbanks left
at 1:00 a.m. (AST), so the team had to stay in an Anchorage hotel for
five hours before leaving for the airport at 9:45 a.m. (1:45 p.m.
EST). The team arrived in Fairbanks at 12:30 p.m. (4:30 p.m. EST)
making the normal 16-hour trip a 27-hour ordeal. The Irish went
right from the airport to the Carlson Center to practice for an
hour-and-a-half before enjoying Thanksgiving dinner at 3:30 p.m.
(7:30 p.m. EST).
TOUGH PLACE TO WIN:
Notre Dame's win at Western Michigan on Nov.
13th was just the fourth for the Irish at Lawson Arena since
returning to the CCHA in 1992-93. Notre Dame is now 4-16-3 at Lawson
since that season. Overall, the Irish are 7-19-4 in the all-time
series versus the Broncos in Kalamazoo, Mich.
NHL DRAFTEES:
In June of 2004, the Irish had three players selected
in the NHL Entry Draft. Freshman right wing Victor Oreskovich
(Oakville, Ont.) was a second-round selection, 55th overall by the
Colorado Avalanche. Sophomore defenseman Wes O'Neill was chosen in
the fourth round, 115th overall by the New York Islanders. Sophomore
goaltender David Brown was selected in the eighth round, 228th
overall by the Pittsburgh Penguins. Those three join junior Mike
Walsh as Notre Dame players selected by in the draft. Walsh was
picked in the fifth round of the 2002 draft by the New York Rangers.
BLASTING THE BISCUIT:
The Irish fired 54 shots at Bowling Green
goaltender Jordan Sigalet on Nov. 5, including 29 in the second
period. The last time the Irish had more than 54 shots on goal came
on Oct. 17, 2003 when they fired 59 at - you guessed it - Jordan
Sigalet of Bowling Green. He made 56 saves that night in a 5-3
Falcon win.
BISCUIT BARRAGE:
The 52 shots that Boston College fired at Morgan
Cey on Oct. 22 was the most shots on goal the Irish have faced since
Jan. 23, 2001 when Michigan fired 51 on the Notre Dame goal in a 9-0
Wolverine win.
FRESHMAN FIRSTS:
Freshman left wing Mark Van Guilder (Roseville,
Minn.) collected his first collegiate goal on Nov. 4 at Bowling
Green. He became the second Irish freshman to get his first goal,
following Evan Rankin who scored the first goal of his Notre Dame
career with a second-period goal versus Boston College (Oct.22).
Defenseman Brock Sheahan collected his first career point in Notre
Dame's season opener versus Minnesota-Duluth and fellow defenseman
Dan VeNard got his first career point on Nov. 12 at Western Michigan.
FAMILY MATTERS:
Two Irish junior hockey players - Rory Walsh and
Mike Walsh - have fathers who played sports at Notre Dame while
attending the University during the 1970's. Rory Walsh's father,
Brian ('77), was an all-American hockey player for the Irish. A
center iceman, the elder Walsh is Notre Dame's all-time leading
scorer after recording 234 career points on 89 goals and 145 assists.
Mike Walsh's father, Max ('74), was an offensive lineman on the
Notre Dame football team and a member of the 1973 national
championship team. Rory Walsh is one of Notre Dame's goaltenders and
Walsh plays left wing for the Irish.
TOPS IN DIRECTORS CUP STANDINGS:
Notre Dame stands first in the
third set of fall sports standings released in the 2004-05 United
States Sports Academy Division I Directors' Cup all-sports
competition sponsored by the National Association of Collegiate
Directors of Athletics (formerly known as Sears Directors' Cup). This
marks the first time in the 12-year history of the all-sports program
that Notre Dame has ranked number one. The previous highest ranking
for the Irish was second in the 2004-05 second set of fall standings.
Fall NCAA competition earned the Irish 337 points based on their NCAA
title in women's soccer (100 points), their fourth-place finish in
women's cross country (80), 11th-place finish in men's cross country
(57) and second-round NCAA appearances in men's soccer and volleyball
(50 each). The current school rankings.
1. Notre Dame, 337
2. Michigan, 333
3. Stanford 332
4. Duke 327
5. UCLA 297
6. Maryland 280
7. Ohio State, 276
8. Colorado 275
9. Texas, 262
10.Wisconsin 251
In previous years, Notre Dame has finished 11th in '93-'94, 30th in
'94-'95, 11th in '95-'96, 14th in '96-'97, 31st in '97-'98, 25th in
'98-99, 21st in '99-'00, 11th in '00-'01, 13th in '01-02 and '02-'03
and 19th in '03-'04.
GOLD-MEDAL IRISH:
Two former Notre Dame hockey players helped the
United States win the gold medal in the recent Deutschland Cup
tournament held in Hannover, Germany. Forward Yan Stastny, currently
playing for the Nurnberg Ice Tigers in Germany, collected a goal and
an assist in the four games. Defenseman Mark Eaton, currently a
member of the Nashville Predators, scored a power-play goal in the
gold medal game vrsus Slovakia. The U.S. defeated Germany, 5-1, lost
to Canada, 5-3, defeated Switzerland, 4-2 and then shutout Slovakia,
4-0, to finish 3-1 in the tournament. The U.S. ended tied with
Canada with 3-1 records, but received the gold medal due to greater
goal differential over the four games.
NCAA ACTION:
The Notre Dame Fighting Irish hockey team had a season
to remember in 2003-04. The Irish advanced to the NCAA Tournament
for the first time in the program's 36-year history with a 20-15-4
overall record. In their first trip to the tournament, the Irish
dropped a 5-2 decision to two-time NCAA defending champion Minnesota
in the Grand Rapids Regional.
FORMER IRISH GREAT GREG MEREDITH RECEIVES NCAA SILVER ANNIVERSARY
AWARD:
Former Notre Dame hockey All-American, Greg Meredith
(1976-80) was one of six NCAA Silver Anniversary Award recipients at
the NCAA Convention in Dallas, Tex., Jan. 9. The Silver Anniversary
Award recognizes former student-athletes who have distinguished
themselves since completing their college careers 25 years ago.
Meredith is Notre Dame's all-time leading goal scorer with 104 goals
in 149 career games. He is also tops in power-play goals (43) and
seventh in all-time points with 192 for his career. He is just one
of two players ever to score 40 goals in a season (1979-80) at Notre
Dame. A four-year letterwinner with the Irish, Meredith was a
finalist for a Rhodes Scholarship and was an NCAA postgraduate
scholarship recipient. He is currently the managing director for
Putnam Lovell NBF Securities Inc., and has held positions with
Salomon Brothers, Inc., Nationsbanc Capital Markets, Inc., and Fenway
Partners, Inc. From 2001 to 2003, he served as president and chief
executive officer at HSBC Capital and was also president and CEO of
Printvision, a software company from 2002-03. In addition, Meredith
is the founder and president of Proctor Capital, a private investment
and strategic advisory firm. He played four years in the NHL for the
Calgary Flames and was an assistant coach at Harvard. Meredith
currently coaches the St. David's hockey program for boys and girls
between 9 and 11 years of age. He formed the Meredith Family
Foundation in 1997, which contributes to programs such as the LOGAN
Center, which provides services to individuals with intellectual
disabilities, the St. Joseph's County Special Olympics, and Camp
Millhouse, a summer camp for children with significant intellectual
disabilities. In addition, the organization funds educational
initiatives including the Paul E. Meredith scholarships at Notre
Dame. Meredith is the 10th former Irish athlete to receive the award
that was started in 1973.
RETURN TO THE FROZEN TUNDRA:
Six members of the Notre Dame hockey
team made a homecoming of sorts when the Irish faced Michigan Tech in
Green Bay, Wis., on Jan. 18. Five players and one assistant coach
spent parts of their hockey careers in the Land of Lombardi with the
Green Bay Gamblers of the United States Hockey League (USHL). Senior
defenseman Joe Zurenko (Palatine, Ill.) played for the Gamblers
during the '00-'01 season and sophomore blueliners Noah Babin (Palm
Beach Gardens, Fla.) and Wes O'Neill (Essex, Ont.) were teammates
there in '02-'03. Second-year assistant coach Layne LeBel also spent
two seasons ('01-'03) with the Gamblers. Freshmen right wing Victor
Oreskovich (Oakville, Ont.) and defenseman Dan VeNard (Vernon Hills,
Ill) also played in Green Bay, Oreskovich in '03-'04 while VeNard
played three seasons there from '01-'04.
STORM WARNINGS:
Three members of the Notre Dame freshman class saw
action with the USHL's Tri-City Storm during the '03-'04 season.
Defensemen Brian D'Arcy (Western Springs, Ill.) and Luke Lucyk (Fox
Point, Wis.) were members of the Storm's highly ranked defense.
Forward Mark Van Guilder (Roseville, Minn.) was a key contributor to
the USHL's regular-season champions. Van Guilder was fifth on the
team in scoring with 17 goals and 22 assists for 39 points in 60
games. In 11 playoff games, Van Guilder added three goals and two
assists for five points. D'Arcy saw his season cut short due to
injuries, playing in 32 games with no goals and two assists to go
with 36 penalty minutes. Lucyk was a regular on the defense with a
goal and nine assists for 10 points in 60 games.
THE IRISH AND THE U.S. DEVELOPMENTAL PROGRAM:
Notre Dame's current
roster includes four players who have past experience with USA
Hockey, as members of the National Team Development Program (NTDP).
Since the program began, the Irish have had a total of 13 NTDP alums
grace their roster. The current contingent includes junior Tim
Wallace and sophomores Noah Babin, Michael Bartlett (Morton Grove,
Ill.) and Josh Sciba (Westland, Mich.). Other former NTDP players
who played at Notre Dame and their years in the national program
include: Brett Henning (1997-98), Michael Chin (1997-98), Connor
Dunlop (1997-99), Paul Harris (1997-99), John Wroblewski (1997-99),
Neil Komadoski (1998-2000), Brett Lebda (1998-2000), Rob Globke
(1998-2000) and Derek Smith (2000-01).
HOMETOWNS:
The 2003-04 Notre Dame hockey team features players from
nine states and four Canadian provinces - Alberta, British
Columbia,Ontario and Saskatchewan. In the nine-year tenure of head
coach Dave Poulin, the Notre Dame hockey letter winners have hailed
from 20 different states and provinces - those listed below, plus:
Colorado, Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Prince Edward
Island and Quebec.
2004-05 NOTRE DAME HOCKEY
- BY STATE OR PROVINCE:
Michigan (6): Chris Trick, Mike Walsh, Jason Paige, Josh Sciba, Evan
Rankin, Andrew Eggert
Illinois (4): Joe Zurenko, Michael Bartlett, Brian D'Arcy, Dan VeNard
Minnesota (3): Tony Gill, T.J. Jindra, Mark Van Guilder
Alberta (2): Matt Williams-Kovacs, Brock Sheahan
Ontario (3): David Brown, Wes O'Neill, Victor Oreskovich
Alaska (1): Tim Wallace
British Columbia (1): Matt Amado
Florida (1): Noah Babin
Massachusetts (1): Rory Walsh
North Dakota (1): Cory McLean
Saskatchewan (1): Morgan Cey
Wisconsin (1): Luke Lucyk
INTERNATIONAL LEADER:
Notre Dame assistant coach, Andy Slaggert,
served as the head coach of the U.S. Under-17 Select Team that
finished second at the Five Nation's Tournament from Aug. 24-28 in
Halle, Germany. The U.S. Team's lone loss came to the Czech Republic
(the eventual winners). This was Slaggert's second international
appearance with USA Hockey as he served as assistant coach on the
2003 gold-medal winning team at the World Under-18 Select Tournament
held in the Czech Republic. The 12-year assistant at Notre Dame has
been involved in coaching with USA Hockey since the 1996-97 season.
