#1 Irish Return With Home-And-Home Series Versus Michigan

Jan. 3, 2018 | Game Notes

NOTRE DAME, Ind. — Winners of 13 consecutive games to close out the first semester, the No. 1/2 Notre Dame hockey team returns from break this weekend with a home-and-home series versus rival Michigan.

Game one of the weekend series will be played at 6:30 p.m. ET Friday, Jan. 5, in Ann Arbor, Michigan (Big Ten Network), while the Irish will host the Wolverines at 3:05 p.m. ET Sunday, Jan. 7, at the Compton Family Ice Arena (NBC Sports Network). To purchase tickets, click here.

FOR STARTERS

• Notre Dame returns from break riding a 13-game winning streak, which dates back to a 5-4 home win over Omaha on Oct. 27 at the Compton Family Ice Arena.
• Before break, the Irish posted their first ever sweep at Wisconsin, erasing a two-goal third period deficit to take game one, 3-2, on Dec. 8, and following with a 6-2 win at Wisconsin on Dec. 9.
• Cal Burke notched his first career hat trick in that 6-2 victory to close out the first semester.
• Notre Dame’s 13-game winning streak is the longest active winning streak in the country and also marks the longest in program history while competing in an NCAA Division I conference.
• Notre Dame is also 10-0-0-0 in conference play this season, making it the first Big Ten team ever to win its first 10 conference contests of the season.
• The Fighting Irish are the second Big Ten team to go undefeated through 10 games and the first since Minnesota started 2013-14 with a 10-game unbeaten streak to open conference play (8-0-2-0).
• Notre Dame is also the only team in the country without a road loss (8-0-0).
• Notre Dame’s eight road victories are tied with Minnesota State (8-3-0 on the road) for the most in the country.
• The Irish have also won 14 of their last 15 games.
• Andrew Oglevie (1-3-4) and Dylan Malmquist (2-2-4) each have three-game point streaks.
• Dennis Gilbert (1-2-3) and Mike O’Leary (1-1-2) each have two-game point streaks, while Cal Burke has seven goals over the last five games.
• Notre Dame’s 29 wins in the calendar year of 2017 ranked second in the NCAA (Denver was first with 31).

TOP RANKING

• The Irish took over the top spot in the latest USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine poll while also moving up to No. 2 in the USCHO.com poll (both were released on Jan. 2).
• Notre Dame was last ranked No. 1 in the USCHO.com preseason poll released on Sept. 27, 2011.
• The number one ranking marks the seventh time in program history that the Irish have been ranked at the top for at least one week during a season.
• During the 2006-07 season, Notre Dame was ranked No. 1 for seven straight weeks from Feb. 5 to March 25.
• During the 2008-09 campaign, the Irish were No. 1 from Dec. 1 to Jan. 26, a span covering seven weeks.
• The Irish moved into first in the USA Today poll again on Feb. 23, 2009 for the second time that season and on March 15, 2009 were ranked No. 1 in the USCHO.com poll. T
• Notre Dame was also No. 1 for one week during the 1976-77 season.
• It marks the first Big Ten team to achieve the top ranking since Penn State was ranked No. 1 in the Jan. 16, 2017 polls.

EVANS A 2017 SPENGLER CUP CHAMPION

• Over the semester break, senior captain Jake Evans (Toronto, Ontario) helped Team Canada capture the 2017 Spengler Cup Championship in Davos, Switzerland.
• Evans played all four games for Team Canada, which recorded preliminary wins over Mountfield HK (5-3) and HC Davos (4-1) and then posted a 5-2 win in the semifinals over Mountfield HK (Dec. 30) and followed with a 3-0 championship game victory over Team Switzerland (Dec. 31).
• It marked Canada’s third consecutive Spengler Cup Championship and 15th overall.
• The Spengler Cup, widely considered the oldest invitational hockey tournament in the world, dates back to 1923 and the 2017 version marked the 91st edition of the tournament.
• Hockey Canada officials were using the Spengler Cup as an evaluation tool to help determine their roster for the upcoming XXIII Olympic Winter Games in PyeongChang, South Korea (Feb. 9-25, 2018).
• Evans was one of four NCAA players to make Canada’s roster as he was joined by the Northeastern duo of Jeremy Davies and Dylan Sikura as well as Boston University’s Brandon Hickey.
• The tournament marked Evans’ first appearance with the Canadian National Team (senior) and it was his first time suiting up for his country since playing in the World Junior A Challenge (2013/14).

WINNING STREAK NOTES

• Notre Dame is on a 13-game winning streak, which is the longest active winning streak in the country.
• It is the longest Fighting Irish winning streak under head coach Jeff Jackson and the longest winning streak during a season in which Notre Dame competed in an NCAA Div. I conference.
• The only other times Notre Dame won at least 13 games in a row occurred during the 1983-84 season (15 consecutive wins from Nov. 4, 1983 – Jan. 21, 1984) and the 1987-88 season (14 consecutive wins from Dec. 11, 1987 – Feb. 13, 1988).
• The Irish competed under club status for the 1983-84 season and then were an independent during the 1987-88 season.
• Notre Dame’s previous longest winning streak under coach Jackson was 10 games from Feb. 13 – March 21, 2009.
• Jackson’s longest career winning streak came with Lake Superior when his team won 15 consecutive games from Jan. 19 – March 9, 1991 as part of a 28-game unbeaten stretch by the Lakers.
• It is also Notre Dame’s longest unbeaten streak since Oct. 31, 2008 – Jan. 17, 2009 when the Irish went 17-0-3 over a span of 20 games.
• Cale Morris has started each game during the current 13-game winning streak, posting a 1.38 goals-against average and a .960 save percentage to go along with four shutouts.
• Jake Evans (4-12-16), Cal Burke (10-3-13) and Colin Theisen (4-6-10) have led a balanced Irish offensive attack during the win streak.
• Fifteen Irish skaters have totaled at least three points during the winning streak, while 13 players have scored at least two goals.

PEEKE ON USA DUTY

• Sophomore defenseman Andrew Peeke, who played in all 20 Notre Dame games during the first semester, is with Team USA for the 2018 IIHF World Junior Championship, which is taking place in Buffalo, N.Y. (Dec. 26, 2017 – Jan. 5, 2018).
• Peeke’s teammates on Team USA include Michigan’s Quinn Hughes, Will Lockwood and Josh Norris.
• Peeke and Team USA posted a 4-2 win over Russia in the quarterfinals (Jan. 2) and will now play Sweden at 4 p.m. ET on Thursday, Jan. 4.
• Peeke has played in all five Team USA games thus far, totaling a goal and an assist for two points.
• Current Boston Bruins forward Anders Bjork is the most recent Irish player to make Team USA’s World Junior Championship team (2015-16).
• Dating back to 1997, 19 Notre Dame players have taken part in the IIHF World Junior Championships.
• Bjork and Team USA went on to win the bronze in Helsinki, to become the fifth Notre Dame player to medal at the prestigious event.
• Notre Dame’s other medalists include Mario Lucia (gold in 2013), Kyle Palmieri (gold in 2010 and bronze in 2011), Kyle Lawson (bronze in 2007) and Ben Simon (silver in 1997).

THE SERIES/MICHIGAN CONNECTIONS

• Former CCHA rivals, Michigan and Notre Dame have played 135 times (Michigan leads the series 74-56-5) dating back to 1921.
• The teams’ last meeting came in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on March 25, 2015 when the Wolverines defeated the Irish 3-2 in overtime at the U.S. Bank Arena in Cincinnati, Ohio.
• Anders Bjork had a goal and an assist in that game against the Wolverines, while Thomas DiPauli netted Notre Dame’s other tally and Cal Petersen finished with 32 saves.
• Prior to the 2015 NCAA meeting, the teams’ last meetings came during the 2012-13 season when Notre Dame went 5-0-0 against the Wolverines, including a 3-1 victory in the championship game of the CCHA tournament.
• Notre Dame and Michigan’s other meeting in the NCAA Tournament came at the 2008 Frozen Four (Denver, Colorado) when the Irish posted a 5-4 overtime win to advance to the NCAA championship game for the first time in program history.
• Calle Ridderwall scored the game-winning goal in that contest at the 5:44 mark of overtime.
• The Irish and Wolverines met each season from 1991-92 to 2012-13.
• Notre Dame recognizes the first official meeting as a 3-2 overtime win by the Fighting Irish on Jan. 17, 1922 at the Weinberg Coliseum in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
• Head Coach Jeff Jackson is 27-26-1 all-time against Michigan (including his time at Lake Superior State), while he is 9-5-0 all-time against the Wolverines in the playoffs.
• Jackson named current first-year Michigan head coach Mel Pearson as one of his Team USA assistant coaches for the 1997 IIHF World Junior Championship.
• Jackson and Pearson helped lead USA to the silver medal in that tournament in Switzerland.
• The current Notre Dame roster features three Michigan natives: Dawson Cook (Cadillac, Michigan), Dylan St. Cyr (Northville, Michigan) and Colin Theisen (Monroe, Michigan).

— ND —