Nov. 23, 2009
Notre Dame, Ind. – The Central Collegiate Hockey Association announced today that Notre Dame defenseman Kyle Lawson (Sr., New Hudson, Mich.) have been selected as the CCHA’s defensive player of the week for games played during the week of November 16.
Lawson was part of a stellar defensive effort by Notre Dame that limited the Spartans to just two goals in the series as the Irish tied Michigan State in East Lansing, Mich. on Thur., Nov., 19, 1-1, before winning the shoot-out portion of the game, 2-1. On Sunday, Nov. 22, at Ft. Wayne, Lawson and the Irish knocked off the sixth-ranked Spartans, 4-1.
In the two games, Lawson recorded a pair of assists, blocked five shots, was +4 overall and helped the Irish kill off all eight Michigan State power-play chances, including two five-minute major penalties and one 5-on-3 chance.
At Munn Arena on Thursday, Lawson had one shot on goal and blocked three shots in the 1-1 tie. The Irish were 4-for-4 on the penalty kill in that game with two of the Michigan State power-play chances being five-minute majors. The first came at 19:06 of the second period with the Irish holding the Spartans to just two shots on goal. The second came in the third period at 14:15 and quickly included a five-on-three power play for two minutes. During that kill, the Irish surrendered just four shots on goal. The game ended in a 1-1 tie with the Irish winning the shoot out, 2-1.
After two days off, game two of the series was played at the Allen Country War Memorial Coliseum in Ft. Wayne, Ind., on Sunday afternoon. In this game, Lawson added offense to the package as he helped set up a pair of goals, while getting credited with two more blocked shots. For the afternoon, Lawson was on the ice for all four Notre Dame goals, going +4 as the Irish took a 4-1 win.
On the season, the senior defenseman is tied for the team lead in scoring after 14 games as he has three goals and eight assists for 11 points on the year. Among his goals are two power-play tallies, one short-handed goal and two game winners and he’s +1 for the year.
Sunday’s win snapped a four-game winless skid (0-2-2) for the Irish and improved them to 6-5-3 overall and 3-2-3-2 in the CCHA, good for 14 points in the standings.
For his career, the 2009 CCHA defensive defenseman of the year has shown that he can play some offense too. In 137 career games, Lawson has 16 goals and 63 assists for 79 career points.
The senior alternate captain and his teammates will be back in action this weekend, Nov. 27-28, when they play host to the Bowling Green Falcons at the Joyce Center. Friday’s game has a 7:35 p.m. start time while Saturday’s opening face off is set for 7:05 p.m.