SEASON STATS
THIS WEEK
Western Michigan hosts Notre Dame for "Hockey Cares Weekend." The two teams battle it on Friday and Saturday with both games starting at 7:35 p.m. On Saturday the Broncos will sport pink jerseys in an effort to raise money for the American Cancer Society. More information on "Hockey Cares Weekend" please visit www.wmubroncos.com/hockeycares
LAST WEEK
Western Michigan battled the No. 1 ranked Miami RedHawks for the second time this year, making the trip to Oxford, Ohio, but coming away with two hard-fought losses.
On Friday night the Broncos fell 4-1 after giving up a quick two-goal lead to Miami in the first period. The Broncos got within one after a power-play goal was scored by Luke Witkowski early in the second period. However, WMU went on to surrender a goal late in the second period and then late in the third period.
Riley Gill was the star of the show on Saturday evening, making a season-high 47 saves in the 2-1 loss. After going down 1-0 early in the second period, the Broncos responded to tie the game 1-1 on Mike Levendusky's first career goal.
SERIES HISTORY
This weekend marks the 71st and 72nd meetings between the Broncos and the Fighting Irish and Western Michigan holds the series edge at 35-29-6. The Broncos are 3-1-0 in their last four home games when they host the Fighting Irish.
SCOUTING THE FIGHTING IRISH
Notre Dame (12-11-7, 8-8-6-2 CCHA) is coming off a series split with Nebraska-Omaha and currently sit tied for fourth in the CCHA. The stats show the Fighting Irish have struggled somewhat on the road with a 2-4-3 record in league play away from home. Notre Dame is 10th overall in the CCHA in scoring, averaging 2.41 goals per game but average only 1.88 goals per game in CCHA road games.
If Notre Dame does score, it comes on the power play. The Fighting Irish have scored 53 goals so far during conference play and 26 of the 53, 49-percent, have come with a man advantage. The team currently converts 20.5 percent of its power plays, third best in the conference.
Who scores those power play goals? Calle Ridderwall. The Swede leads the team with 17 total goals and 10 have come on the power play. His seven power-play goals in conference play would actually put him third on the team in goal scoring behind senior Ryan Thang's eight. Senior Kyle Lawson leads all Notre Dame defensemen in scoring with four goals and a team-leading 17 assists.
Freshman Mike Johnson has seen the majority of the playing time between the pipes for Notre Dame, starting 20 of 30 games so far this season. His .927 save percentage ranks second in the league and sixth in the nation. Johnson carries a 9-7-4 record and a 2.13 goals against average.
AND THEN THERE WERE NONE
In Saturday's 2-1 loss to No. 1 ranked Miami, Mike Levendusky became the final member of the junior class to score his first career goal. Levendusky tied the game up at 1-1 with his first tally in his 63rd career game played.
