Hockey: Icers lace up for two against Wolverines
No. 1 Michigan next up for Notre Dame
Sam Werner
Issue date: 1/18/08 Section: Sports
Notre Dame will take on the top team in the country for the second time this season when it faces No. 1 Michigan in a two-game series this weekend. The Irish hope to pull another upset, having already beaten then-No. 1 Miami (Ohio) on Nov. 9.
The Irish will play both games in front of a mostly hostile crowd. Tonight's opening game will be played at Michigan's Yost Arena, dubbed by Notre Dame coach Jeff Jackson as "without a doubt the most difficult, challenging place to play in college hockey." The second game, technically a home contest for Notre Dame, will take place at The Palace of Auburn Hills, Mich.
"It's a little bit more challenging knowing that we'll be on the road for both games," Jackson said. "But knowing that we'll have last change and having our fans and our band there will go a long way towards helping us."
The Irish have reason to be confident heading into this match-up, having beaten the Wolverines in all three of their meetings last season, including a 7-3 thrashing at Yost Arena and a 2-1 victory in the 2007 CCHA Championship.
"The fact that we have had success against them might give us a little more confidence heading in there," Jackson said. "But that was then and this is now and we're going to have to make sure we do the things that are necessary to have success."
The Irish will need to add life to their power play that has looked weak since the beginning of winter break. Notre Dame has failed to score in its last 30 chances with the man advantage. Breaking out of their slump against Michigan won't be an easy task for the Irish: The Wolverines have killed 89.5 percent of power plays against them this season - fourth best in the country.
"We just need to get back to basics," junior forward Erik Condra said. "You can't think about it too much because then you start not scoring and the streak continues."
Jackson echoed Condra, saying that breaking out of their power-play slump would be crucial to getting points this weekend.
The Irish will play both games in front of a mostly hostile crowd. Tonight's opening game will be played at Michigan's Yost Arena, dubbed by Notre Dame coach Jeff Jackson as "without a doubt the most difficult, challenging place to play in college hockey." The second game, technically a home contest for Notre Dame, will take place at The Palace of Auburn Hills, Mich.
"It's a little bit more challenging knowing that we'll be on the road for both games," Jackson said. "But knowing that we'll have last change and having our fans and our band there will go a long way towards helping us."
The Irish have reason to be confident heading into this match-up, having beaten the Wolverines in all three of their meetings last season, including a 7-3 thrashing at Yost Arena and a 2-1 victory in the 2007 CCHA Championship.
"The fact that we have had success against them might give us a little more confidence heading in there," Jackson said. "But that was then and this is now and we're going to have to make sure we do the things that are necessary to have success."
The Irish will need to add life to their power play that has looked weak since the beginning of winter break. Notre Dame has failed to score in its last 30 chances with the man advantage. Breaking out of their slump against Michigan won't be an easy task for the Irish: The Wolverines have killed 89.5 percent of power plays against them this season - fourth best in the country.
"We just need to get back to basics," junior forward Erik Condra said. "You can't think about it too much because then you start not scoring and the streak continues."
Jackson echoed Condra, saying that breaking out of their power-play slump would be crucial to getting points this weekend.