April 11, 2008
NCAA Frozen Four Notebook
Can Notre Dame Grow The Game?
Fighting Irish's success may spark interest in college hockey

By Mike Eidelbes, Joe Gladziszewski, Jeff Howe, and Jess Myers

Got your back: Michigan defenseman Chris Summers prepares to check Notre Dame forward Dan Kissel in the third period of Thursday's Frozen Four semifinal.

DENVER – You either love ’em or you hate ’em.

The mere mention of Notre Dame elicits an emotional reaction from the most casual sports fan. With that in mind, it begs the question – is having the Fighting Irish playing for a national championship enough to capture the attention of sports fans who otherwise may not tune in to the Frozen Four?

Joel Maturi thinks so. The Minnesota athletics director is the chairman of the NCAA Division I Men’s Ice Hockey Committee. He’s also a 1967 Notre Dame graduate who was part of Ara Parseghian’s support staff when the legendary football coach led the Irish to a national championship in 1966.

“Whenever you have highly visible teams like a Notre Dame, the casual sports fan identifies with that,” Maturi said. “This, I think, will assist TV ratings … and it will [grab] the person on the street who is curious about the sport.”

The early returns appear to bear that out. The final Neilsen cable ratings for Thursday’s Notre Dame-Michigan Frozen Four semifinal on ESPN2 weren't available as of 7 p.m. ET Friday, but early indications were that the numbers were up from last year's Boston College-North Dakota prime-time semifinal broadcast, which earned a 0.2 rating. One Nielsen rating point equals roughly 1.1 million households, or one percent of the U.S. television audience.

Of course, it’s impossible to pin a spike in popularity of college hockey to Notre Dame’s first-ever Frozen Four appearance. But there is anecdotal evidence that supports the claim. Just ask a couple of the Fighting Irish seniors, guys who’ve experienced the program’s highs and lows.

“Pretty much everywhere we go on the road, we bring out a big crowd of people who love to hate us,” said Fighting Irish defenseman Dan VeNard. “Notre Dame has kind of become the Yankees of college sports – with the die-hard fans, you also have those people who want to see you fall.

“You see it everywhere," senior captain Mark Van Guilder said when asked about his team’s polarizing effect. “That’s just the way it is when you have a university that is so [successful] both athletically and academically.”

There’s a certain irony in knowing that an institution that is so polarizing can be so vital to the growth of college hockey. In fact, the sport’s fans – the vast majority of whom would like nothing better than seeing college hockey’s profile raised – might be conflicted by that realization.

“I think anybody in college hockey will tell you,” Maturi said, “that it’s good to have Notre Dame where it is.”

– Mike Eidelbes

THE MATCHUP OF HIDDEN STRENGTHS

Notre Dame rightfully built its reputation as a defense-first team but scored some of the prettiest goals of the weekend in Thursday night's 5-4 Frozen Four semifinal win over Michigan in overtime.

Whether it was the patient play on the opening rush from Calle Ridderwall, a drop pass in the zone for Mark Van Guilder, Ryan Thang's jaw-dropping dangle on the third, or Kevin Deeth dragging the puck around a pair of defenders for Notre Dame's fourth, the Irish showed that they're more than just a banging, cycling team that has to crash the net for chances.

"It's a byproduct of the system that we play, but I think if we put them out there with BC or Michigan they'd fit right in," Notre Dame defenseman Kyle Lawson said of the Fighting Irish's group of forwards. "It just happens that the system that we play is a little bit more defensive and not so much 1-on-1, it's more of a team cycle; grind it down low and whatnot. Sometimes those guys sacrifice their individual talents for the benefit of the team."

Take the instance of Calle Ridderwall, a freshman who came into the Irish program with high-level scoring potential but recorded just three goals through Notre Dame's first 45 games. Of course he scored twice on Friday night, and showed some of his finishing ability.

"Last night watching their game we realized that they have a lot of quick forwards that are capable of making really nice plays. I remember watching their fourth goal, I think it was Deeth came across the middle and made a really nice play," Boston College defenseman Nick Filangieri said.

Freshman defenseman Nick Petrecki of the Eagles played with and against many of the top Notre Dame forwards in the United States Hockey League, so he has a knowledge base on what to expect. It's another element that the BC defensemen will need to be ready for, but they get outstanding on-the-job training every day in practice going against highly-skilled forwards.

"I think it's huge, especially at BC when you have guys like Nathan Gerbe, Joe Whitney, Brian Gibbons, those guys who are so quick and can cut back on a dime and it just makes you better every day in practice," Petrecki said. "You have a lot of fun with it, and overall it's a great experience."

The strengths of each team are in Boston College's forwards and Notre Dame's defense, but the reverse matchup will be equally enjoyable to watch and could turn out to be the determining factor in Saturday's national championship game.

– Joe Gladziszewski

THE FUSCO FRENZY

Ben Smith got his picture on the Fusco Frenzy belt Friday, which replaced Nathan Gerbe's mug after the Hobey Hat Trick finalist took the belt Thursday.

What's the Fusco Frenzy, and how do you get it? Well, we can answer one of those questions for you.

It's Ben done: One day after beat North Dakota's J-P Lamoureux in Thursday's Frozen Four semifinal, Boston College's Ben Smith won the Eagles' coveted Fusco Frenzy belt.

Smith won the team's showdown drill at practice Friday, a shootout-style contest that Boston College has during the last practice before every game of the season. Each player starts at center ice and tries to score on the breakaway. Score on the first try, and said player heads down the length of the ice for a second bid against an alternate goalie. Miss, and you're out. Smith scored twice in the first round and then again in the second to claim the belt and avoid wakeup-call duties Saturday morning.

"The belt can go from one guy to the next," Boston College senior captain Mike Brennan explained. "Gerbe got the belt [Thursday] for the breakaway goal [against North Dakota]. If you score on the breakaway, it moves. Or if [goalie John] Muse stops a breakaway, it moves. It's just something to keep it fun."

As for the origin of the belt, well, that's a little more complicated. At the start of each season, the seniors participate in the showdown drill, and the winner gets to name the belt whatever they want. What's the "Fusco Frenzy" then? Unfortunately, their lips are sealed.

– Jeff Howe

OLD FRIENDS COME TO CALL FOR IRISH

For a team making its first Frozen Four appearance, Notre Dame and Irish coach Jeff Jackson are drawing on a lot of history as he seeks the school's first hockey title. His cell phone memory was running low when he returned to the team hotel on Thursday.

"I had plenty of text messages when I got back to the hotel," he said. "I saw there were about 35 that I had to take a peek at, and probably 20 phone mail messages."

Among the calls and texts were plenty of players that had toiled under Jackson during previous coaching stops in Sault Ste. Marie, Ann Arbor, and Long Island.

"A lot of the kids that played in our program since I've been here were at the game last night and I had a chance to see them by the bus," Jackson said. "I got text messages from a lot of former players who played somewhere else. I got a text from Jimmy Dowd, from Rick DiPietro, from Garth Snow. A lot of former Lake Superior (State) players and players from the national team program, or even when I was with the Islanders."

Irish defenseman Kyle Lawson said the alumni support is nice, but it is sometimes hard to see players from last year's CCHA title team that didn't make it to the Frozen Four.

"A bunch of guys who played with us last year are out here, and it's almost tough to see those guys," Lawson said. "Last year we were a top seed and almost expected to win and things didn't go our way. Those who came before us and put in the time and the hard work, we're reaping the benefits. This is a process that started long before any of us got here."

For Jackson, it's been a reminder of how many friends he has in the hockey world.

"It's nice to know people are following, but I do the same with them," he said.

– Jess Myers

SEEN AND HEARD AT THE PEPSI CENTER

Beware of defenseman: Notre Dame defenseman Kyle Lawson said he's seen some of the flashy moves in practice that Ryan Thang displayed on Thursday night.

"He tries pretty hard but he doesn't always come away with those," Lawson said. "He's a great player and we've got a lot of talented forwards that will try a lot of stuff like that but with the way that coach Jackson runs practice not everybody gets to show off their offensive ability. He tries, but it's not always successful."

Support noteworthy for Eagles too: After asking around, the Eagles received calls, texts and e-mails from a number of former players this week, either wishing them good luck and saying congratulations for a job well done against the Sioux. Bobby Allen, Andrew Alberts, Mike Mottau, and Ryan Murphy were a few names that came up, and A.J. Walker stopped by the team breakfast Friday morning. Matt Greene said he heard from his older brother Justin, who played at BC from 2003-07. Greene also noted Nathan Gerbe would probably get a text from Brian Gionta, and John Muse might hear from Scott Clemmensen or Cory Schneider.

Caution, coach is listening: Asked to describe the complexities of the Irish penalty kill in the Friday press conference, Lawson made a crack about all of the nuances of Jackson's coaching style.

"We'd be here all afternoon talking about the different things coach does," Lawson said, and was prepared to expand on the comment when he was interrupted by teammate Christian Hanson

"Be careful, he's right there," Hanson said, spying Jackson in the back of the room.

Lawson quickly changed his tone, knowing that the boss was present.

"He's a great coach," Lawson said with a smile, as the press corps laughed.

BC enjoys the moment: Observing Boston College's camaraderie and chemistry up close gives a strong indication that this team is relaxed, loose, and just having fun playing together this season. They're trying to channel that for Saturday night's game.

"I think it's more important to enjoy the moment and just take it all in as much as possible," defenseman Tim Filangieri said. "You don’t know if you're going to be back here again so you want to enjoy it as much as possible, stay loose, and have fun out there."

And how it's done: BC senior captain Mike Brennan on "leaners," which are a favorite prank among the team: "Guys do a lot of leaners. They don't do it to my room because I'm a senior. But leaners are when you fill the garbage up with water, and you lean it against a guy's door. You knock on the door, and when he opens it up, the whole thing spills in. Guys like [freshman defenseman Nick] Petrecki and the freshmen, they keep it loose like that. The older guys do certain things to the younger guys, and there's just a lot of jibbering and jabbering back and forth. It's all in good fun and all in good humor, and when game time rolls around, it's all focus."