Printer-Friendly Format     E-mail this article     Evan Rankin celebrates an Irish goal in the CCHA Championship game.

Notre Dame to face Chargers in 5:00 p.m. game on Friday, March 23.

Team NCAA Selection Reaction - Watch Now!
Coach Jackson NCAA Selection Reaction - Watch Now!
CCHA Final Press Conference - Watch Now!
Final 2:26 of CCHA Final, on-ice celebration - Watch Now!

March 18, 2007

Notre Dame, Ind. - The Notre Dame hockey team, fresh off its' CCHA Championship in Detroit, Mich., on Saturday night, will make the second NCAA appearance in the program's history this Friday, March 23. The Irish, the number one seed in the Grand Rapids, Mich., regional will face the fourth-seed, the Alabama-Huntsville Chargers in the 5:00 p.m. game at Van Andel Arena. The second game of the regional will feature Boston University against Michigan State at 8:35 p.m.

With a record of 31-6-3, the Irish are the number two overall seed in the 16-team tournament. They took the CCHA title on Saturday night with a 2-1 win over Michigan. The last time that Notre Dame made the tournament was in 2004, when the Irish were a fourth seed in Grand Rapids and lost a 5-2 decision to Minnesota.

Alabama-Huntsville (13-19-3) advanced to the tournament by winning the College Hockey America (CHA) tournament championship two weeks ago, coming back from a 4-0 deficit against Robert Morris to win the title game, 5-4, in overtime.

Boston University is the number two seed in the regional and has a 20-9-9 overall record. The Terriers lost to Boston College in the Hockey East semifinals. Michigan State is the three seed and was 22-13-5 on the year and lost to Michigan, 5-2, in the CCHA semifinals then defeated Lake Superior, 7-6 in overtime in the CCHA third-place game on Saturday.

The winners of the two games will meet on Saturday, March 24 at Van Andel Arena in the regional championship game with face off set for 8:30 p.m. All the games from the regional can be seen on ESPNU.

Tickets for Notre Dame's trip to the NCAA Regionals can be ordered starting Monday, March 19 beginning at 9:00 a.m. at the Joyce Center Ticket Office or through Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids, Mich. Tickets are $65.00 for the three-game all-session ticket. The Van Andel Arena ticket office is (616) 456-3333.

Notre Dame fans can reserve their tickets and a spot on the bus trip to Grand Rapids for each day by calling the Notre Dame ticket office at (574) 631-7356.