Josh_R apologizes for the lack of updates regarding the ND Hockey team. His jobs have consumed his life lately.

For much of the 2008-2009 NCAA hockey season, the main question asked by fans, the media, and even ND's opponents was not "if" Notre Dame would take the CCHA regular season crown, but "when." As the team's excellent play continued, the points gap separating ND from the rest of the CCHA field increased. By the end of the season, one could only wonder that it wasn't a question of if Notre Dame would also take the Mason Cup in Detroit as the CCHA Tournament Champion, but when.

After enjoying the bye weekend, Notre Dame faced CCHA #8 Nebraska Omaha at the JACC. UNO was coming off a fairly easy weekend against CCHA #9 Ferris State, as they swept the Bulldogs with a 3-0 win on Friday and a 5-1 win on Saturday to advance to the second round of the CCHA tournament.

Things weren't as easy against our Irish. In Friday night's game, a 4 goal barrage chased UNO's senior goalie Jerad Kaufmann after 1 period of play. Jordan Pearce had a spectacular night, making 30 saves. Offensive star Ryan Thang also made his return from an injury, providing an immediate boost as he scored late in the 1st period.

From there, timely defense and Pearce took over, as UNO actually outshot Notre Dame 23-16 in the last 2 periods. Ryan Guentzel closed the scoring, converting on a feed from Dan Kissel to put the Irish up 5-0.

Saturday's game was much closer, with Notre Dame surviving a frantic third period to win 1-0 on Justin White's 9th goal of the season just 2 minutes into the game. The win sent the Irish to Joe Louis Arena in Detroit to face Northern Michigan in the semifinal. NMU was coming off a surprising upset of Miami (OH).

While the season series was lopsided (ND won all four games by a combined 21 - 11), NMU played the Irish tough. Notre Dame's Kyle Lawson opened the scoring on the power play at the 4:15 mark. This was the only tally on the board until Nick Serota scored for NMU late in the 3rd at 18:37.

It was then Ben Ryan who save the day for Notre Dame as he scored only 22 seconds later with one minute left to get the Irish past the Wildcats and into the final against rival Michigan.

It was perhaps the toughest test yet for Notre Dame, playing a true road game in hostile territory in front of more than 19,000 fans. The Irish also found themselves in unfamiliar territory as well- trailing. Michigan went ahead 2-0 on goals from Luke Glendening and David Wohlberg.

And then they stormed back. Five unanswered goals, including 2 from last year's hero Calle Ridderwall propelled the Irish to a 5-2 win and to the CCHA Tournament Championship.

Earlier this morning, Notre Dame was placed in the Midwest Region as the #1 seed. They'll play Bemidji State in the First Round on March 28. If they win, they'll play the winner of Northeastern-Cornell for a spot at the Frozen Four in Washington DC on March 29th.

-JR