Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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ND SPORTS was among the 29 players named to the 2016 U.S. National Junior Team preliminary roster. Team USA held camp Dec. 14-18 in Boston and the second phase took place Dec. 19-23 in Vierumaki, Finland. The squad was scheduled to play two exhibition games in preparation for the tourna- ment, Dec. 18 at UMass and Dec. 22 against Finland in Vierumaki. Bjork was tied with senior center Thomas DiPauli with a team-high 16 points through the first semester. In Notre Dame's sweep over UMass Dec. 4-5, the sophomore finished with a team-high plus-5, contributing an as- sist in the 3-1 win Dec. 4 and scoring two goals in the 5-1 victory Dec. 5. "Anders had a good weekend, and he needed to because he's still trying to make that national junior camp," Jackson told UND.com following the win Dec. 5. "This weekend I thought he played his best hockey, and that line played really well tonight. "I thought the whole line gave us a lot of speed and energy, they did a good job with the puck and [creating] scoring chances." Sophomore goaltender Cal Petersen — a Hockey All-East Rookie selection last season — was another standout that picked up his play at semester's end. Petersen stopped 86 of 89 shots he faced against Western Michigan Nov. 28 and UMass Dec. 4-5, then made 23 saves in the win over the Eagles Dec. 10. "Cal did a good job considering he had some heavy traffic and people lurking around his net all night," Jack- son told UND.com after the Boston College win. The Irish stood 9-4-4, including a 6-1-2 start to Hockey East play, head- ing into their December break. Fol- lowing the two-game series at Denver Jan. 1-2, they'll return home to host Western Michigan Jan. 8. ✦ Irish Roundup TRACK & FIELD Notre Dame opened the 2015-16 season by hosting the Blue & Gold Invitational at Loftus Sports Center Dec. 4. The Irish won 14 events and posted nine qualifying marks for the ACC Indoor Championships. The Irish do not compete again until the Wis- consin Open Jan. 16 in Madison, Wis. MEN'S SOCCER (11-5-6) The No. 7 Irish ended their season with a 2-1 home defeat to No. 10 Maryland Nov. 29 in the NCAA Championships round of 16. Senior mid- fielder Patrick Hodan, fifth-year senior defender Max Lachowecki and sophomore striker Jon Gallagher were named to the NSCAA All-South Region second team. Hodan and Lachowecki are both eligible for the 2016 MLS SuperDraft, and they were invited to participate in the 2016 MLS Player Combine Jan. 7-12 in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. FENCING Notre Dame competed at the Division I/II North American Cup event Dec. 4-7 in Balti- more. Freshman foil Axel Kiefer defeated 2013 individual foil world champion Miles Chamley- Watson in placing third in Division I Foil, while freshman Darius Zacharakis placed third in epee. The Irish next head to the Division I/Junior NAC Jan. 8-11 in St. Louis. — Jordan Wells