"Slap Shot" actor rubs off on son, Notre Dame's Hanson

Notre Dame forward Christian Hanson racked up 53 penalty minutes to tie for the team lead, but he swears it wasn't intentional.

Hanson's father, Dave, is best known for his role as one of the three Hanson brothers - the bruising enforcers in the iconic movie "Slap Shot."

"It's a little chip off the old block," Hanson said, laughing.

Notre Dame plays No. 1 seed New Hampshire at 4:30 p.m. today in the NCAA Tournament's West Regional at World Arena. Colorado College takes on Michigan State at 8 p.m.

While Hanson knew of the movie, he didn't see it until he was 13 and riding on the bus with his youth hockey team. His dad had hoped to show him the movie when he was older.

"I knew he was in a movie and he was a Hanson brother, but I didn't even know what it was," Hanson said. "One of the parents popped it in. ... I was pretty shocked."

A few weeks ago, the younger Hanson appeared on ESPN and producers made him wear the trademark Hanson brothers' glasses.

"It was pretty neat," he said. "I was able to have some fun with it, but get some national exposure for Notre Dame's hockey program."

Goalie battles

In a regional chock full of lauded goalies, one could say Notre Dame's Jordan Pearce is the odd man out.

New Hampshire's Kevin Regan and Michigan State's Jeff Lerg are finalists for the Hobey Baker Award - given to college hockey's top player - and CC's Richard Bachman was named Western Collegiate Hockey Association Player of the Year.

"It's one of those things where you've got to go out there and prove that you deserve to be there along with the other ones," said Pearce, who ranks sixth nationally with a 1.94 goals against average.

Lerg welcomes the challenge.

"I like to approach every game as a 1-on-1 battle with the goaltender at the other end," he said. "No matter who we're playing and what goalie is at the other end, I like to make it a 1-on-1 game."

Seen around the rink

Seven New Hampshire players have sported mohawks since Saturday. It was a daring move for defenseman Brad Flaishans.

"It's my senior year and I probably won't be able to do anything like this again," he said. "Hair grows back. It's not a tattoo."