April 10, 2018
By Dan Colleran
NOTRE DAME, Ind. — Fighting Irish senior captain Jake Evans signed a two-year, entry-level contract with the Montreal Canadiens the National Hockey League club announced on Monday afternoon (April 9). Evans’ contract will begin with the 2018-19 season.
Evans led Notre Dame to the program’s second NCAA title game appearance last weekend by scoring two goals and adding an assist in a 4-3 comeback win over Michigan in a national semifinal game at the Frozen Four (April 5). Evans’ second goal proved to be the dramatic game winner, scored with 5.7 seconds left in regulation.
Evans finished his Irish career with 41 goals and 97 assists for 138 points in 158 games played. His 138 points rank 21st in program history, while his 97 assists rank tied for 13th. Since the beginning of his sophomore season, he racked up 121 points (34-87-121) in 117 games played. He closed out his Irish career by playing in 131 consecutive games and only missed one game in four seasons.
As a senior, Evans notched 13 goals and added career-high totals in assists (33) and points (46). His 33 assists led Notre Dame and ranked fifth in the country, while his point total ranked tied for 13th in the NCAA and led the Irish. He also had five game-winning goals and was second in the NCAA with 550 face-off wins.
In addition to being named a First Team All-Big Ten selection, Evans was named the 2018 Senior CLASS award winner for men’s ice hockey. The Senior CLASS award is given annually to a senior student-athlete who excels both on and off the ice, is classified as an NCAA Division I senior and has notable achievements in four areas of excellence: community, classroom, character and competition.
In addition to Notre Dame’s NCAA East Regional Championship which propelled the Irish to a second consecutive Frozen Four, Evans helped lead the Irish to Big Ten regular season and tournament titles in Notre Dame’s first season in the league. A management consulting major in Notre Dame’s Mendoza College of Business, Evans was a seventh-round draft pick (207th overall) by the Montreal Canadiens in the 2014 NHL Entry Draft.
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Dan Colleran, Director of Athletics Communications at the University of Notre Dame, has been a part of Fighting Irish Media since August 2015 and coordinates all media and publicity efforts surrounding the Notre Dame hockey and golf programs. A native of Walpole, Massachusetts, Colleran spent the previous three years working with the men’s hockey and soccer programs at Providence College. Colleran also spent two years as an Assistant Executive Director of Communications & Championships at the Ivy League and is a graduate of Providence College (’06 & ’08G).