SOUTH BEND, Ind. – The Fighting Irish hockey program hosts rival Michigan this weekend as they close out their regular season series against the Wolverines.
Friday’s contest, presented by DICK’s Sporting Goods, has a puck drop slated for 7:05p.m. before a 6:05p.m. start the following night. Saturday night will be the team’s annual 525 Foundation pill drop game. New York Islanders organist Paul Cartier will serve as the guest organist for both Friday and Saturday night against the Wolverines and fans are encouraged to arrive early Friday for a rally towel giveaway.
SERIES OVERVIEW
Opponent: #9/9 Michigan Wolverines | Jan. 10-11
Location: South Bend, Ind. | Compton Family Ice Arena
Schedule: 7p.m. (Fri.) | 6p.m. (Sat.)
TV: Peacock
Live Stats: FightingIrish.com
Radio: fightingirish.com/radioaffiliates/
Game Notes: Notre Dame
QUICK HITS
- Notre Dame and Michigan face off again this weekend after having previously met in November with the Irish traveling to Ann Arbor for a two-game series.
- The weekend series set for Compton Family Ice Arena will get underway Friday, Jan. 10 at 7:05pm followed by a 6:05pm start on Saturday to close out the regular season series between the two squads.
- The Irish are coming off a weekend series against Penn State which saw the two teams clash in an outdoor venue for the first time.
- Friday’s contest marked Notre Dame’s fourth-ever appearance in an outdoor contest, having previously played at Soldier Field (2013), Fenway Park (2014) and Notre Dame Stadium (2019).
- The Irish and Nittany Lions went to an eight-round shootout, the team’s first shootout of the season, Friday night. After the Nittany Lions scored in the first round of the shootout, Hunter Strand evened it up in round two. Nicholas Kempf proceeded to stop seven straight shots in the shootout to clinch the victory after Ryan Helliwell scored in the eighth round to give the Irish the advantage.
- The Irish wore a new jersey for Friday’s contest with the design meant to replicate those of the iconic Chicago flag and the Chicago Cubs (MLB).
- Notre Dame’s signature leprechaun could be seen on the front of the white jersey inside the “C” of the Cubs organization while the striping on the sleeves takes an Irish twist on the city’s flag, replacing the notable red stars with gold shamrocks.
- The teams closed out the weekend on Sunday with the first game at Compton Family Ice Arena of the new year where the Irish fell 3-0 to Penn State.
- The Irish closed out the first half of the season with a trip to Columbus, Ohio to face the Buckeyes.
- In two games, Danny Nelson led the team with a pair of goals while Nicholas Kempf stopped a career-best 41 saves in Friday’s overtime contest.
- The Irish team returned 19 student-athletes from the 2023-24 roster, including 11 forwards, six defensemen and two goaltenders. The forwards include graduate senior Grant Silianoff and seniors Justin Janicke, Hunter Strand and Tyler Carpenter. Returning defensemen include four who appeared in the final series of the 2023-24 season in Michael Mastrodomenico, Paul Fischer, Zach Plucinski and Henry Nelson.
- Notre Dame returned two 20+ point scorers from a season ago as Danny Nelson (9-14-23) and Cole Knuble (9-11-20) are now in their sophomore seasons with the Irish.
- In total, eight returners posted double-digit points last season. In addition to Nelson and Knuble, Hunter Strand (4-15-19), Justin Janicke (4-12-16), Paul Fischer (2-14-16), Brennan Ali (3-10-13), Maddox Fleming (3-9-12) and Grant Silianoff (4-7-11) look to improve upon their double-digit performances a season ago.
- At the last line of defense, the Irish return Jack Williams in goal and added two new netminders to the mix in Nicholas Kempf (USNTDP) and Owen Say (Mercyhurst).
- The Irish added 10 new faces to the squad in 2024-25, including five freshmen and five transfers. The 10 newcomers consist of five forwards, three defensemen and two goaltenders.
NOTRE DAME vs. MICHIGAN
- The Irish and Wolverines have met 169 times in program history, with the Wolverines owning a 87-76-6 record over the Irish.
- At Notre Dame, the Irish hold the slight edge over the Wolverines, boasting a 33-32-2 record all-time against their rival in South Bend, Indiana.
- Earlier this season, Brennan Ali led the team with two goals at Yost Ice Arena, tallying the first Irish goal in both contests.
- Jaedon Kerr assisted on Ali’s second goal of the weekend to notch his first collegiate point.