SOUTH BEND, Ind. – After a 2-0-0 start to their 2024-25 season, the Irish open their home slate of competition this weekend when they host the University of Alaska Fairbanks Nanooks, Oct. 18-19. The former CCHA foes are set to clash inside Compton Family Ice Arena at 7:05pm Friday night before a 6:05pm start on Saturday.
Tickets for both games are still available and can be purchased here.
SERIES OVERVIEW
Opponent: Alaska Nanooks | Oct. 18-19
Location: South Bend, Ind. | Compton Family Ice Arena
Schedule: Fri. 7:05pm | Sat. 6:05pm
TV: Peacock
Live Stats: FightingIrish.com
Radio: fightingirish.com/radioaffiliates/
Game Notes: Notre Dame | Alaska
QUICK HITS
- Notre Dame returns home from their opening weekend road trip with a 2-0-0 record heading into a six-game home stand.
- The Irish kick off the home stretch with the Alaska Nanooks Oct. 18-19. Games are set for a 7:05pm puck drop Friday before a 6:05pm start Saturday. Both tilts will be streamed on Peacock.
- The Irish team returns 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 returns two 20+ point scorers from a season ago as Danny Nelson (9-14-23) and Cole Knuble (9-11-20) embark on their sophomore season 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 add two new netminders to the mix in Nicholas Kempf (USNTDP) and Owen Say (Mercyhurst).
- The Irish add 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 swept its opening weekend in the North Country, Oct. 11-12, picking up wins over St. Lawrence and Clarkson in the program’s first ever trip to Northern New York.
- Friday’s season opener at St. Lawrence saw Blake Biondi score the team’s first goal of the 2024-25 season, notching his first goal for the Blue and Gold at 6:45 of the opening period. A pair of sophomores in Cole Knuble and Danny Nelson stepped into their bigger roles this season almost immediately, combining for three goals against the Saints to cap off Notre Dame’s opening night with the 4-1 final.
- Owen Say made his debut for the Irish in net at St. Lawrence on Friday night, stopping 32 of 33 shots faced and registering a .970 save percentage in his first start.
- The Irish continued their road trip out East with a 5-2 victory over Clarkson to complete the opening weekend sweep.
- Notre Dame found themselves down for the majority of the contest, trailing 2-0 in the first, and not finding the back of the net themselves until the final minute of the second stanza. It was Cole Knuble’s powerplay tally with 21 seconds to play in the middle frame that sparked a strong offensive surge in the third period which included four goals to complete the comeback.
- Michael Mastrodomenico scored his second career goal, and first of the season, just 1:12 into the third period to tie it up against the Golden Knights before Hunter Strand net the eventual game-winner at 8:38 of the frame.
- D. Nelson also scored in the contest, his second of the year, while Justin Janicke found the back of the empty net to close out the scoring Saturday in Potsdam. His goal came off a blocked shot at the other end of the ice as the Golden Knights opted for the extra attacker looking to erase Notre Dame’s two-goal advantage. The Clarkson shot bounced off the leg of Janicke and sailed 200 feet to the opposite end of the ice for the team’s fifth goal of the night.
- The team unofficially opened its season against the USNTDP for an exhibition contest Oct. 4. Graduate senior Biondi made his Irish presence known immediately with a first period goal against the USNTDP in the team’s exhibition game last Friday night. The Hermantown, Minnesota native had two unofficial goals on the night, both scored on the powerplay. His second of the night sparked a third-period comeback for the Irish which included four unanswered goals to end the game and give the Irish the 5-2 win.
- Senior Justin Janicke posted four assists on the night against the U18 team, all of which came in the final frame.
- Grant Silianoff and Maddox Fleming also posted multi-point nights while Ian Murphy got hit twine for the first time in an Irish sweater as he closed out the scoring Friday with an empty net tally.
NOTRE DAME vs. ALASKA
- The Irish and Nanooks have met 62 times previously with the Irish owning a 33-26-4 all-time record against UAF.
- At Notre Dame, the Irish boast a 21-12-1 record, including their most recent meetings coming in 2022-23 where the teams split a New Years series inside Compton Family Ice Arena.
- In their most recent outing, Niko Jovanovic recorded an assist on the game-winning goal, scored at 14:17 of the opening period as part of a 2-0 shutout victory to ring in 2023.
- In the weekend split, current senior Hunter Strand also recorded a goal while Grant Silianoff tallied an assist.