SOUTH BEND, Ind. – The Fighting Irish hockey team opens the 2026-27 campaign with a pair of games against Niagara University inside Compton Family Ice Arena. Thursday's season opener is scheduled to start at 7 p.m. ET and Friday's tilt will also begin at 7 p.m. ET. Both game will air on Peacock.
GAME DETAILS
Location: South Bend, Indiana | Compton Family Ice Arena
Schedule: Thursday, Oct. 8 - 7 p.m. ET | Friday, Oct. 9 - 7 p.m. ET
Tickets: Click Here
Broadcast: Peacock
Live Stats: Thursday | Friday
Twitter Updates: @NDHockey
For a more in-depth look at the matchup – Game Notes: Notre Dame
QUICK HITS
- The Irish enter year two of the Brock Sheahan (‘08) era, as the alum took over as Catalino Family Head Hockey Coach of his alma mater prior to the 2025-26 season, becoming the fifth head coach in the program’s modern history.
- The Irish welcome nine new faces to the team for the 2026-27 season, including five transfers in juniors Michael Quinn (defenseman), Leo Gruba (defenseman), Hagen Burrows (forward) and Toby Hopp (goaltender), and sophomore forward David Klee.
- The Irish freshman class consists of four skaters in Sammy Nelson (forward), Beckham Edwards (forward), Danny Klaers (defenseman) and Patrick Quinlan (goaltender).
- The current Irish roster features nine NHL draft picks with Beckham Edwards’ selection by the Detroit Red Wings in the 2026 NHL Entry Draft marking the 100th individual in program history to be drafted.
- Other draftees include Brennan Ali (DET ‘22), Danny Nelson (NYI ‘23), Paul Fischer (STL/EDM ‘23), Cole Brown (NJD ‘23), David Klee (SJS ‘23), Nicholas Kempf (WSH ‘24) Hagen Burrows (TBL ‘24) and Will Belle (TOR ‘25).
- The Irish concluded their 2025-26 regular-season slate with three straight wins, all coming in overtime, including a victory against then-fifth ranked Penn State. The win marked Coach Sheahan’s first career win over a ranked opponent. Notre Dame then completed a road sweep of Ohio State in the final series of the regular season, marking the first time in program history the team won three consecutive games in overtime.
NOTRE DAME vs. NIAGARA
- The two teams have met five times previously with the Irish owning a 3-1-1 edge all-time.
- The weekend series will mark the fifth and sixth times the two sides will face off in South Bend with the Irish holding an advantage with a mark of 3-1-0.
- The Irish last Niagara during the 2021-22 season, splitting a pair of games in Compton Family Ice Arena. The Purple Eagles won game one by a score of 3-1 before the Irish took game two by a score of 5-0.
- Notre Dame has outscored Niagara by a margin of 22-9 over the five previous matchups.
2026-27 CAPTAINS
- The Irish announced two leaders ahead of the 2026-27 season, featuring a captain and alternate captain.
- Senior forward Danny Nelson will serve as the captain for the second straight season.
- Nelson becomes the first Fighting Irish skater to be named a captain in multiple seasons since Steven Fogarty in 2014-15 & 2015-16 and the 14th player in program history to be a captain multiple seasons.
- Nelson produced a career-high 29 points during his junior season, totaling 13 goals and 16 assists. The forward was exceptional on the power play, scoring a team-best seven goals in the 2025-26 campaign.
- Paul Fischer will assume the role as the alternate captain for the second consecutive season.
- Fischer enjoyed his most productive season in 2025-26 for the Irish with a career-high 23 points off six goals and 17 assists.
- The leadership group to don letters in 2026-27 have combined to skate in 205 games in their Irish careers and amassed 138 points.
EXHIBITION WRAPUP
- Notre Dame unofficially opened the season last weekend with two tuneups at Compton Family Ice Arena.
- The Irish defeated the USNTDP on Friday evening by a score of 4-2 and then picked up an overtime win over the University of Toronto on Saturday by a score of 2-1.
- Will Belle scored twice in the first period in the win over the USNTDP and Evan Werner and Sammy Nelson each notched goal of their own in the contest.
- Cole Brown scored in the final five minutes of regulation to equalize against Toronto before Paul Fischer won it for the Irish in the first minute of overtime in a 4-on-3 power play.
- Nicholas Kempf got the win in between the pipes in Friday’s game and Patrick Quinlan picked up the win on Saturday.
RETURNING POINTS leader
- Notre Dame’s top point producer from the 2025-26 season returns for his senior season, as Evan Werner recorded a career-high 34 points last year to pace the Fighting Irish.
- Werner posted career-highs in both goals and assists with 17 apiece.
- The junior posted his first career hat trick in his first season with the Fighting Irish with three goals against Wisconsin.
- Werner also finished the season with three games of four points (St. Lawrence - 10/16/25, Wisconsin - 2/6/26, Ohio State - 3/5/26).
- The Texas native recorded multiple points in seven games during the 2025-26 campaign.
THE NELSON TRIO
- Notre Dame features three brothers on this season’s team as Henry (oldest), Danny (middle) and Sammy Nelson (youngest) will all see plenty of ice for the Irish during the 2026-27 campaign.
- Danny finished his junior season tied for second on the team in goals with 13 while adding 16 assists for 29 points.
- Danny scored seven of his goals on the power play to rank 12th in the country for power play goals. He enters this season with 14 power play goals in his career which ties him for the fourth most in the country of active players at the DI level.
- Henry played in all 37 games for the Fighting Irish during his junior season in South Bend.
- The defenseman posted a career-high 13 points, coming from three goals and 10 assists.
- Henry scored goals against Arizona State, St. Lawrence and Bowling Green.
- Sammy is the most highly touted of the three brothers, as he is a projected first round pick in the 2027 NHL draft.
- The freshman spent the last two seasons with the USNTDP, helping the US win two 5 Nations tournaments during his time in the program.
- Sammy recorded 54 points over 58 games with the USNTDP U18 team during the 2025-26 season prior to joining the Irish.
KEMPF BACK IN GOAL
- Junior shot stopper is back between the pipes for Notre Dame in the 2026-27 campaign.
- The Illinois native logged just under 2,000 minutes in the crease last season for the Irish, playing in 34 games.
- Kempf recorded 980 saves while posting a save percentage of .893.
- Kempf was selected to represent the United States at the 2026 World Junior Championships.
- The junior was selected in the fourth round, 114th overall, by the Washington Capitals in the 2024 NHL Draft.
FISCHER ANCHORS THE BLUE LINE- Senior Paul Fischer has been a mainstay for the Irish as a defenseman, logging 103 career games as he enters his senior season.
- The blue liner has 60 career points off 10 goals and 50 assists.
- Fischer ranks tied for fourth among all active defensemen at the DI level.
- Fifty of the 60 points come from assists, ranking fifth among all active defensemen heading into the 2026-27 campaign.
- The senior is coming off his most productive season in South Bend, as he posted career highs in goals (6) and points (23) in the 2025-26 campaign.
FRESH FACES
- The Fighting Irish welcome nine newcomers to this year’s squad, comprising of four freshmen and five transfers.
- The freshman class consists of the Sammy Nelson (forward), Beckham Edwards (forward), Danny Klaers (defenseman) and Patrick Quinlan (goaltender).
- Edwards was selected in the fifth round of the 2026 NHL Entry Draft by the Detroit Red Wings.
- Klaers served as alternate captain in Muskegon in 2025-26 where he registered 21 points in 43 games played (1-20-21).
- Quinlan spent two seasons with the USNTDP from 2023-25 before spending the 2025-26 season in the OHL with the Sarnia Sting.
- The five transfers added to the roster are Hagen Burrows (forward), Leo Gruba (defenseman), Toby Hopp (goaltender), David Klee (forward) and Michael Quinn (defenseman).
- Burrows appeared in 82 games with Denver over the past two seasons, helping the Pioneers win the 2026 national title. He totaled 25 points off seven goals and 18 assists.
- Gruba comes to the Irish after skating two seasons with the Minnesota Golden Gophers, appearing in 73 games and recording 10 points off three goals and seven assists.
- Hopp spent the prior two seasons in Colorado Springs at the Air Force Academy before making his way to South Bend.
- Klee began his collegiate career at the University of North Dakota, playing in 24 games for the Fighting Hawks while registering six points off three goals and three assists in his freshman season.
- Michael Quinn spent two seasons with the Miami (OH) Redhawks, appearing in all 70 games for them between 2024-26.
NHL NOTES
- When opening night rosters were submitted by all 32 NHL teams, the Irish were highlighted on six, including Anders Lee and Andrew Peeke both on the Utah Mammoth.
- In total, seven former Irish student-athletes were named to their respective teams’ opening night rosters.
- Those alumni include Bryan Rust (PIT), Ian Cole (CHI), Jake Evans (MTL), Anders Lee (UTA), Kyle Palmieri (NYI), Andrew Peeke (UTA) and Spencer Stastney (EDM).
- The Irish had 18 alumni invited to NHL training camps in September, including three individuals from the 2025-26 roster.
- Notre Dame’s co-captain a season ago, Michael Mastrodomenico made his training camp debut with the Los Angeles Kings last month after signing his first professional contract with the Ontario Reign of the American Hockey League.
- Forward Cole Knuble made his NHL training camp debut with the Philadelphia Flyers in September after signing an entry level contract with the NHL club last March, scoring two goals in three games played.
- Forward Sutter Muzzatti made his training camp debut with the Detroit Red Wings in September after signing an entry level contract with the organization in August.
- The 18 Irish alums represent 15 different NHL teams, with the Buffalo Sabres, Chicago Blackhawks and Utah Mammoth all boasting multiple individuals with Irish ties.
FAMILY TIES
- The 2026-27 Notre Dame roster features quite a few family connections to the program and hockey world. One set of brothers is currently on the roster, in Henry, Danny and Sammy Nelson, while one other current player had brothers suit up for the Irish in the past.
- Carter Slaggert’s two older brothers Graham and Landon played their collegiate careers with the Irish and both now compete at the professional level.
- The Irish have had 17 sets of brothers lace up their skates together for the Irish. Henry and Danny Nelson are in their fourth year as teammates at Notre Dame while Carter Slaggert appeared alongside his older brother Landon during his freshman season.
- Slaggert joined the Irish in 2023-24, becoming the third Slaggert brother to appear in a game for the Irish. Oldest brother Graham currently plays in the Buffalo Sabres organization and skated two years alongside middle brother Landon before graduating. Landon was a 2024 graduate of Notre Dame and made his NHL debut for the Chicago Blackhawks in March 2024.
- The Slaggerts are part of the fifth set of father-son combinations to suit up for the Irish, joining their father Andy Slaggert.
- Senior Paul Fischer is the nephew of Mike Gearen, a member of the first varsity hockey team at Notre Dame. Fischer honors his uncle by wearing his number during his career with the Irish, No. 16.
- Irish forward David Klee, a sophomore transfer in 2026-27, hails from NHL bloodline as his dad Ken Klee spent 14 seasons in the league while playing in 934 regular season games.
- Klee’s brothers also played hockey at the collegiate level as Garrett played at Northern Michigan and Mason played at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and Ohio State.
- Maddox Fleming’s two sisters will lace up their skates this season for their respective NCAA Division I programs. Sister Delaney is a senior on the Cornell University women’s hockey team while Sawyer is a sophomore on the Princeton women’s hockey team.