NOTRE DAME, Ind. – The University of Notre Dame hockey team is set to ring in the New Year with a pair of tilts against Alaska this weekend as they welcome the 9-7-2 Nanooks to town Dec. 31 and Jan. 1.
Returning from their Christmas break, the Irish close out their non-conference slate against independent Alaska. Saturday’s 5:05 p.m. puck drop marks the first meeting between the two teams since 2016-17.
QUICK HITS
- The Irish most recently split with No. 5/5 Penn State, dropping night one before bouncing back to a 5-3 victory Saturday night. In the game two win, Ryan Bischel recorded a career-high 47 saves.
- On the weekend series with the Nittany Lions, Bischel posted 81 saves between the pipes.
- With 570 total saves in 2022-23, the senior netminder ranks second in the nation in the category.
- Against the Nittany Lions to close out the first half of the year, the Irish penalty kill unit allowed just one goal against, a six-on-four chance for Penn State, late in the second game. On the flip side, the Irish posted two powerplay goals in the series, going two-for-three on the man-advantage.
- At the break, the Irish sat 8-8-2 overall, including four wins over nationally-ranked programs.
- The Irish were faced with a grueling schedule late in the first half, having faced a top-12 team for five consecutive weeks. All but one Irish opponent has been recieving votes in the national polls at the time they faced ND.
- After the Nanooks, the Irish dive back into conference play with a trip to Wisconsin before hosting Minnesota ahead of the spring semester.
NOTRE DAME vs. ALASKA
- This series will mark six years to the day that the Irish and Nanooks last met. Having rung in 2017 with the Nanooks on Dec. 31, 2016 and Jan. 1, 2017, the Irish are poised to welcome back the team from Fairbanks in their final non-conference series of the season.
- In their last meeting, the Irish swept the Nanooks, outscoring their opponent 9-0 over the two-game series. Current volunteer assistant coach, Andrew Oglevie, recorded two points in the series (1-1-2) and extended his point streak to five games.
- All-time, the Irish own a 32-25-4 record with the Nanooks and boast a 20-11-1 record on home ice.
TEAM LEADERS
- With two goals against Penn State, Ryder Rolston’s six goals and seven assists leads the Irish with 13 points. He also boasts the most goals on the team while Nick Leivermann sits just behind with five (most among defensemen)
- Chayse Primeau and Trevor Janicke both…