Hockey hosts Michigan in Weekend Series – Notre Dame Fighting Irish – Official Athletics Website

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 game, presented by DICK's Sporting Goods, has a puck drop scheduled for 7:05 p.m. before 6:05 p.m. start the next evening. Saturday night will be the team's annual 525 Foundation pill game. New York Islanders organist Paul Cartier will serve as guest organist for both Friday and Saturday nights against the Wolverines and fans are encouraged to arrive early Friday for a rally towel giveaway.

SERIES OVERVIEW
Opponent: #9/9 Michigan Wolverines | January 10-11
Location: South Bend, Ind. | Compton Family Ice Arena
Schedule: 7:00 PM (Fri.) | 6:00 PM (Sat.)
Television: Peacock
Live stats: FightingIrish.com
Radio: fightirish.com/radioaffiliates/
Game Notes: Our Lady

FAST HITS

• Notre Dame and Michigan face off again this weekend after meeting earlier in November when the Irish traveled to Ann Arbor for a two-game series.
• The weekend series for Compton Family Ice Arena will kick off Friday, January 10 at 7:05 PM, followed by a 6:05 PM start on Saturday to conclude the regular season series between the two squads.
• The Irish are coming off a weekend series against Penn State, in which the two teams faced each other for the first time at an outdoor venue.
• Friday's game marked Notre Dame's fourth-ever appearance in an outdoor game, 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 on Friday night, the team's first shootout of the season. After the Nittany Lions scored in the first round of the shootout, Hunter Strand tied the score in round two. Nicholas Kempf stopped seven straight shots in the shootout to earn 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 game with the design intended to replicate that of the iconic Chicago flag and the Chicago Cubs (MLB).
• Notre Dame's signature leprechaun was featured on the front of the white jersey in the C of the Cubs organization, while the stripes on the sleeves put an Irish twist on the city's flag, replacing the bold red stars with gold shamrocks .
• The teams wrapped up the weekend Sunday with the first Compton Family Ice Arena game of the new year, where the Irish lost 3-0 to Penn State.
• The Irish ended the first half of the season with a trip to Columbus, Ohio to take on the Buckeyes.
• Through two games, Danny Nelson led the team with a pair of goals, while Nicholas Kempf made a career-best 41 saves in Friday's overtime game.
• The Irish team returned 19 student-athletes from the 2023-2024 roster, including 11 forwards, six defensemen and two goaltenders. The forwards include graduated senior Grant Silianoff and seniors Justin Janicke, Hunter Strand and Tyler Carpenter. The returning defensemen include four players who appeared in the final series of the 2023-2024 season: Michael Mastrodomenico, Paul Fischer, Zach Plucinski and Henry Nelson.
• Notre Dame returns two 20-plus point scorers from a season ago as Danny Nelson (14-9-23) and Cole Knuble (11-9-20) are now in their second seasons with the Irish.
• A total of eight returners scored double-digit points last season. In addition to Nelson and Knuble, Hunter Strand (15-4-19), Justin Janicke (4-12-16), Paul Fischer (14-2-16), Brennan Ali (10-3-13), Maddox Fleming (3- 9-12) and Grant Silianoff (4-7-11) are looking to improve on their double-digit performances from a season ago.
• On the last line of defense, the Irish put Jack Williams back in goal and added two new netminders to the mix: Nicholas Kempf (USNTDP) and Owen Say (Mercyhurst).
• The Irish added ten new faces to the team in the 2024-2025 season, including five freshmen and five transfers. The ten newcomers consist of five attackers, three defenders and two goalkeepers.

NOTRE DAME vs. MICHIGAN

• The Irish and Wolverines have met 169 times in program history, with the Wolverines holding an 87-76-6 record against the Irish.
• At Notre Dame, the Irish hold a slight edge over the Wolverines, with a 33-32-2 all-time record against their rival in South Bend, Indiana.
• Earlier this season, Brennan Ali led the team with two goals at Yost Ice Arena, scoring the first Irish goal in both matches.
• Jaedon Kerr assisted on Ali's second goal of the weekend and picked up his first collegiate point.