Notre Dame hockey travels to Massachusetts over Thanksgiving break for a pair of matchups against foes on the East Coast. The Irish (3-8-1, 0-6-0 Big Ten) will face Merrimack (5-6-0, 3-5-0 Hockey East) on Wednesday at Lawler Arena before taking on No. 15 Boston College (7-5-1, 5-3-0 Hockey East) Friday.
The Irish are 8-5-1 all-time against Merrimack, though the two have not played since Notre Dame exited Hockey East after the 2016-17 season. On the other hand, this will be the 50th meeting on the ice between Boston College and Notre Dame. The two did not play last season, but the Eagles hammered Notre Dame 6-1 at Compton Family Ice Arena on Black Friday 2023.
The Irish were not in action over the weekend, on bye after being swept by No. 1 Michigan State on Nov. 14-15. Brock Sheahan’s team is winless in its last seven games played, matching last year’s seven-game losing streak in the month of November.
Now, Notre Dame will be seeking its first win since Oct. 24 this week. Here are three keys to victory for the Irish on their New England swing:
1. Score the first goal
Brock Sheahan sort of brushed off the significance of scoring the first goal after the 3-1 loss to Michigan State on Nov. 15. But there’s no doubt that Notre Dame’s penchant for allowing its opponent to score first has hurt the Irish this season.
In 10 of its 12 contests, Notre Dame has allowed the first goal. It’s 2-7-1 in those games. The Irish, so far this season, do not look like they’re built to come from behind. They’ve got a strong netminder in sophomore Nicholas Kempf, a clicking power play (more on that later) and enough depth to win hockey games even when they’re not the most talented team on the ice. But Notre Dame has struggled to get a lead over the last few weeks, and a guy like Kempf can’t steal a game if his team never leads.
Notre Dame never led in its last two series at Minnesota and against Michigan State. For what it’s worth, Boston College boasts a 6-1-1 mark when scoring first. Merrimack is 3-1-0.
2. Get right at 5-on-5
Notre Dame failed to score a goal at 5-on-5 in its last series against Michigan State, and the Irish have only scored three 5-on-5 goals over this seven-game winless streak. It’s not for a lack of chances, either.
The 5-on-5 finishing ability has been an exercise in patience for Notre Dame. The Irish arguably generated more scoring chances than the No. 1 Spartans at 5-on-5 in the Nov. 15 contest, and did the same at Minnesota the Saturday prior. The pucks just haven’t gone in the net.
The Irish have doubled down on their process throughout the scoring drought.
“That’s kind of the message in the locker room right now, is just keep pushing,” captain and junior forward Danny Nelson said Nov. 15. “If we keep playing this game over and over, eventually, we’ll get success.”
It would be a breath of fresh air for Notre Dame to see its scoring chances at 5-on-5 translate into goals this week. As mentioned above, the Irish power play has been strong to start the year, clicking along at a 30.6% rate, good for third in the country. It has prevented scoring from drying up entirely over the last few weeks.
But even a stellar power play isn’t dangerous enough to win games on its own, and it won’t this week in Massachusetts. The Warriors and Eagles will also bring strong power plays to the series. Both teams are above 24% on the season and rank 13th and 16th, respectively. The Irish will need to win this week at 5-on-5.
3. Neutralize young scoring talent
Young talent has led the way for both Merrimack and Boston College to start this season.
The top four scorers for each team are all in their first or second season playing college hockey. Sophomore Nick Pierre leads the Warriors with six goals, including two in their last game against Long Island. Classmate Trevor Hoskin, a fourth-round draft selection of the Calgary Flames in 2024, leads the team with 12 points.
The Eagles, on the other hand, have an embarrassment of riches with 12 NHL draft picks on their roster. An astonishing six of those 12 are Boston Bruins selections. That level of talent can seemingly score at will, and the Eagles have struck for seven goals twice in their last four games. They, too, are led by sophomores: James Hagens and Jake Sondreal lead the team in points with 13, and Hagens is tied with junior Ryan Conmy for the team lead in goals with six.
The average age of these talented Eagles is just 20.11 years, the third-youngest team in the country. That youthful lineup has struggled, oddly, at Conte Forum this season. The Eagles are 5-1-1 on the road but just 2-4-0 at home.
Both games over the break are matinees. The puck drops at 2 p.m. on Wednesday and 1 p.m. on Friday. Fans can stream both games on ESPN+ or listen live on the Notre Dame Radio Network.