When college sports fans hear Notre Dame, they usually think of Knute Rockne, Golden Domers and Touchdown Jesus. This year, however, another group of Fighting Irish is making a name for itself in the world of college hockey.
For the first time in school history, Notre Dame has achieved a No. 1 ranking in the USA Today and USCHA polls with a 23-5-2 record and a 17-3-2 record in the Central Collegite Hockey Association. This is from a team that has never finished first in any conference at the varsity level.
The man behind the bench for the Fighting Irish is second-year coach Jeff Jackson, who is coming out of a 10-year retirement. At his first job, Jackson led the Lake Superior State Lakers to two national championships, including a win over Wisconsin in the 1992 title game. His experience as the head coach of the under-18 national team makes him a strong recruiter and has helped bring in many of the talented pieces of this season's squad.
The balanced Notre Dame offense features four 20-point scorers, including sophomore wing Erik Condra, who is leading the team in points for the second consecutive season, and freshman Ryan Thang, who tops the team with 16 goals. Four of the top five point scorers on the team are underclassmen, a testament to Jackson's recruiting skills.
In net the Irish boast underrated senior David Brown, who has started 100 games in his career and holds the school record for shutouts. Brown plays the ""Butterfly"" style of goaltending, popularized by NHL-great Patrick Roy. This season he has taken his game to another level, posting a miniscule 1.70 GAA (.75 below his career mark) and is saving 92 percent of the pucks that come his way.
Statistically Notre Dame is one of the best teams in the country both offensively and defensively. The Fighting Irish rank sixth in the nation in scoring with 3.67 goals per game and allow only 1.73 goals per game, the second best in the country. Overall Notre Dame is wining its games on average by almost two goals.
Notre Dame has had an interesting yet unspectacular history in the world of college hockey. The program floated in and out of varsity status between its birth in 1912 and its solidifying into a true program in 1968.
Even after the Irish became a varsity program, they still had a long road ahead. The team endured spots as an independent, a WCHA team and a CCHA team, and even a one-year return to club status before finding a final home in the CCHA.
Success on the ice for Notre Dame was rarely found for most of its history. The team finished second twice in the WCHA and posted one incredible 24-4-2 season as an independent. In their current conference, the highest the Irish have ever finished was fourth place in 1999 and 2004.
However, all has not been bad in South Bend, as Notre Dame has produced seven All Americans and in 2004 celebrated its first trip to the NCAA hockey tournament.
This season not much was expected from Notre Dame. Last season Notre Dame made a 15-point jump from the five-win season the year before that got former coach Dave Poulin fired, but even with that said, this season's success was a huge surprise. Few critics even picked Notre Dame to finish in the top half of the CCHA.
The Irish are in the midst of a dream season, which will assuredly continue into their second NCAA post season in school history. Their youthful talent and the wizened coaching of Jackson will make for a dangerous combination come tournament time.
While the Irish football team has played below expectations the past few seasons, fans of the Blue and Gold can take solace in the fact that at least for now they sit atop the college hockey world.
