THE NOTRE DAME – BOSTON COLLEGE SERIES
- Longtime rivals and four year Hockey East foes, Notre Dame and Boston College have met every season since 1995-96 with the exception of the 1999-2000, 2005-06, 2017-18 and 2020-21 seasons.
- In Jerry York (1,118) and Jeff Jackson (546), the game will feature the two top active leaders in NCAA DI head coaching wins.
- Boston College holds a slight edge in the all-time series, 23-20-3, which began Dec. 20, 1969.
- The teams were slated to face each other in the first round of the 2021 NCAA Tournament before the game was declared a no contest due to COVID-19 protocols within the Irish program.
- In the most recent meetings in 2019-20, Boston College swept a home-and-home series on Dec. 6 and 8, 2019 by scores of 4-0 and 6-1.
- Notre Dame posted a 4-0 win at the Compton Family Ice Arena on New Year’s Eve 2018 that featured goals from current Irish Matt Hellickson, Matt Steeves, Colin Theisen.
- In 2016-17, the Irish and Eagles split their regular-season Hockey East series in their final meetings as conference opponents (Notre Dame won 3-2 at home on Dec. 10, BC then posted a 6-4 win on Jan. 28 at Conte Forum).
- In that meeting at the Compton Family Ice Arena on Dec. 10, 2016, the Irish faced a two-goal deficit against third-ranked Boston College but rallied for a comeback win on two goals by Anders Bjork and an Andrew Oglevie tally.
- Bjork buried the shorthanded, game-winner for the Irish at 17:30 of the second to lift the Irish to the win.
- Notre Dame also had a notable comeback against the Eagles at Conte Forum on Dec. 10, 2015 when they trailed 3-1 at 7:05 of the third period but rallied to score three straight goals to post a 4-3, come-from-behind win at third-ranked Boston College (Dennis Gilbert had the game winner).
- The Eagles helped dedicate the Compton Family Ice Arena on Nov. 18, 2011 as No. 4 Notre Dame downed No. 3 BC, 3-2 in overtime when Bryan Rust scored with 1.1 seconds remaining.
- Boston College led the first half of the series, going 14-7-2 against the Irish from 1969- 2002, but Notre Dame has led the rivalry since, going 12-10-0 since 2003.
- The teams met in the 2014 Hockey East quarterfinals with Notre Dame claiming the best-of-three series at Conte Forum in Chestnut Hill, Mass., upsetting the top-seeded Eagles.
- Other notable meetings include a 4-3 BC win at Fenway Park (Jan. 4, 2014), while BC also defeated the Irish 4-1 in the 2008 NCAA Championship Game in Denver, Colorado (Notre Dame’s first appearance in the NCAA Championship game).
STEPPING UP
- Several Fighting Irish skaters have increased their point totals this season over the past few years.
- After a freshman season with one goal in eight games and a sophomore season with 16 points in 24 games (5-11-16), Max Ellis has 14 goals and 10 assists for a career-best 24 points in 23 games.
- Ellis posted the first hat trick of his career, capped by scoring the overtime game-winning goal, at Michigan on Nov. 20 marking the first visiting player to record a hat trick at Yost Ice Arena in 15 years (2006).
- In 23 games this season, Cam Burke has eight goals and eight assists for 16 points, all of which represent career-high totals for the senior.
- Solag Bakich has a career-high 13 points (4-9-13) in 19 games this season after scoring once in 10 games as a freshman and then notching seven points (4-3-7) in 28 games as a sophomore.
- Ryder Rolston had six points on a goal and five assists last season as a freshman and now has six goals and 12 assists for 18 points in 23 games as a sophomore.
- Defenseman Jake Boltmann joined the Irish for the second semester last season, skating in 19 games (0 points).
- This season, Boltmann has a goal and eight assists for nine points in 23 games.