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The University of Notre Dame men’s hockey team has been strapped into a seemingly never-ending rollercoaster ride all season. The Fighting Irish started strongly out of the gate at 3-0, out-scoring their opponents 13-4. The team then went 2-2 over their next four games, beginning November with a very respectable 5-2 record. With seven games to go before the 2024 Friendship Four, however, the Irish found themselves on the world’s longest rollercoaster drop, tanking their season with a brutal seven-game losing streak, in which they were out-scored 14-31 by their opponents. Rough.

Despite this up-and-down season so far, two players from the Fighting Irish continue to perform at an elite level: sophomore forward Cole Knuble, the son of former NHL player Mike Knuble, and junior goalie Owen Say. Even though he has missed three games, Knuble still leads the team in goals (6) and points (14), and his 0.55 goals per game ranks 31st in NCAA Division I Men’s Hockey. Perhaps even more impressive, though, is how Owen Say has managed to maintain a .926 save percentage, good for 17th in DI hockey, despite the lackluster defense in front of him.

Moving forward, the Irish have much ahead of them to salvage the season. In early January, “The Frozen Confines: Big Ten Hockey Series” begins, where they will play some of the biggest names in the sport, including: Penn State, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio State and Michigan State. A good showing in this tournament would set them up nicely, as the 2025 B1G Men’s Hockey Tournament and the 2025 NCAA Men’s Ice Hockey Tournament will immediately follow the Big Ten Hockey Series throughout March. It’s safe to say that the best and most exciting hockey is ahead for Notre Dame.