Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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Under the Dome Irish Will Skate On Frozen Fenway Notre Dame hockey can keep its toe-warmers and eye black at the ready next season. A little less than a year after the program's first outdoor game at Solider Field, the Irish will be playing in the elements again next season, this time against Boston College at Fenway Park. The game against the hometown Eagles is scheduled for Jan. 4, 2014, and will be part of a four-game series featuring eight different Hockey East teams during the first week of January. Notre Dame is set to join the Hockey East at the start of the 2013- The doubleheader at Chicago's Soldier Field this past February — 14 season. which included Notre Dame, Miami "We are particu- (Ohio), Minnesota and Wisconsin — larly pleased that drew 52,051 fans. with these two photo by Matt Cashore/ notre dame media relations doubleheaders, all of our men's programs will have had the opportunity to experience Frozen Fenway, including the University of Notre Dame, our newest member," league commissioner Joe Bertagna said. The upcoming event will be the third time since 2010 that Boston's iconic ballpark hosts "Frozen Fenway." Boston College participated in the first two in 2010 and 2012. Notre Dame played its first outdoor game in February, a 3-1 win over Miami (Ohio) in Chicago. Notre Dame's players and coaches said they enjoyed the experience and would be happy to do it again in similar weather conditions. "It's another great venue. We were fortunate to play at Soldier Field, and now we're playing at one of the most famous baseball fields in the country, if not the most," Notre Dame head coach Jeff Jackson said. "It'll be a unique experience, plus playing BC is always fun. I'm sure that will make it that much more of an experience for our guys." Hype Starts To Build For Stephon Tuitt Stephon Tuitt's name started popping up on award watch lists early in May when the Lott Impact Trophy tabbed him as a candidate. The junior defensive end will likely land on several similar lists during the summer months. Tuitt had a breakout sophomore season in 2012, collecting 47 tackles and 12 sacks despite playing the second half of the season with a sports hernia. The Georgia native gained weight after an operation in the spring and finished the spring at 322 pounds. He is expected to threaten Notre Dame's single-season sack record if he remains at full health throughout the season. "I would say his consistency in his approach [has improved] and he's much more aggressive," defensive line coach Mike Elston said. "I've been very happy with that. He gets disappointed in himself when he doesn't fit a certain play properly or if he doesn't do well on a play." Tuitt and fellow defensive lineman Louis Nix III have also received their fair share of ink in early 2014 NFL Draft projections. Both players will still have a year of eligibility remaining after next fall, but most experts believe they will be firstround picks if they opt to leave school. ESPN analyst Mel Kiper Jr. lists Nix as the seventh-best prospect, and Tuitt is not far behind at 13th overall. The only defensive lineman Kiper lists ahead of that duo is South Carolina star Jadeveon Clowney. Sports Illustrated's first mock draft had Nix pegged as the eighth pick and Tuitt as the 13th. Tuitt is the third overall pick on Athlon Sports' list where Nix comes in at No. 11.