Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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ND SPORTS worked to add more tournaments to his team's schedule in recent years. Jackson likes the buzz they can create around the program and the way it pre- pares the team to play different styles of competition in a short time span, an important lesson for postseason play. "You have to be ready for different styles of play on a nightly basis," he said at the start of last year's playoffs. If Jackson's team makes it into the NCAA Tournament again this spring, it will likely enjoy a rare home-ice ad- vantage. The three-year-old rink was selected as one of the tournament's host sites for the 2015 playoffs. "This is a big deal," Jackson said. "It's important for our fans, our alumni and the community to back this tourna- ment. There is no guarantee that we will be in it. It will be great hockey, some of the best ever played in this building, and hopefully we will be a part of it." The wealth of talent coming to South Bend this year will likely mean that the Irish have a slightly less hazardous road course to chart for their second go-round in the Hockey East. The Irish made their debut in the 11-team confer- ence last year by facing the league's top four finishers on the road. This season, all four of them will travel to Notre Dame. The Irish play at home throughout the entire month of October. They play eight games at Compton before traveling to Minnesota Nov. 7. The regular season begins Oct. 10 with the Ice Breaker Tournament featuring Rensselaer, Minnesota and Minnesota- Duluth. ✦ 2014-15 HOCKEY SCHEDULE Date Opponent Time (ET) Oct. 5 Waterloo# 5:05 p.m. Oct. 10 Rensselaer* 7:35 p.m. Oct. 12 TBD* 3:35 p.m. Oct. 17 Lake Superior State 7:35 p.m. Oct. 18 Lake Superior State 6:05 p.m. Oct. 24 Niagara 7:35 p.m. Oct. 25 Niagara 7:05 p.m. Oct.31 Vermont 8:05 p.m. Nov. 1 Vermont 7:05 p.m. Nov. 7 at Minnesota TBA Nov. 9 at Minnesota TBA Nov. 14 at Merrimack 7 p.m. Nov. 15 at Merrimack 7 p.m. Nov. 20 UMass-Lowell 7:35 p.m. Nov. 21 UMass-Lowell 7:35 p.m. Nov. 28 Union^ 7:35 p.m. Nov. 29 TBD^ 7:35 p.m. Dec. 5 at Massachusetts 7 p.m. Dec. 6 at Massachusetts 7 p.m. Dec. 28 vs. Miami (Ohio)% 4:05 p.m. Dec. 29 vs. TBD% TBA Jan. 9 at Western Michigan 7 p.m. Jan. 10 Western Michigan 6:05 p.m. Jan. 16 Connecticut 7:35 p.m. Jan. 18 vs. Connecticut& 2 p.m. Jan. 23 at Northeastern 7 p.m. Jan. 24 at Northeastern 7 p.m. Jan. 30 New Hampshire 7:35 p.m. Jan. 31 New Hampshire 6:35 p.m. Feb. 6 at Maine 7:05 p.m. Feb. 7 at Maine 7:05 p.m. Feb. 13 Providence 7:35 p.m. Feb. 14 Providence 8:05 p.m. Feb. 20 at Boston University 7:05 p.m. Feb. 21 at Boston University 7:05 p.m. Feb. 27 Boston College 7:35 p.m. Feb. 28 Boston College 6:05 p.m. # Exhibition game; * Ice Breaker Tournament; ^ Shillelagh Tournament; % Florida College Hockey Classic at Estero, Fla.; & Bridgeport, Conn.