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Notre Dame Hockey: Irish should return to the NCAA Tournament next year

By Jack Leniart

MANCHESTER, NH - MARCH 30: The Notre Dame Fighting Irish stand on the blue line before a game against the Massachusetts Minutemen during the NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Northeast Regional Championship final at the SNHU Arena on March 30, 2019 in Manchester, New Hampshire. The Minutemen won 4-0 to advance to the Frozen Four for the first time in school history. (Photo by Richard T Gagnon/Getty Images)
MANCHESTER, NH - MARCH 30: The Notre Dame Fighting Irish stand on the blue line before a game against the Massachusetts Minutemen during the NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Northeast Regional Championship final at the SNHU Arena on March 30, 2019 in Manchester, New Hampshire. The Minutemen won 4-0 to advance to the Frozen Four for the first time in school history. (Photo by Richard T Gagnon/Getty Images) /
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The Notre Dame Hockey team may have seen their season end due to COVID-19, but they have a lot of talent coming back next year.

The Notre Dame hockey team’s season came to an end this week when it was announced that they would be withdrawing from the NCAA Tournament as a result of COVID-19 protocols. The Irish had positive COVID-19 test results within their “Tier I” personnel group.

That group includes student-athletes, coaches, athletic trainers, medical staff, equipment staff, and officials.

Since this news came to light so close to the start of the tournament, the NCAA will not be bringing in a replacement team to fill the vacated spot. Instead, Notre Dame’s first-round game against Boston College will be ruled a no contest, and the Eagles will advance to the second round.

After the news broke on Thursday, head coach Jeff Jackson said in a statement, “It’s an unfortunate situation and I feel for our guys, especially our seniors. This team was excited about returning to the NCAA tournament and was ready to continue competing after earning the opportunity.”

Notre Dame Hockey has a lot of talent to replace

There are six seniors on Notre Dame’s roster this season including starting goaltender Dylan St. Cyr and three alternate captains: Colin Theisen, Matt Hellickson, and Pierce Crawford.

While the departing seniors will certainly be missed, the Irish should be equipped to make another NCAA Tournament run next season. Notre Dame will bring back eleven of their top twelve players in terms of total points next season.

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Ryan Bischel is in line to win the starting goaltender job next season. The sophomore appeared in ten games for the Irish this past season and saved 89 percent of the shots he faced. Replacing a solid goaltender like St. Cyr is never easy, but whoever steps into that role next season will have a strong supporting cast and hopefully plenty of goal support.

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