Dec. 17, 2013
Notre Dame, Ind. – The Notre Dame hockey team will return to its roots to close out the final day of 2013 on Tuesday, December 31, when they take practice from the Compton Family Ice Arena outdoors for the Seventh Annual “Practice on the Pond,” at Merrifield Park in Mishawaka, Ind. The outdoor practice is scheduled to start at 4:00 p.m. and is free and open to the public.
This popular outdoor practice gives fans a chance to meet the Notre Dame hockey team and to get autographs from their favorite players.
WSBT’s Real Country 99.9 FM and Sunny 101.5 FM will be on hand for the event with Mark Orlando from 3:00 to 5:00 p.m. and will have hockey prizes and memorabilia that fans at Merrifield Park’s rink will have a chance to win.
Free hot chocolate will be provided to all fans in attendance. Dress warm and come watch the Irish hockey team up close and personal.
This marks Notre Dame hockey’s seventh trip to practice outdoors at Merrifield Park with the first practice coming in January of the 2007-08 season. For area fans this will be an opportunity to some time on New Years Eve with the Irish hockey team as they prepare for their Jan. 4 game outdoors at Fenway Park against Boston College.
The Irish finished the first half of the season with a 10-7-1 record overall and are 3-4-1 in Hockey East play this season. Notre Dame is currently ranked 14th in the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine poll and 13th in the USCHO.com rankings. The Irish last played on Dec. 7 and are now taking finals before breaking for the Christmas holidays. They return to the ice on Dec. 28 and will use part of the time at Merrifield Park to work on playing outdoors.
Ring in the New Year a little bit early with Fighting Irish hockey as they “Practice on the Pond,” beginning at 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 31 at Merrifield Park.