Irish senior center T.J. Tynan was named MVP of the 2012 Ice Breaker Tournament, won by Notre Dame in Oct. of 2012.

Irish To Host 2014 Ice Breaker Tournament At Compton Family Ice Arena

July 23, 2013

Notre Dame, Ind. – The Notre Dame Fighting Irish will get an early start to the 2014-15 hockey season as they will play host to the 2014 Ice Breaker Tournament at the Compton Family Ice Arena in Oct. of 2014. The announcement came today by College Hockey Inc., who manages the tournament on behalf of the Hockey Commissioners Association (HCA). College Hockey Inc., also announced that the University of Maine would play host in 2015 at the Cumberland County Civic Center in Portland, Maine.

In making the announcement, Mike Snee, the Executive Director of College Hockey Inc., said, “The Ice Breaker will be visiting two fantastic venues in 2014 and ’15, arenas that showcase college hockey in their own unique way. We are thrilled to work with Notre Dame and Maine on these tournaments and look forward to celebrating the start of the 2014 and ’15 seasons in these terrific settings.”

For Notre Dame, this marks the fourth time that the Irish will have played in the tournament, having appeared in 1999, 2010 and 2012. They won the 2012 tournament in Kansas City with wins over Maine (1-0) and Nebraska-Omaha (3-2). Joining Notre Dame in the 2014 tournament will be the University of Minnesota, the University of Minnesota Duluth and Rensselaer.

“This is an awesome opportunity for our university and hockey program to host the prestigious Ice Breaker Tournament in October, 2014,” said Notre Dame head coach Jeff Jackson.

“The event deserves to be held at campus sites and there is none better than the Compton Family Ice Arena. Our alumni, students and loyal fans will be treated to some great hockey to start the 2014-15 season.”

This marks the first time that Notre Dame has hosted the tournament. In 1999, the Irish finished third in Denver, Colo, losing to Providence College (2-1) in the opener before defeating Union (4-0) in the third-place game. In 2010, Notre Dame lost in the championship game in the tournament held in St. Louis, Mo. The Irish defeated Holy Cross (6-3) before falling to Boston University in the title game (5-4).

Minnesota will play host to the 2013 Ice Breaker, Oct. 11-12, at Mariucci Arena, as the Gophers will host Clarkson, Mercyhurst and New Hampshire.

Maine will make its third appearance in the Ice Breaker and play host for the second time in 2015 in Portland, Me. The Black Bears hosted in 2001 at Alfond Arena in Orono, Me., and participated in the 2012 tournament in Kansas City in a field that included Notre Dame.

The Cumberland County Civic Center is set to undergo a $33 million modernization that will be complete prior to the 2015 Ice Breaker. The facility, which will seat approximately 6,500 fans, is home to the AHL’s Portland Pirates and regularly hosts Maine games.

Ticket packages and other information about the 2014 and ’15 Ice Breaker Tournaments will be announced by each school as the events get closer.

Tournament History
Year Host Site Field
1997 Wisconsin Dane County Coliseum BU, Clarkson, MSU, Wisconsin1998 Minnesota Mariucci Arena BC, Minnesota, OSU, St. Lawrence1999 Denver Magness Arena DU, Notre Dame, Providence, Union2000 Michigan Yost Arena Colgate, Mich., UNH, No. Dakota2001 Maine Alfond Arena BGSU, Clarkson, Maine, St. Cloud2002 Wisconsin Kohl Center BU, No. Michigan, RPI, Wisconsin2003 Michigan State Munn Arena BC, Findlay, Minn. Duluth, MSU2004 New Hampshire Whittemore Center UNH, OSU, St. Cloud, St. Lawrence2005 Colorado College World Arena Air Force, CC, Maine, Union2006 Miami University Goggin Ice Arena Colgate, Denver, Miami, Vermont2007 Minnesota Xcel Energy Center BC, Michigan, Minnesota, RPI2008 Boston University Agganis Arena BU, UMass, MSU, No. Dakota2009 Nebraska Omaha Qwest Center Army, UMass Lowell, UNO, SLU2010 St. Louis Sports Scottrade Center BU, Holy Cross, Notre Dame, UW2011 North Dakota Ralph Engelstad Arena Air Force, BC, MSU, North Dakota2012 Kansas City Sports Sprint Center Army, Maine, UNO, Notre Dame2013 Minnesota Mariucci Arena Clarkson, Mercyhurst, Minn., UNH2014 Notre Dame Compton Family Ice Arena Minnesota, UMD, Notre Dame, RPI2015 Maine Cumberland Co. Civic Ctr. Maine and three teams TBD