January 5, 1999

The Notre Dame hockey team (10-6-2), coming off a split at top-ranked North Dakota, remains among the top 10 of both major national polls, extending the program’s streak to 14 straight weeks that the Irish have been ranked among the top 10 of each poll, with a high ranking of fourth in both polls on Nov. 16 (when the team was 8-1-2).

North Dakota remains first in both polls, followed by Maine, Michigan State and New Hampshire. Colorado College is fifth in the U.S. College Hockey Online poll and sixth in the USA Today/American Hockey Magazine poll while Boston College is sixth and fifth, respectively. Michigan and Princeton are eighth and ninth in both polls, with Ohio State ranking 10th in the USCHO poll and Colgate and Denver sharing 10th in the USA Today poll.

Despite a recent five-game losing streak, Notre Dame’s 1998-99 season has included a 3-2-2 record vs. teams ranked in the national top 10 at the time of the game. The Irish opened with a 2-1 win at then-No. 10 Wisconsin, in front of nearly 14,000 fans at the Kohl Center dedication game, before posting a home win over then-No.9 Ohio State (3-0), a 5-5 tie at former No.1 Boston College and a 2-2 home tie with then-No. 8 Michigan. The Wolverines won the rematch a week later, 1-0 in Ann Arbor.

Notre Dame’s next home game-on Jan. 9 versus Miami-has been sold out for several weeks in anticipation of the team’s first home game since Nov. 20 while the Jan. 30 Michigan game has been sold out since late December. Tickets remain for the Jan. 15-16 weekend series with Alaska Fairbanks while a limited number of tickets are left for the Feb. 5 Michigan State game. Notre Dame’s other remaining home games include Alaska Fairbanks (Feb. 6), Ferris State (Feb. 13) and Northern Michigan (Feb. 26-27).

U.S. COLLEGE HOCKEY ONLINE POLL (1/4/99)

        Team (1st-Place)        Record   Points   Previous     1.  North Dakota (27)  13-2-1   295      1 2.  Maine (2)          12-1-4   254      4     3.  Michigan State (1) 16-3-2   221      6     4.  New Hampshire      13-4-1   199      5        5.  Colorado College   14-5-1   181      2 6.  Boston College     11-5-2   160      7           7.  Michigan           13-4-2   135      3        8.  Princeton          10-3-1    79      8 9.  NOTRE DAME         10-6-2    51      9      10.  Ohio State         10-8-2    24      -

Others Receiving Votes: Colgate 16, Denver 14, St Lawrence 6, Niagara 5, Cornell 3, Clarkson 2, Rensselaer 2.

USA TODAY/AMERICAN HOCKEY MAGAZINE POLL (1/4/99)

Team (1st-Place)        Record   Points   Previous 1.  North Dakota (8)   13-2-1   96        1 2.  Maine (2)          11-1-3   89        4     3.  Michigan State     16-3-2   68        7     4.  New Hampshire      12-4-1   66        5 5.  Boston College     10-5-2   62        6           6.  Colorado College   14-5-1   57        2 7.  Michigan           14-4-2   52        3        8.  Princeton          10-2-1   27        8 9.  NOTRE DAME         10-5-2    9        910.  Colgate            11-5-0    8       1011.  Denver             10-8-0    8        -

Others Receiving Votes: Ohio State 5, St. Lawrence 2, Niagara 1.

NOTRE DAME WEEK-BY-WEEK IN THE NATIONAL HOCKEY POLLS

       ND RECORD  USCHO     USA TODAY10/5   1-0-0      (17)      no poll10/12  3-0-0       no poll  (11)10/19  5-0-0       8         7   10/26  6-1-0       9         711/2   6-1-0       8         711/9   7-1-1       6         611/16  8-1-2       4         411/23  9-2-2       5         811/30  9-3-2       6         712/7   9-5-2      10        1012/14  9-5-2       9         912/21  9-5-2      no poll   no poll12/28  9-5-2       9        no poll1/4   10-6-2       9         9
(   ) = received votes