Holy War on Ice


The Holy War on Ice refers to the college ice hockey series between Boston College and Notre Dame. Boston College is a member of the Hockey East conference, while Notre Dame is a member of the Big Ten for ice hockey. The two teams first met in 1969, predating the football rivalry from which the hockey series gets its name.
The teams play for the Lefty Smith – John "Snooks" Kelley Memorial Trophy.

History

The men's ice hockey series between the two schools originated in 1969, predating the football rivalry. Since Jerry York began his tenure as coach at BC in 1994, the series has been played regularly, receiving the moniker "Holy War on Ice," a reference to the football rivalry.
Boston College leads the all-time series 24–20–2, with the last meeting resulting in a 6–1 Eagles victory on December 8, 2019 in South Bend.
The victor of the annual game between the Eagles and Irish is awarded the Lefty Smith – John "Snooks" Kelley Memorial Trophy, named for the teams' coaches when the series began in 1969.
In 2008, the two schools met in the 2008 Frozen Four final in Denver, CO, the first time the Eagles and Irish have met in the NCAA Tournament. Boston College skated to a 4–1 victory, claiming their third national championship and denying Notre Dame, a four-seed, the program's first.
Notre Dame joined Boston College in Hockey East in 2013. At the same time, the school's other non-football sports joined Boston College's primary conference, the Atlantic Coast Conference, expanding the 2-sport rivalry into an all-sports one.
The two teams met in the 2014 Hockey East Tournament, in the first year of Notre Dame's league membership, playing in the best-of-three Quarterfinals at BC's Kelley Rink. The Eagles were the top seed of the tournament, having won the conference's regular season title, whereas the Irish, who defeated Boston University 3–2 in the Opening round, were seeded 8th. The Irish defeated the Eagles in three games, winning the first and third game, with the Eagles winning the second game. This marked the first time since 2004 that BC had lost in the quarterfinal round of the Hockey East tournament, as well as the first time they were knocked out of the tournament by an 8th seeded team, also in 2004. The Irish's first advancement in the Hockey East tournament was met by a loss to the eventual winners UMass Lowell in the semifinal.

Game results

Series facts