I would love to see Notre Dame hockey start competing again on a
national level.  I'm from South Bend, and I remember attending many
games in 1984-85 where the attendence was around 100 people.  My
friends and I were the only high school kids there.
 
My impression is that Lefty Smith ran a rather rough show.  Three
years of season tickets to Cornell games yielded 0 glove-off
slug-it-out fights, but I saw quite a few at Notre Dame, even a
bench-clearing free-for-all.  Lefty's boys, looking back at it, did
take a lot of cheap shots at opponents compared to ECAC teams.  The
same game Brent Chapman set the all-time scoring mark at Notre Dame,
he also set the all-time penalty minute mark.  His comment was
something like, "Well, I'm a well-rounded player."
 
It should be noted that hockey is just not big in South Bend, and has
NEVER and will never come anywhere near football.  I guess that's
understandable.  Basketball - maybe hockey will come close, if things
continue like they have.  (Reliable source says no way Digger will be
fired - I guess that's good news for the hockey program...)
 
Best wishes to Coach Schafer (sorry if that's spelled wrong).  Can't
wait to see the ACC packed with extra bleachers and the ND pep band,
like in the old days...
 
Nate