Cole Brown reached back and pulled the monkey off his shoulders.
It had been a month and 10 days since his last goal, and over a month since his team’s last win. When the freshman forward skated past the visitor’s bench at Lawler Arena, bumping fists with his Irish teammates, Notre Dame’s six-game losing streak remained an issue in doubt.
The Irish showed why just 34 seconds later. Leading Merrimack 4-3 with 6:38 remaining in the first game of their New England road swing, the Irish saw their lead evaporate. Again. They’d already led the game once in the first period, watched three consecutive Warrior goals go past starting netminder Nicholas Kempf and come back to take the lead in the third. Seven-game winless streaks do not go away easily, though, and Merrimack freshman forward Justin Gill reminded the Irish of that with a 4-4 tap-in less than a minute after Notre Dame stole the lead.
Brown beat everyone to the back post and hammered home the game-winner on his very next shift. No more monkeys. No more losing streak.
Though they did not complete the Hockey East sweep this week, Notre Dame (4-9-1, 0-6-0 Big 10) can be grateful this Thanksgiving to have escaped a month of frustration. A 5-4 win at Merrimack (5-7-0, 3-5-0 Hockey East) on Wednesday and a 5-3 loss at No. 15 Boston College (8-5-1, 5-3-0 Hockey East) on Friday taught Notre Dame much about what they can do in 2026.
In Wednesday’s matinee at Merrimack, Notre Dame learned that losing streaks do not end easily, but they do end. Nothing came easily today for the Irish. Over the course of the last month, Notre Dame has remained committed to their process, consistently insisting that results do not carry the same importance as well-rounded play. But there’s no doubt that a month without results has worn on the Irish and their first-year head coach Brock Sheahan. With only four games remaining before Christmas break and a Big 10 conference gauntlet looming, Notre Dame needed this result in North Andover, Massachusetts.
Needing that result, their best players came to play. Veteran junior forward Evan Werner ensured the Irish got off to a good start, giving his team the first goal of the game for only the fourth time this season. Then, trailing 3-1 entering the third, junior Cole Knuble took over the game, scoring once to ignite the Irish and then assisting on each of the next three goals. He generated plenty of scoring opportunities that didn’t show up on the score sheet, too. Captain Danny Nelson scored to tie the game on the power play. And then, of course, there’s Brown, the freshman forward who showed so much offensive promise throughout the start of the season, but — much like the squad as a whole — produced no results on the scoresheet.
Until today. Notre Dame needed him and all of its best players to end a difficult month. They showed up to play.
The holes in their game that have plagued Notre Dame lingered too, no doubt. When Merrimack sophomore forward Nick Pierre split the Irish defense at their own blue line and tucked a breakaway goal past Kempf at 15:59 of the first, it became apparent that Notre Dame was not going to make things easy for themselves. Sophomore defenseman Jimmy Jurcev’s ill-advised offensive-zone hooking penalty early in the second period led to another Merrimack goal on the power play by sophomore forward Caelan Fitzpatrick.
Notre Dame was losing. They became rattled. They conceded another less than four minutes later, when freshman Nolan Flamand poked a bouncing point shot behind Kempf. Down two in the second, it seemed at times that Knuble alone attempted to drag Notre Dame back into the game; he hit the post. And he was knocked to the ice with a high hit by freshman Filip Nordberg, who the referees gave a five-minute major for head contact. Notre Dame’s power play, averaging an over 30% success rate, failed to score.
Kempf kept Notre Dame in it all the while. He made 31-of-35 shots, none more important than those which kept the game at 3-1 when Merrimack smelled blood in the water. He gave the team time for its best players to win this game, and, for the first time in a month, they did. Notre Dame pulled the monkey off their backs.
In Friday’s contest at Boston College, Kempf could not bolster the Irish to an upset victory. As good as Kempf has been this season, Notre Dame learned again that the young sophomore is still going to have his off-games — and the Irish need to be better defensively in front of him as such, especially against a potent lineup like the Eagles.
Notre Dame got off to the start they wanted in Chestnut Hill. They skated well with the Eagles speed and again got the first goal for the second time in as many games. Nelson — who seems to have snapped his cold spell — slammed home a power-play rebound 3:23 into the contest. They took a 1-0 lead to the first intermission.
But Boston College’s first goal deflated Notre Dame’s momentum. It was not Kempf at his best. A clear 60-foot shot from sophomore defenseman Will Skahan dribbled through Kempf’s five-hole, tying the game. Skahan’s first of the year did not reflect well on Kempf, but it did not reflect well on Nelson either, whose rash, one-handed clearance up the middle of the rink put the puck on a tee for Skahan.
Another careless clearance would burn Notre Dame later in the period. After Werner scored to put the Irish ahead 2-1 at 11:46 of the second, Boston College answered 50 seconds later on sophomore forward Dean Letourneau’s sixth of the year. This time, Irish freshman forward Will Belle tried to weakly putt the puck out on his backhand — right to Eagle junior defender Nolan Joyce, who found Letourneau all alone at the far post. Nothing Kempf could do here. The moment felt pivotal: Notre Dame would not lead again.
From there, the James Hagens show arrived at Conte Forum. The sophomore first round draft pick netted a hat trick over the remainder of the game to put the Irish to bed. His first goal caught Kempf and the Notre Dame defense swimming in front of their own net. It stood despite an Irish challenge for goaltender interference. His second goal caught them off guard, with just 12 seconds remaining in the period.
That two of those three goals came in the final three minutes of the second period became a dagger to Notre Dame’s hopes at a crucial part of the game. The Irish were three minutes away from a 2-2 contest heading into the third. Instead, they trailed 4-2 after the second. Even junior defenseman Paul Fischer’s goal early in the third was not enough to bring the Irish back.
The loss concludes Notre Dame’s 1-7 month of November. The Irish struggled in November last year too, posting a 2-8 record.
On the other hand, it continues Notre Dame’s struggles against ranked opponents this year. The Irish have lost all nine games against ranked teams they’ve played. With Notre Dame’s schedule, they’ll have ample opportunities — for better or for worse — going forward.
December brings No. 2 Wisconsin at home next week, the Irish’s last guaranteed opportunity before a three-week Christmas break.
