Printer-Friendly Format     E-mail this article     Kevin Deeth and Ryan Thang celebrate a goal.

The Irish tangle with Boston College for the national championship Saturday at 5 p.m. (MT) (live TV on ESPN; live audio at UND.com).

April 12, 2008

By John Heisler

Championship Saturday dawned early for the Irish hockey players. They left for the Pepsi Center at 8:15 a.m. MDT for an hour-long 9:00 a.m. pre-game skate, and then returned to the hotel for their 10:30 a.m. pre-game meal. The game begins at 5:00 p.m. MDT.

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Irish ticket manager Josh Berlo estimates Notre Dame had about 700 tickets to work with for tonight's title game. Demand was brisk.

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Seen on the street on Friday - former Notre Dame football safety Chinedum Ndukwe, now living in Cincinnati and playing with the NFL Cincinnati Bengals. He planned to attend the game on Saturday.

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Denver weather has been chilly much of the time, though that's nothing new for fans from Michigan, North Dakota, Boston College or Notre Dame. A morning snowstorm Thursday postponed the Colorado Rockies' afternoon home baseball date at Coors Field against Atlanta - but temperatures are supposed to be in the 70s early next week.

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Among those headed to Denver from campus for the championship game included University president Rev. John Jenkins, his chief of staff Frances Shavers, athletics director Kevin White, football coach Charlie Weis and his wife Maura, as well as University vice president and associate provost Don Pope-Davis (chairman of the Faculty Board on Athletics).