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The Notre Dame Fighting Irish men's hockey team has to be happy with how the first half of the season unfolded in 2012. The Irish hold the No. 3 USCHO ranking, and their CCHA conference record sits at 10-1-0.
Moreover, their road record (5-1) is even better than their home record (7-3), so it's hard to complain about much heading into the holiday break.
The second half of the season will start with a tough test, however. Notre Dame will face four straight road games when the schedule resumes Jan. 8, and the stretch includes matchups against Minnesota, Michigan State and Bowling Green. The Irish received two first-place votes in the most recent poll, and if they stack up road victories in January they could very well challenge New Hampshire and Boston College for the top spots in the game.
See the full schedule of college hockey action here, and be sure to check out the complete USCHO.com poll.