DU rings in the New Year with a two-game series against No. 16 Notre Dame on Friday and Saturday. Here is a rundown on the Fighting Irish:

Season update: The Irish come to Magness Arena with a 9-4-4 record, including a 3-2-1 road mark. Much like DU, they’ve been subject to streaks of late – their four-game winning streak comes on the heels of a four-game winless streak. They share two common opponents thus far with the Pioneers – having tied Minnesota-Duluth twice and rallied to defeat No. 3 Boston College, 4-3. DU defeated and tied UMD and lost to BC by a goal. The Irish outscore opponents by a 2-to-1 ratio in the first period so it’s incumbent upon the Pioneers to start strong or risk falling into chasing the game. ND is a young team, with 15 freshmen and sophomores on its roster, 12 of whom play every night.

Offense: The Irish have 12 players with seven or more points, led by senior forward Thomas DiPauli (who was born in Italy) and sophomore forward Anders Bjork with 16 apiece. Bjork is with Team USA at the World Junior Championship in Finland and won’t play this weekend. Sophomore forward Jake Evans has 15 points, while DiPauli leads the team with seven goals. Sophomore defenseman Jordan Gross, senior forward Steven Fogarty and freshman wing Dylan Malmquist have six apiece. Overall, they score slightly more (3.24 goals per game) than DU (2.97)

Defense: This is a relative strength. The Irish allow 2.59 goals per game, but do give up nearly 30 shots. Sophomore goaltender Cal Petersen carries the mail for Notre Dame, figuring in all 17 of their decisions (9-4-4). He has a solid 2.39 goals-against average and a .918 save percentage.

Special teams: The Irish have the same amount of power-play chances as the Pioneers (60), but have cashed in on two more for an 18.3 rate. Their penalty kill is successful 80 percent of the time.

Did you know? Notre Dame coach Jeff Jackson was the first coach at the U.S. National Team Development Program in 1996? Before that he led Lake Superior State to two NCAA titles in the early 1990s, and since taking over the Irish in 2005 he has led them to the Frozen Four twice.

@MagnessMayhem