With the resignation of head coach Dave Poulin in April and the hiring of new coach Jeff Jackson in May, Notre Dame hockey has seen a lot of changes during the past year.
But one thing has not changed.
Senior right-winger Tim Wallace has played in every single game since his freshman year, a streak of 117 straight contests. In the process, he has become Notre Dame's ironman, setting the school record for consecutive games played.
If he continues his streak until the end of this season, Wallace will have played in more than 150 consecutive games and could play as many as 163 in a row if the Irish make a run to the National Championship game.
Wallace credits his longevity and toughness to those around him.
"A lot of it is a credit to the people I've worked with, my coaches for making sure the team is in good shape to prevent injuries and the training staff which does a great job," he said. "Plus, some of it is just luck."
Wallace has not gone through the streak injury free.
"I've had a couple of nagging injuries, like for instance right now, my shoulder is bothering me, but it's going to be okay. The trainers have been helping a lot, and I'll be ready to play," he said. "Last year I had a groin injury, which also hurt in my lower abdomen, but again, the trainers were really good, and by the day of the game I was ready to go."
Wallace came to Notre Dame with high expectations due to an impressive pre-college resume. He is a native of Anchorage, Ala., who played with United States National Team Development Program from 2000-2002 and was on the 2000 Under-18 team that won the World Championships and the 2001 Under-17 team that won the Under-17 World Challenge.
Once in South Bend, Wallace was in the starting lineup from day one, beginning his consecutive games streak in his freshmen opener against Minnesota-Deluth. He scored his first goal on his first career shot in that game. He finished the season with six goals and five assists.
He went through a slight sophomore slump, going scoreless through a 34-game stretch. He did, of course, continue his streak by appearing in every game that season and recovered to finish with three goals and eight assists.
Wallace burst out as a star last season, finishing third on the team in points with five goals and nine assists.
Despite Wallace's play, the team struggled in 2004-05, finishing 5-27-6 and enduring a 19-game winless streak to end the season.
"I'm not sure why that happened last year, but we're doing everything we can to make sure it doesn't happen again," Wallace said.
So in this, his senior year, Wallace is looking to do more than just extend his consecutive games streak. He wants a winning season in Jackson's first year.
"We're looking to get into the top five in the CCHA, to go pretty deep into the CCHA playoffs and to make the NCAA tournament," Wallace said.
Notre Dame plays Waterloo in an exhibition game Friday, then opens the regular season in Colorado Springs against Colorado College Oct. 21.
