The Shillelagh Tournament was a Division I men's college ice hockey tournament hosted annually during the NCAA Division I men's ice hockey season by the Notre Dame Fighting Irish men's ice hockey program. It was first held during the 2008–09 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey season as the successor to the Lightning College Hockey Classic. After the Tampa Bay Lightning withdrew as tournament sponsor because of ownership changes, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish men's ice hockey program took control of the event, moving it to the Sears Centre in Hoffman Estates, Illinois.
The tournament is named after the shillelagh, a wooden club typically made from blackthorn or oak with a large knob on the end that is associated with Ireland and Irish folklore. The Notre Dame Fighting Irish football program has annually exchanged the Shillelagh Trophy with the Northwestern Wildcats from 1930–c. 1973, the Shillelagh Trophy with the Purdue Boilermakers since 1957, and the Jeweled Shillelagh with the USC Trojans since 1952.
Notre Dame won the inaugural Shillelagh Tournament, defeating the University of Minnesota Duluth 3–1 in the final game. After three seasons, the tournament was shelved for a couple years, leading some fans to believe it had run its course. But Notre Dame finally renewed it as a Thanksgiving tournament in November 2013 (rather than a New Year's tournament as it had been prior), in which the Irish were upset in the championship game. This renewal also moved the tournament from Hoffman Estates to Notre Dame's own Compton Family Ice Arena. The tournament did not return for the 2017–18 season.
Results Season Dates Winning team Runner-up Third place Fourth place Location Venue Reference2016–17November 25–26ClarksonNotre DameYaleHoly CrossSouth Bend, IndianaCompton Family Ice Arena2015–16November 27–28HarvardRensselaerNotre DameWestern MichiganSouth Bend, IndianaCompton Family Ice Arena 2014–15 November 28–29 Western Michigan Union Ohio State Notre Dame South Bend, Indiana Compton Family Ice Arena 2013–14 November 29–30 Northeastern Notre Dame Western Michigan Alabama–Huntsville South Bend, Indiana Compton Family Ice Arena 2010–11 January 1–2 Minnesota State Brown Notre Dame Boston University Hoffman Estates, Illinois Sears Centre 2009–10 January 2–3 Notre Dame North Dakota Niagara Colgate Hoffman Estates, Illinois Sears Centre 2008–09 January 2–3 Notre Dame Minnesota–Duluth Union Massachusetts–Lowell Hoffman Estates, Illinois Sears Centre
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External links Notre Dame Fighting Irish men's ice hockey Shillelagh Tournament history