As much fun as I have writing about basketball and football, hockey is most certainly not my sport. I’ve been to a half dozen Penguin games and follow Crosby and Co. to some extent, but considering my A) lack of background knowledge of Notre Dame hockey and B) The unsurprising lack of sites about collegiate hockey around the internet, putting together this mini-preview of tonight’s throwdown in the Pepsi Center became a nice little challenge. Crack open a Molson, put on some Barenaked Ladies, start adding "aye" to the end of your questions and let’s try to get ready for some hockey.

The main theme going into the game is that Michigan is your number one overall seed and Notre Dame was the last at-large team to get into the tournament and the first four seed to make the Frozen Four since the field expanded in 2003. When the Irish and Wolverines hooked up back in January, Notre Dame squandered a 2-0 first period lead in Ann Arbor to lose in final minute 3-2, then got waxed 5-1 on the Red Wings’ ice in Detroit. On top of that, it’s the Victors versus the Victory March, Maize and Blue against the Golden Dome and a nice little conflict between the two schools months in advance of the annual (forever and ever) gridiron clash.

But to get there, the Irish had to survive a number one seed and the defending national champion. To recap:

As mentioned above, the Irish took control of their first game with the Wolverines, but then things started to slip away. One of the main problems for Notre Dame will be that the best player in the country will be on the ice across from them, although that award won’t be bestowed – potentially very awkwardly – until Friday. It seems like if you’re going to be giving out an award, it’s better to give it out between the regular and postseasons (like the Heisman) or just after everything is over. Should the Irish pull the upset and Kevin Porter wins the Hobey, that’ll be no fun for anybody, right? Did hockey learn nothing from the uncomfortable MVP presentation to an already eliminated Dirk Nowitzki last NBA postseason?

I also enjoy the fact a historically awful football season has opened up the giant "Is Notre Dame a [BLANK] school now?", which came up some with basketball, but now:

Of course, it’s not just Notre Dame who’s sort of ignorant to the whole hockey thing:

(Remember, that’s the best player in the nation.)

The one advantage the Irish might have is Coach Jeff Jackson, who was a two-time NCAA Champion at Lake Superior State. Since it’s mentioning Notre Dame, someone has to mention the football season and since it’s on the internet, someone has to somehowsomehow misspell Weis.

Where was Mike Brey at offering support? Is he already at his summer house? Notre Dame hockey could win a thousand national championships in a row and the majority of Irish fans would still be more excited about spring football practice than tonight’s game. That’s a somewhat sad reality, as the turnaround since Jackson came aboard has been utterly remarkable and this is a single elimination, national semifinal against the Michigan freaking Wolverines. Win or lose, the season’s over for the Irish come Saturday night, so stop reading detail-light practice reports for a couple hours and tune in at 9:00 on ESPN2, although I’ll grant everyone a few free peaks at Nuggets/Warriors on TNT or the American Idol results.

If this clip doesn’t get you a little bit pumped – especially with the very strong Notre Dame connection - then there’s no hope for you (language decidedly NSFW). Let ‘em know you’re there, guys.