Kids take the ice at Notre Dame Stadium

Ed Semmler

South Bend Tribune

SOUTH BEND — There aren’t too many youngsters who would get up well before sunrise with a big smile during Christmas break.

But there they were — a steady stream of kids with parents and grandparents in tow — dressed in Irish Youth Hockey League jerseys and pulling along oversized bags of gear as the sun was casting its first light Thursday morning on Notre Dame Stadium.

It didn’t matter that it was early. It didn’t matter that it felt a lot colder than the mid-20s inside the stadium.

It was a chance for the kids to skate on the same ice that was used on New Year’s Day by many of their heroes during the Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic and inside the same stadium where they have watched Irish football teams take on opponents from across the country.

Read the full story in the South Bend Tribune.

Players take the ice early Thursday before a youth hockey scrimmage on the ice rink in Notre Dame Stadium that was set up for the Jan. 1 Winter Classic NHL game.