Panthers’ Samoskevich, Maurice pulling for Notre Dame in title game — but for different reasons
Count the Florida Panthers’ Mackie Samoskevich and Paul Maurice among those cheering for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in Monday’s College Football Playoff national championship game against the Ohio State Buckeyes.
Their reasons for backing Notre Dame, though, are polar opposites.
For Samoskevich, it’s because of his disdain (to put it nicely) for Ohio State. The forward played two seasons of college hockey at Michigan before going pro — and anyone who went to Michigan knows you don’t root for Ohio State in any capacity.
“Never,” Samoskevich, Florida’s first round pick in 2021 who scored 30 goals in two seasons at Michigan, said about Ohio State. “That’s the one team. When they come in town, it’s a bigger night for sure. But yeah. We hate red around there.”
Regardless of the outcome on Monday, with kickoff from Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium set for 7:30 p.m., Samoskevich is taking solace in the fact that Michigan beat Ohio State 13-10 in the regular season.
“Oh yeah. That was a big win,” Samoskevich said. “I know the guys at school were enjoying it for sure.”
For Maurice, it’s more personal in favor of the Fighting Irish. One of his sons, Luke, graduated from Notre Dame in 2022.
Maurice was in attendance at Hard Rock Stadium on Jan. 9 for Notre Dame’s 27-24 come-from-behind victory over Penn State in the Orange Bowl to clinch their spot in the title game. Maurice, 57, said it was the first college football game he ever attended and he now understands the hype that surrounds the sport.
“It was awesome,” Maurice said of the experience. “From before it starts through the national anthem, there’s this juice in that building, right? You can’t recreate that. You can watch it on TV, but when you sit in it — and I don’t know anything about football, whether it’s the refs or the quarterback but I’m into it. And I had a great kind of deja vu at that game. My son was actually interning for the Orange Bowl committee, so we kind of got wrapped up in the whole thing. And it’s his alma mater. It was a great night, kind of a bit of a smile.”
The coach was quick to note, however, that he didn’t partake in any tailgating festivities.
“I’m not there yet,” Maurice said.
The Panthers fly out Monday afternoon to Southern California ahead of their four-game road trip that starts against the Anaheim Ducks at 10 p.m. Tuesday. If they land on time, Maurice plans to watch what he can of the game.
“I’m getting to be a bit of a football fan,” Maurice said.
This story was originally published January 20, 2025 at 12:49 PM.
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