The odometer in Patrick Gaul’s hand-me-down Subaru is fast approaching 200,000 miles, many of which have ticked away on trips to and from hockey rinks throughout the Midwest.

Irish senior Patrick Gaul corrals a puck in the neutral zone during Notre Dame's 3-2 over Boston College in November.

Gaul inherited the car from his parents last summer when he returned to Notre Dame for his senior year, but it has been following him for much longer. The Gauls have been mainstays at Irish hockey games for the past four years. They’ve traveled great distances to watch the team play, even during rough times when their scrappy center of a son spent most of his junior season in street clothes watching with them. With the help of his hockey-loving family and indestructible optimism, Gaul has become a mainstay himself this season. He’s been the constant on Notre Dame’s fourth line, centering a rotating cast of linemates and setting the tone for a group that has embraced its duties as role players.

Hockey is hereditary for Gaul. His older brother, Joe, played at Dartmouth from 2001 to 2003. His father, also Joe, coaches the Pittsburgh Hornets, the city’s midget major AAA team. Patrick played for him as a teenager before joining the U.S. National Development Team. The older Gaul has sent several players the U.S. team stationed in Michigan, which is where he first met Notre Dame head coach Jeff Jackson.

“Joe is a good man, and they’re a good family,” Jackson said. “I’m sure that he has had a positive impact on Patrick’s mindset — his understanding of the game, I’m sure because he’s a coach’s son, but also his approach to the game and his attitude.”

Gaul’s attitude is what pushed him through a frustrating junior season and eventually landed him back on the ice this year. He suited up for 46 games in his first two years in South Bend, scoring one goal and two assists in limited ice time. Last season a slew of talented freshmen arrived on campus and Gaul played in only two games. His family helped boost his spirits, and Gaul’s effort never faded. He made each practice and team workout into his game day.

“It kind of turned into, ‘I don’t get a chance to play games, but regardless I still get to play the sport that I love. So I’ve gotta turn practice into my games and go as hard as I can in practice and try to have fun there,’” he said. “If I don’t get a chance during the games when else am I going to have fun? There were definitely some dark moments in there though.”

Jackson said he knew Gaul was frustrated, but respected that he never let that show at the rink. Gaul leaned on his parents and his former coach/father to keep his spirits high. He also got help from one of his closest friends on the team, junior Kevin Nugent. Nugent has played alongside Gaul more than any other fourth-line winger this year. They learned how to slide into their new role as hard-working, supporting cast members together.

Both players were standouts at previous stops and planned to have the same impact on the Irish team. They forged a bond through late night video game battles in the dorms and a shared adversity while dealing with decreased playing time last year. Nugent said he used Gaul’s mentality and willingness to do the little things as an example to get back on the ice.

“I think it helped me seeing what he did,” Nugent said. “At the beginning of the year things weren’t going my way in terms of making the lineup every night so I think seeing him and seeing how he was willing to do those dirty things. I think I kind of recognized the stuff he was doing and tried to emulate that myself.”

Gaul has played in 28 of Notre Dame’s 34 games this season and has two goals and five assists. He has made an impact by doing all of the things coaches love to see — blocking shots, flying into the corners and winning battles for loose pucks. Despite being listed at 5-foot-8, Gaul is one of the strongest players on the Irish roster.

“I won’t make fun of him because he could probably beat me up even though I’ve got six inches on him,” Nugent said.

Notre Dame holds its Senior Night this Saturday against Michigan State to honor Gaul and the team’s five other graduating members. His parents will be on hand, leaving a slightly fresher set of wheels in the Compton Family Ice Arena parking lot and taking their normal place a few rows behind the Irish bench. Gaul will take his normal place on the ice as well, a spot that Jackson says he has earned with a lot of respect.

“I’m glad he’s had a chance to play this year because to be honest with you not every player can survive with a positive attitude when you’re not playing, and Patrick has,” Jackson said. “I think that probably says as much as anything about him and what kind of character he has.”