In most circles, the term “productive meeting” tends to be an oxymoron. But not within the walls of the Notre Dame hockey locker room.

The Irish players held just such a productive meeting on Oct. 15 following a 3-2 loss to visiting Providence that dropped then-seventh-ranked Notre Dame to 1-2 on the year.

Since that game and the subsequent players-only shindig right afterward, the Irish are 2-0 and did not give up a goal in a 2-0 win over the Friars and Tuesday’s 3-0 victory at No. 3 and defending national champion Boston.

There were no fiery speeches or players pointing fingers, unless it was directly at themselves. Questions about team identity supplicated accusations and anger.

“We wanted to find out who we were going to be,” said Billy Maday, who scored the first goal against the Terriers. “We just really needed to recognize who we’re playing for, that we’re blessed with this opportunity at such a prestigious place as Notre Dame.”

Since their meeting, Maday said the Irish have refocused on playing as a team.

“We’re doing more of the little things it takes,” he said.

Little things like putting shots on net and playing stronger with the puck rather than relying on flashy one-on-one moves and making the perfect pass every time.

“You can’t make them happen, they’ll come as they do,” Maday said of scoring pretty goals. “As a team, we realized that talent doesn’t mean anything without hard work.”

Improved play in their defensive zone and strong goaltending have played a big part in Notre Dame’s success the past two games.

After freshman backup goalie Mike Johnson shut out Providence in his debut, starter Brad Phillips recorded a career-high 34 saves against Boston to improve to 1-2 this year.

“It felt good to finally get a win under my belt,” Phillips said. “Personally, I prepared the same way I have all year, so I don’t know what was different.”

The Terriers (0-2) outshot Notre Dame 34-16, but Irish coach Jeff Jackson felt his team had better scoring chances. Phillips concurred.

“I thought the guys played really well in front of me,” Phillips said. “They blocked a lot of shots. (Boston) still got a lot of shots on net, but I didn’t think they were that quality.”

Phillips also said the feeling in that team meeting was that this week - Tuesday’s game at Boston and Friday’s home game with No. 15 Boston College - could be the turning point of their season.

The Irish and the Eagles square off at 7:35 at the Joyce Center.

Together again

Maday finished with a goal and an assist against Boston in his second game back on the same line with Calle Ridderwall. Those two paired with Kevin Deeth last season to be one of Notre Dame’s best lines, and they look to be back at it again.

Ridderwall picked up an assist on Maday’s second period goal and Maday found Ridderwall on a third period power play tally that capped the scoring in ND’s 3-0 win.

“Last year, we found chemistry together and coach thought we should try it again,” Maday said. “It pretty much clicked instantly for us. We play similar styles and read the game very similarly, so it’s easy to find guys on the ice and anticipate where the play’s going to go.

“I’ll play wherever coach wants to put me, but it doesn’t hurt to play with those two guys, either.”

Sense of urgency

With a .500 record heading into Boston, Jackson worried that the mid-week matchup in the defending national champs’ own barn would turn out to be a bad move, especially with Boston College coming to town a day after the Irish got home.

Jackson was pleasantly surprised with the result.

“As it turned out, it was a good thing to get us to play with that sense of urgency that we maybe lacked at times against Alabama-Huntsville and Providence,” Jackson said. “I think (the players) recognized that if they played too loose with the puck against a team like BU, they were gonna get beat, and get beat good, who knows?

“I thought we did a much better job of managing the puck.”

Now, with just one day of practice to prepare, the Irish turn their attention to BC. Another traditionally strong team from Hockey East, Boston College is a familiar opponent for the Irish.

Notre Dame has won four of the last five against Boston College, with that one loss coming in the 2008 national championship game. The Irish beat BC last year in Chestnut Hill, 4-1.

The Eagles are 0-1 after losing to No. 11 Vermont in their season opener Sunday.