Final answer:
The noun clause in the sentence 'he told me that he loves ice cream' functions as the direct object of the verb 'told', providing information about what 'he' told 'me'.
Step-by-step explanation:
The noun clause in the sentence "he told me that he loves ice cream" functions as the direct object of the verb 'told'. It provides more information about what 'he' told 'me', which is his love for ice cream. The noun clause 'that he loves ice cream' acts as a single unit and can be replaced by a pronoun like 'it'.