December 2012 Recruiting State of the Union

A flurry of new commits, so let's throw one more update in this calendar year.

Expected 2013:
D	Justin Wade	Aurora (IL)	Fargo Force (USHL)	Undrafted
RW	Vincent Hinostroza	Bartlett (IL)	Waterloo Blackhawks (USHL)	2012 CHI 6th
LW	Ali Thomas	New York (NY)	Chicago Steel (USHL)	Undrafted
RW	Andrew Oglevie	Los Angeles (CA)	Cedar Rapids (USHL)	'95 Birthyear
D	Jordan Gross	Maple Grove (MN)	Green Bay Gamblers (USHL)	'95 Birthyear
G	Chad Katunar	Victoria (BC)	Penticton (BCHL)	Undrafted
Possible 2013:
LW	Robin Höglund	Mölndal (SWE)	Soo Eagles (USHL)	Undrafted
Expected 2013 or 2014:
C	Dawson Cook	Cadillac (MI)	NTDP-U18 (USHL)	'95 Birthyear
RW	Kevin Labanc	Staten Island (NY)	NTDP-U18 (USHL)	'95 Birthyear
Expected 2014:
RW	Jake Evans	Toronto (ON)	St. Michael's Buzzers (OJHL)	'96 Birthyear
D	Bobby Nardella	Chicago (IL)	Sioux City Musketeers (USHL)	'96 Birthyear
G	Calvin Petersen	Waterloo, IA	Waterloo Blackhawks (USHL)	Undrafted
D	Nathan Billitier	Rochester (NY)	NTDP-U17	'96 Birthyear
D	Luke Ripley	Kitimat (BC)	Powell River (BCHL)	Undrafted
Expected 2015 or beyond:
RW	Anders Bjork	Mequon (WI)	NTDP-U17	'96 Birthyear
C	Sonny Milano	Massapequa (NY)	NTDP-U17	'96 Birthyear
D	Tory Dello	Crystal Lake (IL)	Chicago Mission	'97 Birthyear
C	Jr. Gates	Grand Rapids (MI)	Detroit Compuware	'97 Birthyear
LW	Christian Fischer	Wayne (IL)	Chicago Mission	'97 Birthyear

Höglund is still a mystery. He was cut from Sioux City -- which isn't necessarily that much of a black mark considering the USHL's roster restrictions on imports -- and not picked up after the open tryouts. He got picked up by a USHL team, but then traded within the first week of the season. He's been playing very well for the Soo, whose official site still lists him as a Notre Dame commitment. I'll still leave him on the list, but really no idea what's going on here.

August 2012 Recruiting State of the Union

A few new commits, plus ND's roster was released for confirmation that all those previously listed as "expected 2012" are in fact on the roster, and all those previously listed as "expected 2012 or 2013" will defer a year.

Höglund is still a mystery. He was cut from Sioux City -- which isn't necessarily that much of a black mark considering the USHL's roster restrictions on imports -- and not picked up after the open tryouts. But his Twitter indicates he's coming back to the States to start training for the new season 9/1, but he doesn't seem to be on any of the rosters for the USHL. Perhaps he's just coming back to see if he can latch onto a USHL team that loses a guy to early enrollment in college or signing up north? I'll leave him on the list, but really no idea what's going on here.

On the 2012 Roster:
LW	Mario Lucia	Wayzata (MN)	Penticton (BCHL)	2011 MIN 2nd
C	Steven Fogarty	Edina (MN)	Chicago Steel (USHL) Penticton (BCHL)	2011 NYR 3rd
D	Andy Ryan	Brighton (MI)	NTDP-U18 (USHL) Green Bay Gamblers (USHL)	Undrafted
C	Sam Herr	Hinsdale (IL)	Green Bay Gamblers (USHL)	Undrafted
LW	Thomas DiPauli	Woodbridge (IL)	NTDP-U18 (USHL)	2012 WAS 4th
Expected 2013:
D	Justin Wade	Aurora (IL)	Fargo Force (USHL)	Undrafted
RW	Vincent Hinostroza	Bartlett (IL)	Waterloo Blackhawks (USHL)	2012 CHI 6th
LW	Ali Thomas	New York (NY)	Chicago Steel (USHL)	Undrafted
RW	Andrew Oglevie	Los Angeles (CA)	Cedar Rapids (USHL)	'95 Birthyear
D	Jordan Gross	Maple Grove (MN)	Green Bay Gamblers (USHL)	'95 Birthyear
Possible 2013:
LW	Robin Höglund	Mölndal (SWE)	looking for a USHL team for 2013	Undrafted
Expected 2013 or 2014:
C	Dawson Cook	Cadillac (MI)	NTDP-U18 (USHL)	'95 Birthyear
RW	Kevin Labanc	Staten Island (NY)	NTDP-U18 (USHL)	'95 Birthyear
Expected 2014 or beyond:
RW	Anders Bjork	Mequon (WI)	NTDP-U17	'96 Birthyear
RW	Jake Evans	Toronto (ON)	St. Michael's Buzzers (OJHL)	'96 Birthyear
D	Bobby Nardella	Chicago (IL)	Sioux City Musketeers (USHL)	'96 Birthyear
C	Sonny Milano	Massapequa (NY)	NTDP-U17	'96 Birthyear
D	Tory Dello	Crystal Lake (IL)	Chicago Mission	'97 Birthyear
C	Jr. Gates	Grand Rapids (MI)	Detroit Compuware	'97 Birthyear

June 2012 Recruiting State of the Union

No new commits, but a few team changes and updated timelines for when recruits will reach campus. Also added DiPauli and Hinostroza as draft picks.

Expected 2012:
LW	Mario Lucia	Wayzata (MN)	Penticton (BCHL)	2011 MIN 2nd
C	Steven Fogarty	Edina (MN)	Chicago Steel (USHL) Penticton (BCHL)	2011 NYR 3rd
D	Andy Ryan	Brighton (MI)	NTDP-U18 (USHL) Green Bay Gamblers (USHL)	Undrafted
C	Sam Herr	Hinsdale (IL)	Green Bay Gamblers (USHL)	Undrafted
LW	Thomas DiPauli	Woodbridge (IL)	NTDP-U18 (USHL)	2012 WAS 4th
Expected 2012 or 2013:
LW	Robin Höglund	Mölndal (SWE)	in limbo after recent release from Sioux City Musketeers (USHL)	Undrafted
Expected 2013:
RW	Vincent Hinostroza	Bartlett (IL)	Waterloo Blackhawks (USHL)	2012 CHI 6th
D	Justin Wade	Aurora (IL)	Fargo Force (USHL)	Undrafted
LW	Ali Thomas	New York (NY)	Chicago Steel (USHL)	Undrafted
RW	Andrew Oglevie	Los Angeles (CA)	Cedar Rapids (USHL)	'95 Birthyear
D	Jordan Gross	Maple Grove (MN)	Green Bay Gamblers (USHL)	'95 Birthyear
Expected 2013 or 2014:
C	Dawson Cook	Cadillac (MI)	NTDP-U18 (USHL)	'95 Birthyear
RW	Kevin Lebanc	Staten Island (NY)	NTDP-U18 (USHL)	'95 Birthyear
Expected 2014 or beyond:
RW	Anders Bjork	Mequon (WI)	NTDP-U17	'96 Birthyear
RW	Jake Evans	Toronto (ON)	St. Michael's Buzzers (OJHL)	'96 Birthyear
D	Bobby Nardella	Chicago (IL)	Sioux City Musketeers (USHL)	'96 Birthyear
D	Tory Dello	Crystal Lake (IL)	Chicago Mission	'97 Birthyear

May 2012 Recruiting State of the Union

Expected 2012:
LW	Mario Lucia	Wayzata (MN)	Penticton (BCHL)	2011 MIN 2nd
C	Steven Fogarty	Edina (MN)	Chicago Steel (USHL) Penticton (BCHL)	2011 NYR 3rd
D	Andy Ryan	Brighton (MI)	NTDP-U18 (USHL) Green Bay Gamblers (USHL)	Undrafted
C	Sam Herr	Hinsdale (IL)	Green Bay Gamblers (USHL)	Undrafted
Expected 2012 or 2013:
LW	Robin Höglund	Mölndal (SWE)	Sioux City Musketeers (USHL)	Undrafted
D	Justin Wade	Aurora (IL)	Fargo Force (USHL)	draft year (NA/s 144)
LW	Thomas DiPauli	Woodbridge (IL)	NTDP-U18 (USHL)	draft year (NA/s 81)
Expected 2013:
RW	Vincent Hinostroza	Bartlett (IL)	Waterloo Blackhawks (USHL)	draft year (NA/s 115)
LW	Ali Thomas	New York (NY)	Chicago Steel (USHL)	Undrafted
Expected 2013 or 2014:
C	Dawson Cook	Cadillac (MI)	NTDP-U18 (USHL)	'95 Birthyear
RW	Andrew Ogelvie	Los Angeles (CA)	Cedar Rapids (USHL)	'95 Birthyear
RW	Kevin Lebanc	Staten Island (NY)	NTDP-U18 (USHL)	'95 Birthyear
D	Jordan Gross	Maple Grove (MN)	Green Bay Gamblers (USHL)	'95 Birthyear
Expected 2014 or beyond:
RW	Anders Bjork	Mequon (WI)	NTDP-U17	'96 Birthyear
RW	Jake Evans	Toronto (ON)	St. Michael's Buzzers (OJHL)	'96 Birthyear
D	Bobby Nardella	Chicago (IL)	Sioux City Musketeers (USHL)	'96 Birthyear
D	Tory Dello	Crystal Lake (IL)	Chicago Mission	'97 Birthyear

Wake up Maggie, I think Bo's got something to say to you

It's a bit past late September, and I already am back at school, but I just wanted to give a pointer over to a new college hockey blog. This one is from ncaa.com, and its author is a Notre Dame '03 alumnus who should be updating several times a week once the season ramps up (and in whose honor I've titled this post). Enjoy!

NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey blog

Lucky that life has been good to you so far

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish are
CCHA Regular Season Champions

With Notre Dame's 1-0 win over the University of Nebraska - Omaha this evening, they have clinched the regular season title in the CCHA for the second time in program history (and the second time in three years ... thanks Jeff Jackson!).

Now on to the Mason Cup to see if we can't repeat the double-up from the 2006-2007 season. And still hanging in the balance is the NCAA tournament seeding, at the hands of the ever fickle Pairwise; there's no time to rest on one's laurels, the Irish need to keep winning.

Having been an English literary graduate ...

I was told there would be no math. (Okay, that's not true. I'm not an English major, in fact I toil in a rather math-intensive field. But Douglas Adams never said jack about that. And that doesn't stop the CCHA magic number from being tedious to calculate, nor the PWR from being near-inexplicable)

After tonight's game 1 out in Omaha (Billy, you're turning into a Calle, don't stop it?) here's where Notre Dame stands with regards to winning their second-ever CCHA regular season championship:
-- ND moves to 42 points in the league with 3 games remaining.
-- UM moves to 36 points in the league with 3 games remaining, so they can get to 42 points.
-- MU stays at 36 points in the league with 3 games remaining, so they can get to 42 points.

So our magic number versus Miami is one point (a failure to win by Miami or even a single tie for us). We have to beat them outright, because in order to be in the position in which we were to tie in points, Miami would have to win three straight and ND lose three straight, which would give them the first CCHA tiebreaker (league wins) 19-18.

Versus Michigan, our magic number is also 1 point, because we have to beat them outright because they would beat us in the first tiebreaker (21-18).

"Go Irish At Least Get A Point Versus Mavericks!" doesn't quite have the right cadence, though.

He may not have gone where he intended to go (update) ...

I passed along the links from my last post to Chris over at WCHB and he said he'd try to run down any confirmation. Apparently he didn't get any vigorous denials, because he's running with it as well: Fowler Likely Gone To OHL.

Re-"Damn it".

He may not have gone where he intended to go ...

A USA Today column and a Hockey News update indicate that Cam Fowler may have committed to the Windsor Spitfires of the OHL. This would indicate he's bypassing college, where he had previously signed an LOI to attend Notre Dame, in order to play major junior, forgoing all NCAA eligibility.

Losing Fowler, long regarded as one of the best players in the world for his age, would be a major blow. On one hand simply landing such a player's commitment, even if he ends up not showing up on campus gave Jeff Jackson's Fighting Irish program some visibility with other high-end recruits. On the other hand, with Ian Cole a possibility to leave after this year given his outstanding sophomore campaign (in addition to the possible departures of Kyle Lawson and Teddy Ruth, who are also good pro prospects), the Irish blueline that seemed incredibly stacked may suddenly become a shallow point if the worst case happens regarding possible defections.

To paraphrase, on whichever hand: "damn it".

Let's prepare to grapple with the ineffable itself

... the concept, much like Faith, or True Love, the concept of a real, live Notre Dame hockey arena:

Official University Press Release

As usual Kabong was right on. How exciting; definitely sounds like the basic plan was the Goggin plus some extra seating. And who can complain? The Goggin is a beautiful facility and has helped Miami jump from just another midwestern school that plays hockey to a member of the "New Two" to challenge the "Big Two" of the CCHA.