Jan. 5, 2009
Notre Dame, Ind. – Notre Dame senior hockey players Erik Condra (Livonia, Mich.) and Jordan Pearce (Anchorage, Alaska) have been selected as candidates for the 2008-09 Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award in the men’s Division I hockey division.
The Irish duo join 18 other Division I players who have combined excellence in athletics, academics and community service. The award is presented annually to an NCAA Division I student-athlete in nine sports based on achievement’s in the “Four C’s” of classroom, character, community and competition. CLASS is an acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School.
Condra and Pearce have been instrumental in Notre Dame’s outstanding first half as the Irish enter the week of Jan. 5 with a 16-3-2 overall record and a school record 16-game unbeaten streak (14-0-2) that started on Oct. 31. The Irish, ranked No. 1 in the nation in both national polls are 10-2-2-2 in the CCHA, good for 24 points and first place in the CCHA.
Selected by his teammates as team captain, Condra, who plays right wing, is tied third on the team in scoring with 18 points on four goals and 14 assists in 2008-09. He has two power-play goals, a short-handed marker and a game-winning goal among his four lamplighters on the year.
Off the ice, Condra is a pre-med/psychology major with a 3.56 grade-point average. As a junior, he was selected as an ESPN The Magazine/CoSIDA second-team District V all-academic choice.
Pearce, who is an All-American and Hobey Baker candidate, is having a stellar season for the Irish in goal. He owns a 15-3-2 overall record with a 1.63 goals-against average and a .935 save percentage with two shutouts. He has his own, personal, 16-game unbeaten streak that has seen him go 14-0-2 in his last 16 games since Oct. 31.
In the classroom, Pearce, like Condra is a pre-med major with a second major in anthropology. He owns a 3.816 grade-point average and has been a Dean’s List student in four of his first six semesters at Notre Dame. As a junior, he was selected as the team’s Rockne Student-Athlete Award winner and was a Second Team ESPN The Magazine/CoSIDA Academic All-American. Pearce also represented the Irish on the CCHA’s Scholar-Athlete team.
Both players are heavily involved in Notre Dame hockey’s community service efforts and have been throughout their careers.
This is the third year that Lowe’s has sponsored an award for hockey. In 2006-07, former Irish goaltender David Brown `07 won the award while in 2007-08, forward Mark Van Guilder `08 was one of the 10 finalists for the honor.
The Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award was launched in 2001 to honor the attributes of college basketball seniors who fulfill their entire athletic eligibility and pursue the many rewards of a senior season and complete college education.
Lowe’s, an official Corporate Partner of the NCAA, expanded the Senior CLASS Award program in 2007 to include NCAA Division I men’s ice hockey in addition to men’s lacrosse, baseball, softball and men’s and women’s soccer. Football (Bowl Subdivision) has been added in 2008, bringing the award program’s total of NCAA sports to nine.
The 2008-09 hockey candidates represent 18 different schools and five conferences with Condra and Pearce joining Ohio State’s Corey Elkins and Zach Pelletier as the only schools with two candidates.
From the list of 20 nominees, a national media committee will select 10 finalists for the Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award by early February 2009. Those 10 names will be placed on the official ballot for a nationwide vote that will include coaches, media and fans. The award winner will be announced and recognized at the 2009 NCAA Frozen Four in Washington, D.C.
“Lowe’s recognizes that today’s student-athletes are tomorrow’s leaders,” said Bob Gfeller, Lowe’s Senior Vice President of Marketing and Advertising. “What the 20 award candidates have been able to accomplish despite demanding athletic training and classroom schedules is very impressive. We are honored to recognize these outstanding young people and look forward to announcing the winner at the NCAA Frozen Four.”
This marks the third year for the hockey division of the Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award. David Brown of Notre Dame was the inaugural winner in 2007 and Landis Stankievech of Princeton was named the award recipient in 2008.
Lowe's Senior CLASS Award 2008-09 Men's Hockey Nominees
Name School Position ConferenceBrock Bradford Boston College F Hockey EastAndrew Carroll Minnesota- Duluth F WCHAErik Condra Notre Dame F CCHAShane Connelly Wisconsin G WCHAMatt Cook Union College F ECACCorey Elkins Ohio State F CCHASean Erickson Connecticut D Atlantic HockeyChris Hahn University of Maine F Hockey EastTrevor Hyatt Alaska F CCHAMathias Lange Rensselaer G ECACJeff Lerg Michigan State G CCHABrian McCafferty Harvard D ECACZach McKelvie Army D Atlantic HockeyZach Miskovic St. Lawrence University D ECACPatrick Mullen University of Denver D WCHAJordan Pearce Notre Dame G CCHAZach Pelletier Ohio State University F CCHAMike Phillipich Air Force Academy F Atlantic HockeyDean Strong University of Vermont F Hockey EastDewey Thomson College of the Holy Cross F Atlantic Hockey