May 18, 2011

Notre Dame, Ind. – Notre Dame hockey coach Jeff Jackson today announced that two more players have signed national letters-of-intent to attend the University in future seasons.

Joining the Irish are forwards Steven Fogarty (Edina, Minn.) and Austin Wuthrich (Anchorage, Alaska). Fogarty is expected to play next season in the United States Hockey League (USHL) for the Chicago Steel while Wuthrich will join the Irish roster for the 2011-12 campaign.

They join the group of five early signees – defensemen Eric Johnson (Verona, Wis.), Robbie Russo (Westmont, Ill.) and Andrew Ryan (Brighton, Mich.) along with forwards Garrett Peterson (Manhattan, Ill.) and Peter Schneider (Vienna, Austria). Johnson, Russo, Ryan and Schneider signed national letters-of-intent in November of 2010 while Peterson signed in 2009 and played last season for the Lincoln Stars of the USHL.

Fogarty is a 6-2, 195 pound right-handed center who played last season for the Edina High School Hornets in Edina, Minn., and the USHL’s Chicago Steel. He is a former teammate of current Irish freshman Anders Lee at Edina which is also the same high school that produced former Notre Dame captain Ryan Thang `10. A 2011 finalist for Minnesota’s “Mr. Hockey” Award, Fogarty helped lead Edina to fourth-place in the Minnesota State playoffs with 26 goals and 25 assists for 51 points in 30 games. He had four power-play goals and two short-handed tallies to go with 12 minutes in penalties. During the season, he had three hat tricks, including a four-goal game and had nine games with two or more points.

Fogarty is strong on his skates and tough to knock off the puck. He uses his size and strength to be tough in the corners and in front of the net. The big center has good hands and has the ability to set up plays as well as finish. As a junior in 2009-10, Fogarty had 21 goals and 19 assists for 40 points. Following the end of the 2010-11 high school season, Fogarty joined the Steel for the final six games of the season, where he scored two goals. Chicago selected him in the fourth round, 47th overall of the 2010 USHL Entry Draft. He is eligible for the 2011 National Hockey League Entry Draft that will be held in St. Paul, Minn., in June. He is ranked 90th among North American skaters in the final rankings done by NHL’s Central Scouting.

Irish head coach Jeff Jackson on Fogarty: “Steven is a smart, offensive player who has excellent instincts with and without the puck. He has shown strong scoring skills at the high school level. He has excellent character and leadership ability and I think he can be an impact player at Notre Dame after spending a year in junior hockey (Chicago Steel – USHL).”

Austin Wuthrich will join the Notre Dame hockey lineup for the 2011-12 season after playing for the USA Under-18 team.

Wuthrich is a 6-0, 185-pound right wing who will join the Notre Dame roster after playing the 2010-11 season with the U.S. National Team Development Program’s Under-18 team. The Anchorage, Alaska native had his season cut short by an injury as he suffered a broken right leg in the second game of the season. The injury required surgery and sidelined Wuthrich until late February when he rejoined the U.S. program. In five games with the Under-18 team, he had one goal and one assist two points and also saw action with the Under-17 team, playing in 13 games on his return, scoring twice with four assists for six points and 36 minutes in penalties.

The hard-working forward will bring size and skill to the Irish lineup. Wuthrich has a strong accurate shot with good hockey skills. He will add scoring depth to the Notre Dame roster beginning this fall.

Wuthrich is a product of South Anchorage High School where he played the 2008-09 season and the Alaska All-Stars. From there, he played half of the 2009-10 campaign with Team Illinois, notching nine goals and eight assists for 17 points in 31 games. He was asked to join the U.S. National Team Developmental program for the second half of the year, playing in 25 games for the Under-17 team, scoring twice with three assists for five points and 16 penalty minutes.

Wuthrich is eligible for the 2011 NHL Entry Draft his June and despite being injured most of the season was ranked 81st overall among North American skaters by NHL Central Scouting in its final rankings in April.

Jeff Jackson on Wuthrich: “Austin was injured for most of the 2010-11 season but we saw him play with Team Illinois before he joined the national program and at the beginning of last season before he was hurt. He’s a highly competitive player with good hockey instincts and skills. I like his tenacious style and the way he competes. He can be an effective player with or without the puck.”

Early-Signee Updates (Players who signed letters-of-intent in November):

Defenseman Eric Johnson started the year in the North American Hockey League with the Wenatchee Wild before moving to the USHL’s Dubuque Saints where he played for former Irish volunteer assistant coach Jim Montgomery. The defensive, defenseman had a goal and two assists for three points in 33 regular-season games. Dubuque finished first in the USHL Western Division with a 37-14-9 record. The Saints are currently playing in the USHL Championship series against Green Bay with the series tied at 1-1.

Right wing Garrett Peterson played his third season for the Lincoln Stars, helping them to the USHL playoffs with a 33-22-5 record. After missing the first 17 games of the season with a shoulder injury, Peterson returned to the lineup to finish fourth in scoring with 21 goals and 17 assists for 38 points. He scored a pair of power-play goals with four short-handed tallies and four game winners while racking up 130 penalty minutes. The Stars were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs by Fargo.

Defenseman Robbie Russo played the entire season with the U.S. National Team Developmental Program’s Under-18 team. He finished the season sixth on the team in scoring with four goals and 26 assists for 30 points with 27 penalty minutes. Two of his goals came on the power play and one was a game winner. In International play, Russo helped the national program to gold medals in the Four Nations, the Five Nations and the 2011 IIHF World Under-18 Championships. In 16 games, the Westmont, Ill., native had two goals with 14 assists for 16 points. He was fourth among defenseman at the World Under-18 Championships with a goal and seven assists for eight points in six games and set up the overtime game winner in the gold medal game against Sweden. He was selected by the other coaches in the tournament as one of the USA’s top three players. Russo is eligible for the 2011 NHL Entry Draft and was ranked 55th in the NHL Central Scouting’s final rankings.

Defenseman Andy Ryan saw action in 34 games for the U.S. Under-18 team, picking up three assists and 10 minutes in penalties. He also played in 17 games for the Under-17, picking up two assists there. He saw action in eight international games for Team USA and had no points. Ryan was selected in the third round, 44th overall by the Green Bay Gamblers in the 2011 USHL Entry Draft.

Right wing Peter Schneider closes out the list of early signees. The native of Vienna, Austria played the entire season with the USHL’s Indiana Ice, helping them to a 37-19-4 overall record, good for third place in the Eastern Division. Schneider played in 55 games, scoring 30 goals with 24 assists for 54 points. That ranked him fifth in scoring for Indiana and third in goals. Overall in the USHL, Schneider was 15th in points and tied for fourth in goals. In five playoff games, he had a goal and two assists for three points as Indiana won an opening-round series with Waterloo, 2-0, and then lost in the Eastern Quarterfinals to Green Bay, 3-0.

Notre Dame Hockey Incoming Recruits
Player            Pos.  DOB      Ht.   Wt.  S/C  Hometown/2010-11 TeamSteven Fogarty     C    4/19/93  6-2   195   R   Edina, Minn./Edina/Chicago Steel (USHL)Eric Johnson       D    3/28/91  6-1   201   L   Verona, Wis.//Dubuque Saints (USHL)Garrett Peterson  RW    9/13/91  5-11  190   R   Manhattan, Ill./Lincoln Stars (USHL)Robbie Russo       D    2/15/93  5-11  183   R   Westmont, Ill./USA Under-18 TeamAndrew Ryan        D    7/24/93  6-1   185   R   Brighton, Mich./USA Under-18 TeamPeter Schneider   RW    4/4/91   5-11  180   R   Vienna, Austria/Indiana Ice (USHL)Austin Wuthrich   RW    8/11/93  6-0   185   R   Anchorage, Alaska/USA Under-18 Team