Nov. 29, 2007
Notre Dame, Ind. – Notre Dame hockey coach Jeff Jackson today announced that three players have signed National Letters-of-Intent to attend the University, beginning in the fall of 2008. The trio will join forward Billy Maday (Burr Ridge, Ill.) who signed a letter-of-intent last November and deferred until next season.
Joining the Irish next fall with Maday will be defensemen Sean Lorenz (Littleton, Colo.) and Eric Ringel (Hinckley, Ohio) along with forward Patrick Gaul (Pittsburgh, Pa.).
In making the announcement, Notre Dame head coach Jeff Jackson said, “We’re excited about this class of players from both an offensive and defensive perspective. Although they are young, as a group, they all stand to become great college hockey players.”
All four of Notre Dame’s recruits for the 2008-09 season have been listed on the National Hockey League’s Central Scouting “Players to Watch List” of October 31. Central Scouting identifies the players with three ratings: an A Rating is a player that is a “Must See player” who is a predicted first or second round pick; a B Rating is a player of note with the potential to be a middle round selection (3rd-5th) in the upcoming draft; or a C Rating is a player that Central Scouting is tracking as a potential late-round choice. Lorenz, Maday and Ringel have received B Ratings while Gaul has a C Rating.
Patrick Gaul is a 5-8, 168-pound center who is currently a member USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program, playing for the Under-18 team. A smart, taletned player with good hockey sense, Gaul is a strong skater with strong playmaking skills. He is currently second on the Under-18 team in scoring with four goals and eight assists for 12 points in 18 games. Two of his four goals have come on the power play. With the Under-17 Team in 2006-07, the slick centerman had 13 goals and 17 assists for 30 points in 66 games. Gaul is a product of the Pittsburgh Hornets Midget program where in his final season in 2005-06 he accumulated 27 goals and 72 assists for 101 points in 86 games. He also captained the 2006 USA Under-17 Select Team White at the Three Nations Tournament.
Jackson on Gaul: “Patrick is a character kid who brings future leadership with his great attitude and work ethic. He is a very intelligent player that has the potential to be strong in all aspects of the game. Although he’s not a big man, he plays with great intensity and is willing to pay the price to get the job done.”
Sean Lorenz is a 6-1, 198-pound defenseman who also is a member of USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program, playing for the Under-18 Team this season. A strong defensive defenseman, Lorenz has outstanding potential as a match-up, shut down defenseman. Tough and physical, he’s strong on his skates and makes a good first pass out of his zone. In 18 games this season with the Under-18 team, Lorenz has one goal and one assist for two points and 10 minutes in penalties. His one goal was a game winner. In 2006-07, Lorenz scored twice and added nine assists for 11 points in 64 games. He also played for the Colorado (Midget) Thunderbirds in 2005-06 where he collected nine gols and 27 assists for 36 points in 62 games.
Jackson on Lorenz: “Sean is a high character kid who has progressed a great deal over the last few years. He’s a stay-at-home defenseman who has size and a good physical presence. He makes good decisions with the puck. He has some similarities to an Ian Cole type of player.”
Eric Ringel is a 6-0, 180-pound defenseman who is in his second season with the Mahoning Valley Phantoms of the North American Hockey League (NAHL). A quick, mobile defenseman, Ringel is an offensive-minded defenseman with strong playmaking skills. He’s strong on his skates and makes good decisions with the puck. With the Phantoms this season, Ringel has four goals and 12 assists for 16 points in 25 games to rank sixth among NAHL defensemen. He has two goals on the power-play to go with seven power-play assists. The Phantoms are currently 16-7-2 on the year and in second place in the NAHL’s North Division. In 2006-07 in his first season, Ringel had 10 goals and 25 assists for 35 points in 51 games with four power-play goals. He also saw action with the U.S. National Team Development Program as he played in the Four Nations Tournament and in the Vlad Dzurilla tournament in February of 2007.
Jackson on Ringel: “Eric is more of an offensive-minded defenseman. He has great instincts with the puck and skates extremely well. He has the potential to be a power-play point man and will contribute offensively in the transition game.”
Billy Maday is a 6-0, 175-pound right wing who will join the Irish in 2008 after signing a national letter-of-intent in November of 2006. As a member of the Waterloo Black Hawks, Maday missed half the 2006-07 season with a broken wrist. In the 33 games that he was able to play, Maday had 10 goals and 11 assists for 21 points, including four power-play goals and two game winners. Quick on his skates, Maday is a highly skilled playmaker with great hands. This season, he is tied for the team lead in scoring with two goals and nine assists for 11 points in 16 games. The Black Hawks are in third place in the USHL’s East Division with a record of 10-4-2. He was a midget teammate of current Irish forward Calle Ridderwall with the Chicago Chill of the Mid-America Hockey League. He led the team and the league in scoring in 2005-06 with 38 goals and 87 assists for 125 points.
Jackson on Maday: “Billy Maday is a slick, intelligent offensive forward with good hockey sense and playmaking ability. He’s got great instincts with the puck and makes players around him better. Besides his playmaking skills he also has the ability to score. Billy had great chemistry with Calle Ridderwall when they were teammates two years ago with the Chicago Chill.”
Notre Dame Hockey Class of 2008-09
Player Pos. DOB Ht. Wt. Sh Hometown/2007-08 Team Patrick Gaul C 2/27/90 5-8 168 L Pittsburgh, Pa./USA Under-18 TeamSean Lorenz D 3/10/90 6-1 198 R Littleton, Colo./USA Under-18 TeamBilly Maday RW 2/25/88 6-0 175 R Burr Ridge, Ill./Waterloo Black Hawks (USHL)Eric Ringel D 4/4/90 6-0 180 R Hinckley, Ohio/Mahoning Valley (NAHL)