Oct. 1, 2012
Notre Dame, Ind. – Notre Dame hockey coach Jeff Jackson has named his captain for the 2012-13 season as the Irish look ahead to their first official team practice on Sat., Oct. 6 and begin preparations for their preseason contest against the USA Under-18 team at 5:05 p.m., on Sunday, Oct. 7 at the Compton Family Ice Arena.
Junior center Anders Lee (Edina, Minn.) will serve as the team’s lone captain this season. He served as an alternate captain as a sophomore during the 2011-12 season.
In making the announcement, Jackson said, “Anders has the ability to handle all situations in a student-athlete’s life. He’s good in the classroom, he’s accountable off the ice, he works hard to improve his game and he works hard on the ice to become a great player. He has the ability to perform when we need a big play or need a big goal. Those are the attributes that great captains have. “
Jackson added, “Anders has the locker room’s ear and his teammates like him and respect him. It’s a good combination – not just being the voice in the locker room but also being the heart of the locker room as well. We have a very strong leadership group – the four seniors and three members of the junior class – that will work with him. I expect that all seven of them will help Anders in leading this team.
“It’s truly an honor to be named captain of the Notre Dame hockey team,” said the 22-year old forward.
“I’m very thankful that my teammates and the coaching staff believe in me. There are many leaders in our locker room that will help our team and we look forward to taking on this season together.”
Lee returns for his third season with the Irish and has been one of the top-scoring forwards in the Central Collegiate Hockey Association in each of his first two years. Last season, he led the team in goals for the second season with 17 and added 17 assists for 34 points to rank second in scoring. An honorable mention all-CCHA selection, he tied for the team’s lead with seven power-play goals and added one game winner. The 6-3, 220-pound forward who played left wing in his first two seasons was the RBC CCHA player of the month for October as he got last season off to a fast start, getting 10 goals and three assists in his first seven games.
He scored the first goal ever at the Compton Family Ice Arena at 9:21 of the first period on Oct. 21, on the way to a hat trick in a 5-2 win over Rensselaer.
As a freshman, Lee led the team with 24 goals while finishing second in points with 44, the eighth-best mark by a Notre Dame freshman. The 24 goals were the third most by an Irish rookie. Among his 24 goals were six power-play goals (tied for the team lead), one short-handed goal and seven game winners (tied a single-season Notre Dame record) while being +19 for the year. Lee was named second team all-CCHA and was selected to the CCHA’s all-rookie team while being Notre Dame’s co-rookie of the year along with T.J. Tynan (Orland Park, Ill.). During the season, the talented forward was a three-time CCHA rookie of the week, a three-time CCHA rookie of the month (Oct., Dec., and Feb.) and the Hockey Commissioner’s Association (HCA) national rookie of the month in December.
In two seasons, Lee has played in 84 games, scoring 41 goals with 37 assists for 78 points.
The Edina, Minn., native will make this first appearances as captain on Sun., Oct. 7 when the Irish face the USA Under-18 team in a 5:05 p.m. game at the Compton Family Ice Arena. The Irish then open the regular season at the Ice Breaker Tournament on Oct. 12 at the Sprint Center in Kansas City, Mo. Notre Dame plays Maine at 6:30 p.m. (CT).