Dec. 11, 2009
Sophomore Billy Maday, a right wing on the ice for the Irish, was Notre Dame’s Rookie of the Year last season and played in the 2009 CCHA all-rookie game. The Burr Ridge, Ill., native was fifth in scoring and played two season for the USHL’s Waterloo Black Hawks. This season, Maday leads the Irish with 15 points on four goals and 11 assists in 18 games. Maday sat down with UND.com to tell us a little more about himself.
How did you first become interested in hockey?
My neighborhoods played roller hockey, growing up when I was about four, I started rollerblading, and from there I just fell in love with the game, and eventually, I moved to ice hockey.
When did you start ice hockey?
Not until I was about eight or nine.
Did you play other sports as well?
I was an active kid, so I played pretty much every sport I could – baseball, soccer, basketball, just anything with a ball really, so it helped with translation onto the ice because I was familiar with a lot of sports.
What made you pick hockey as the sport you would play long-term?
It was my favorite sport, but it was also the most time consuming, so I had to make a decision, and I figured that it was the one.
When did you have to make that decision?
Entering seventh grade, it was either play basketball for the grade school, or play travel hockey, and I played hockey.
Do you have a memory from when you were little, of a great moment on the ice?
My best friends to this day are the ones I grew up playing ice hockey with, and with two of my best friends, we won the state championship. We tied a goal with one second left in regulation, and then we won it in overtime, and that season we went on to win a national championship. That particular moment really stood out.
Why did you choose to come to Notre Dame?
I recognized that the coaching staff was building a tradition that I wanted to be a part of, and they were going to be successful in the coming years; I wanted to be a part of that team. Obviously academics and the campus were phenomenal, and I could not really pass it up.
What are you studying right now?
I’m enrolled in the Mendoza College of Business. I’m hoping to be a finance major, but right now, I am just taking intro classes.
Are you planning on playing hockey after graduation?
I would like to, I would like to take it as far as I can go.
What do you see yourself doing after hockey?
I would like to play professionally for as long as I could, and then hopefully with a finance degree from Notre Dame, I would like to become a trader, just like my Dad.
What do you miss the most about home?
Beef sandwiches. I would say it’s the food, whether its local restaurants, or Mom’s cooking.
What are your best memories with your teammates here?
I would say I enjoy the football weekends, during the season with the guys, because we work so hard all week, and we can relax and go to the games. Also, I went to a haunted house this year for Halloween. Almost half the team was there and I had a blast with that. It was pretty fun seeing guys who you wouldn’t normally think would be edgy and kind of scared, and all of a sudden you see a different side of them. So, there were the big tough hockey players, screaming and throwing everyone else in front of them; it was pretty funny.
— ND —