Two Notre Dame Hockey Players Named To National Team

Dec. 5, 2000

Notre Dame, Ind. –

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Two University of Notre Dame hockey players have been selected by USA Hockey to play on the United States National Junior Hockey team that will compete in the upcoming International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) World Junior Championship. The tournament, featuring the world’s top players under 20 years old, will be held Dec. 26, 2000 through Jan. 5, 2001 in Moscow and surrounding cities in Russia. This marks the fifth consecutive year that Notre Dame has had players chosen to this prestigious 22-player team.

The Notre Dame invitees include sophomore center Connor Dunlop (St. Louis, Mo.) and freshman right wing Rob Globke (West Bloomfield, Mich.). For Dunlop, this will be his second season on the USA team which is comprised of the top players in the United States. Both players have come through the USA Hockey National Under 18 Developmental Program.

Dunlop currently ranks fourth in scoring on the Notre Dame team with 4-5-9 in 13 games. He had a goal and an assist in seven games last year in helping the U.S. to a fourth place finish in Umea and Skelleftea, Sweden.

“It’s a great honor for me to be selected to the national team to represent my country in this prestigious tournament. It’s also an honor to be selected to a team that has so many outstanding players on it. I look forward to playing again this year. I think that having played in the tournament last year, will help me this year since I’ll know what to expect. The pace of play is quicker, there is a higher skill level and I won’t be as nervous which gives me an advantage over the newcomers,” says Dunlop.

Globke is second in scoring for Notre Dame with 7-4-11 in 15 games. His seven goals lead the Irish in that department and are second in the CCHA among freshmen skaters.

“Getting named to the national team is something that I’ve worked hard to do the past couple years,” says Globke.

“It is a great honor to play for your country and to represent the United States in this tournament. Playing on a team like this really gives a young player a chance to see just where you stand among other players at your level. I look forward to playing against some of the best players in the world. I just plan to play hard and as long as the team plays well, I’ll be happy,” added the Irish right wing.

Notre Dame will play six games without the services of Dunlop and Globke. The Fighting Irish play at Nebraska-Omaha on Dec. 19-20 before participating in the R.P.I. Christmas Tournament Dec. 29-30 at Troy, N.Y. The Irish then return to CCHA play on Jan. 5-6 at home versus Ferris State.

In making the announcement, USA coach Keith Allain said, “I’m very excited with the speed and skill level of this team.. We will be able to play an up-tempo game. I’m also thrilled about the character and mental toughness of our players. Those are essential traits in a tournament of this nature.

Allain added, “We have a good blend of experienced veterans and newcomers. I believe that we will become a cohesive team very quickly.”

The U.S. team will assemble in West Point, N.Y. on December 15 in preparation for the tournament. The squad then travels to Finland for a pair of exhibition games versus Finland (Dec. 19) and Switzerland (Dec. 22) before beginning competition on Dec. 26 versus Kazakhstan.

NOTES

• The CCHA placed seven players on the junior national team while HOCKEY EAST had five, the WCHA four, the ECAC two, the Ontario Junior Hockey League had three players and one player, goaltender Rick DiPietro, the top pick in last year’s NHL draft, plays professionally in the International Hockey League. In addition to the two Notre Dame players, the other CCHA players include Northern Michigan goaltender Craig Kowalski, Michigan defenseman Mike Komisarek, Michigan forward Andy Hilbert and Ohio State forwards Dave Steckel and R.J. Umberger. Hilbert is playing in his third World Junior Championship, Dunlop his second and the other five are all playing in their first tournament.
• The U.S. roster features seven returning players from the 1999-2000 U.S. National Junior Team that finished 2-3-2 at the World Championship in Umea and Skelleftea, Sweden.
• The roster features 14 National Hockey League draftees, including four picked in the 2000 NHL Draft (Rick DiPietro, 1st overall by New York Islanders, defenseman Ron Hainsey, 13th overall by Montreal, defenseman David Hale, 22nd by New Jersey and forward Jeff Taffe, 30th pick by St. Louis).
• Notre Dame along with Boston College and Minnesota are the three schools that have placed players on the U.S. National Junior Team in each of past five years.
• Current Irish senior Dan Carlson (Edina, Minn.) was a member of the 1998-99 U.S. junior national team. Left wing Brett Henning (Jr., Huntington, N.Y.) and center David Inman (Jr., Toronto, Ont.) joined Dunlop on the 1999-2000 U.S. junior national team.
• Boston College leads the way with a total of ten selections to the U.S. National Junior Team during the past five years, followed by Notre Dame (9), Minnesota (9) and Michigan State (6).
• Seven different Notre Dame players have been named to the National Junior team during the last five years, second only to Boston College’s eight.

United States National Junior Team
1999-2000 World Junior Championship Roster

Head Coach: Keith Allain (Centerville, MA)
Assistant Coach: Jim Johnson (Phoenix, AZ)
Assistant Coach: Tim Taylor (New Haven, CT)
Assistant Coach: Red Gendron (Berlin, NH)
Team Manager: Scott Monaghan (Ho-Ho-Kus, NJ)
Athletic Trainer: David Cotner (Perrysburg, OH)
Equipment Manager: James Dunn (Minneapolis, MN)