pick6pedro {l Wrote}:Boston Domer {l Wrote}:
Notre Dame is in the middle of one bad season, much like Boston College last year.
When did Notre Dame become a powerhouse in hockey? Four NCAA Tournament appearances and one Frozen Four and all of a sudden they claim it's just "one bad season".
Notre Dame was the winningest program in college hockey for the three seasons between 2006 and 2009, winning both the CCHA regular season and playoffs twice and making the NCAA tournament all three years. Combining that with a head coach who has won multiple national championships, I believe it is fair to consider this season an aberration. In addition, Notre Dame has the most Rivals Top 50 recruits for the Class of 2010, so the outlook appears good too. Granted, Jeff Jackson won his titles at Lake Superior State, but do not forget Boston College had to hire a championship coach from Bowling Green in order to return to prominence.
flyingelvii {l Wrote}:Random question but any idea how Ruth is doing this year? He went to my school before going to Ann Arbor for a few years. And got traded for Fedorov straight up 2 or 3 years ago. Needless to say his hockey career is a tad more illustrious than mine.
Unfortunately, Ruth has been injured and has missed about half the season. When he is in the lineup, he is Notre Dame's most reliable stay-at-home defensemen. Despite missing half the season, he still leads the team in penalty minutes. He has a real nasty streak, and was suspended for a game after retaliating for a hit from behind. I think he'll sign this offseason, because the Blue Jackets do not want to risk losing him to free agency.
Jeff Jackson gets a lot of recruits from the United States National Team Development Program in Ann Arbor. Jackson was the first coach of the program and although new recruits arrived there long after he left, Jackson has still recruited the USNTDP well. His success in recruiting is doubly effective as it has cut into Red Berenson's efforts at Michigan. Another area where Notre Dame has experienced recruiting success is in Chicagoland. There are about a half dozen players from Teddy Ruth's AAA team, the Chicago Mission, on the roster or currently committed to Notre Dame.