Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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ND Sports passionate New England fan bases is something they're looking forward to this season. "I don't think we could be more excited to go out east and play some of the top programs in the country and experience some of the coolest atmospheres you can experience in ay college sport," Johns said. Who's In? Who's Out? Notre Dame added six new members to the roster this season to replace the five they lost from last year's group. Lee, an "adult amongst boys," according to Jackson, left a year of eligibility on the table to begin his NHL career last spring. He leaves the biggest gap on the Irish roster in 2013. The team also lost goaltender Mike Johnson, a regular contributor last season, defenseman Sam Calabrese and role-playing forwards Nick Larson and Kevin Nugent. Freshman Chad Katunar, all 6-5, 230 pounds of him, will help to fill in for Mike Johnson. Senior Steven Summerhays will be Notre Dame's main goalie and will play the majority of games, but Jackson said Katunar could see some playing time in relief this season. "He's in the realm of the big goaltenders of the day. I think that once I get him to calm down a little bit in net he has a chance to be really special," Jackson said. Freshman Vince Hinostroza is the rookie most likely to see the ice early and often this season. In the mold of Tynan, he's a talented, undersized forward from the Chicago area. He'll Head coach Jeff Jackson and the Irish were picked to finish third in their first season in Hockey East. photo by joe raymond play center with a teammate from his youth hockey days, sophomore Thomas DiPauli. Freshmen defensemen Justin Wade and Ben Ostlie will compete with sophomore Andy Ryan to be the sixth defenseman in Notre Dame's regular rotation. Jackson said Ryan's year of experience gives him a leg up, but he expects a good battle there in the first couple weeks of the season. That leaves forward Ali Thomas and sophomore addition Joe Aiken. Thomas, another Chicagoland product, will fight for playing time later in the year. Aiken tried out for the team this fall after playing on Notre Dame's club team a year ago. He'll give the Irish the extra forward they need to fill out five full lines in practice. ✦