Sept. 29, 2009
Farmington Hills, Mich. –
The Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA) today announced the 2009-10 preseason All-Conference team as selected by the league’s coaches.
Notre Dame is represented on the two teams by four players. Leading the way for the Irish on the first team is junior defenseman Ian Cole (Ann Arbor, Mich.) who received eight first-place votes and 46 points in all. The 2009 first team All-CCHA and All-American was the lone Notre Dame player selected to the first team.
Cole is coming off a season that saw him lead Irish defensemen in scoring with six goals and 20 assists for 26 points with three of the goals coming on the power play while two were game winners. His +15 rating was tops on the team. Cole was a CCHA all-tournament team selection as he helped Notre Dame win the 2009 CCHA Championship.
Named to the second team are senior defenseman Kyle Lawson (New Hudson, Mich.) and forwards Billy Maday (So., Burr Ridge, Ill.) and Calle Ridderwall (Jr., Stockholm, Sweden). Lawson picked up one first-place vote and had 17 points in the voting. Maday and Ridderwall each had one first-place vote and picked up 19 points to be selected to the team.
In three seasons at Notre Dame, Lawson has been Mr. Reliable for the Irish. As a junior, he was third among defensemen in scoring with four goals and 19 assists for 23 points at was +14 for the year. He was a second team all-CCHA selection and was named the CCHA Best Defensive Defenseman Award following the season by the league’s coaches. As a sophomore, Lawson was an honorable mention all-CCHA choice and in his freshman year he was chosen to the CCHA all-rookie team.
Maday was selected to the CCHA all-rookie team during his freshman year in 2008-09 as he finished fifth on the Irish in scoring with 16 goals and 14 assists for 30 points. Seven of his goals came on the power play and he added one game winner. Maday was +5 on the year and led Notre Dame with 108 shots on goal.
Ridderwall had a break out year in `08-’09 as he led the Irish with 17 shots on goal and added 15 assists for 32 points, all career highs. An honorable mention all-CCHA pick last year, Ridderwall led Notre Dame’s nation-leading power play with 11 man-advantage goals. That total was second in the CCHA and fifth in the nation.
The fifth Irish player to be honored by the conference is senior right wing Ryan Thang (Edina, Minn.) who was an honorable mention preseason pick. Thang had 10 goals and nine assists for 19 points in 33 games as a junior with four goals coming on the power play and two game winners.
In all, six teams were represented on the CCHA Preseason team with Notre Dame leading the way with four players selected.
2009-10 CCHA Preseason First TeamPlayer, Yr., School (1st) Totals Pos. Carter Camper, Jr., MIA 11 55 FLouie Caporusso, Jr., UM 11 55 FMark Olver, Jr., NMU 5 39 FErik Gustafsson, Jr., NMU 8 49 DIan Cole, Jr., ND 8 46 DBrian Stewart, Sr., NMU 5 36 G
2009-10 CCHA Preseason Second TeamPlayer, Yr., School (1st) Totals Pos.Calle Ridderwall, Jr., ND 1 19 FBilly Maday, So., ND 1 19 FJohn Albert, Jr., OSU 5 37 FEddie Del Grosso, Sr., UNO 4 28 DKyle Lawson, Sr., ND 1 17 DBryan Hogan, Jr., UM 5 30 G
Honorable mention (next six point totals, regardless of position with first team votes in parentheses): Ryan Thang, Sr., F, ND, (1) 15; Zach Redmond, Jr., D, FSU, (1) 15; Chris Summers, Sr., D, UM, 1 (15); Gregor Hanson, Jr., F, NMU, 15; Tyler Ludwig, Sr., D, WMU, 14; Chris Wideman, So., D, MIA, 14.