Sophomore defenseman Teddy Ruth is one of four Illinois natives on the Notre Dame roster who will get a chance to play in their home state when the Irish host the Shillelagh Tournament at the Sears Centre on Jan. 2-3.

Two-Day Ticket Packages For The Shillelagh Hockey Tournament On Sale Saturday At The Sears Centre

Oct. 3, 2008

Notre Dame, Ind. – Two-day ticket packages for the first-ever Shillelagh Hockey Tournament to be held on Jan. 2-3, 2009 at the Sears Centre in Hoffman Estates, Ill., will go on sale to the public at 10:00 a.m., Saturday, Oct. 4. The tickets can be purchased through the Sears Centre website at searscentre.com and then clicking on tickets.

The Shillelagh Tournament is hosted by the University of Notre Dame and will feature Minnesota-Duluth, UMass-Lowell and Union College. On Friday, Jan. 2, Minnesota-Duluth will face UMass-Lowell at 5:05 p.m. (CT) with Notre Dame playing Union in the nightcap at 8:05 p.m. On Saturday, Jan. 3, Union will play in the first game at 4:05 (CT) versus either Minnesota-Duluth or UMass-Lowell while Notre Dame will play at 7:05 p.m. against one of those two teams.

Tickets for the Shillelagh Tournament are being sold in two-day packages. Click on 2008 Shillelagh Tournament Seat Map for seat locations and prices for the two-day tournament:

Seats on the glass (2 games Friday/2 games Saturday): - $100.00Club Seats (2 games Friday/2 games Saturday) - $80.00Lower Level Side (2 games Friday/2 games Saturday) - $40.00Lower Level Back (2 games Friday/2 games Saturday) - $15.00

Tickets for single games will go on sale at a later date closer to the tournament depending on availability. For more information on the tournament or on tickets, contact the Sears Centre ticket office at 847-649-2270 or the Sears Centre website at searscentre.com.

The Sears Centre Arena is located in the Prairie Stone Business Park in Hoffman Estates, Ill., 30 miles northwest of Chicago, just off of Interstate 90 and west of Illinois Route 59 and seats 9,700 for hockey. The building is the home of the Continental Indoor Football League’s Chicago Slaughter, the National Lacrosse League’s Chicago Shamrox and the Chicago Storm of the Major Indoor Lacrosse League. The venue opened on Oct. 26, 2006 and also served as the home of the Chicago Hounds of the United Hockey League during the 2006-07 season.

A Shillelagh (pronounced Sha-lay-lee) is a thick stick of blackthorn or oak, used in Ireland, typically as a weapon. The word originates from the town of Shillelagh in County Wicklow, Ireland.