Brett Blatchford Class: Junior Hometown: Temperance, MI High School: St. Francis de Sales (Toledo, OH) Height / Weight: 5-11 / 198 Position: Defensman Birthdate: 06/05/1986 Last Team: Texas Tornado (NAHL)

Two-time monogram winner for the Irish on defense ... has been a regular contributor on the Notre Dame blue line in each of his first two seasons ... smart, intelligent player with the puck ... strong skater with the ability to move the puck in transition ... has worked hard to improve his play in the defensive zone ... has good hockey instincts to go with excellent stick skills ... competitive player who comes to play every night ... has been a quarterback on one of Notre Dame's power plays in each of his first two seasons ... has a strong, accurate shot that sets forwards up for deflections and rebounds in front ... will be asked to shoot more from his spot on the point ... saw action in 45 games as a sophomore ... did not score a goal but had 12 assists for 12 points ... eight of those assists came on the power play ... has played 75 games in his first two campaigns, scoring two goals with 27 assists for 29 points ... came to Notre Dame after playing three seasons with the Texas Tornado of the North American Hockey League (NAHL) ... one of six players - along with senior Erik Condra (Texarkana), junior Tom O'Brien (Mahoning Valley), sophomore Ryan Guentzel (Southern Minnesota) and freshmen Nick Condon (St. Louis) and Eric Ringel (Mahoning Valley) - to join the Irish after playing in the NAHL ... one of seven Michigan natives on the Irish hockey roster along with seniors Erik Condra (Livonia) and Justin White (Traverse City), fellow junior Kyle Lawson (New Hudson) and sophomores Ian Cole (Ann Arbor), Brad Phillips (Farmington Hills) and Ben Ryan (Brighton) ... joined the Irish in the late-signing period (spring `06) along with Dan Kissel and Tom O'Brien.

AS A SOPHOMORE: Played in 45 games with no goals and 12 assists for 12 points to finish fourth among Irish defensemen in scoring ... had seven penalties for 14 minutes ... was -2 for the year ... got the season off to a fast start with assists in four of the team's first five games ... assisted on Mark Van Guilder power-play goal in season-opening, 4-1, loss to Wisconsin in the Lefty McFadden Invitational (Oct. 12) ... helped set up Van Guilder's game-winning ppg in 4-0 win over Mercyhurst in third-place game of McFadden Invitational (Oct. 13) ... ran scoring streak to three games with an assist on Garrett Regan's power-play goal in 4-3 win over Denver in home opener ... assisted on an Evan Rankin goal in 3-2 win at Ferris State (Oct. 19) ... picked up fourth power-play assist on a Rankin power-play marker in 4-1 win over Lake Superior State (Nov. 2) ... selected to the all-tournament team at the Rensselaer Holiday Tournament ... had five shots on goal and was +1 as the Irish won the tournament for the first time ... had a three-game point streak (0g, 3a) from Nov. 30 through Dec. 1 ... snapped a seven-game pointless streak with an assist in 5-4 win over Nebraska-Omaha (Nov. 30) ... assisted on an Ian Cole power-play goal versus Mavericks in 5-0 win on Dec. 1 ... had a strong series at Princeton with one assist in 4-2 win on Dec. 7 and was +4 in the weekend sweep ... set up Ryan Thang's game-tying goal with 38 seconds left in 1-1 tie with Michigan State (Jan. 13) ... went nine games without a point before setting up an Erik Condra power-play goal in 2-2 tie with Ohio State on Feb. 23 ... picked up one assist in the CCHA playoffs against Ferris State and added his 12th assist of the year in the 7-3 victory over New Hampshire in the NCAA West Regional ... played in nine postseason games with two assists.

AS A FRESHMAN: Played in 30 games in his rookie season, scoring twice with 15 assists for 17 points ... had one game-winning goal ... had eight penalties for 16 minutes ... recorded 29 shots on goal ... was +9 on the year ... picked up a point in his first collegiate game, assisting on a Kevin Deeth power-play goal in 3-2 loss at Minnesota Sate on Oct. 14 ... recorded second assist of the year in 4-2 win at Ohio State on Nov. 3 ... scored first collegiate goal at 9:44 of the third period to snap a 1-1 tie and on the way to a 3-1 home win versus Alaska on Dec. 2 ... that started him on a four-game point streak (1g, 5a) ... picked up an assist in 6-2 Irish win over Alaska (Dec. 3) ... had career-high three-point and three-assist game in 7-3 win over Michigan (Dec. 8) ... closed streak with one assist in 4-3 win over the Wolverines at home on Dec. 10 ... added second multiple-point game with two assists in 6-2 win at Robert Morris ... scored second goal in second period of 3-0 win at Western Michigan (Jan. 20) ... closed the season on a three-game point streak with assists versus Michigan, Alabama-Huntsville and Michigan State ... in four postseason games had three assists for three points.

PREP & PERSONAL: Graduated from St. Francis de Sales High School in Toledo, Ohio ... spent three seasons with the North American Hockey League's (NAHL) Texas Tornado ... led all NAHL defensemen in scoring in 2005-06 with three goals and 46 assists for 49 points in 54 games ... his 46 assists were third-best in the league as he helped lead Texas to first place with a 42-12-4 record ... in 13 postseason games, added two goals and five assists ... was a member of three consecutive Robertson Cup champions as the top Junior A team in the country ... was named first team all-NAHL and received the NAHL academic achievement award following the season ... selected to the all-tournament team at the 2005 Chowder Cup Tournament ... in `04-'05, collected four goals with 21 assists for 25 points ... added three goals and eight assists in 12 playoff games, including setting up the game-winning goal in the national championship game ... played in two NAHL all-star games in `05 and `06 ... had one goal and six assists in his rookie year (`04-'05) ... finished career as Texas Tornado's all-time assist leader (90) ... full name is Brett Michael Blatchford ... has one brother ... son of John and Denise Blatchford ... born June 5, 1986 in Toledo, Ohio ... has a double major in psychology and sociology in the College of Arts and Letters.

Blatchford's Career Statistics