Jay Kopischke Hometown: Alexandria, MN High School: Alexandria High School Height / Weight: 6-3 / 210 Position: Left Wing Birthdate: 02/07/1978 Previous Team: North Iowa Huskies - USHL

8th-Round NHL Draft Pick
(Los Angeles Kings, '97)

Physical forward who could be due for breakthrough season, after playing strong supporting role as a junior in 1999-2000 ... played some on the second forward line as a junior, after skating mostly on the third and fourth lines in his first two campaigns ... one of four Notre Dame players selected in the 1997 National Hockey League draft (by the Los Angeles Kings), tying Boston College for most players drafted from the same school ... signed with the Irish in spring of 1997 ... combines with fall 1996 signees Dan Carlson, Chad Chipchase and Matt Van Arkel and former walk-on Ryan Dolder (now the Irish captain) to give the Irish a diverse crop of senior forwards ... his 6-3, 210-pound frame provides an imposing presence ... looking to get the most out of his promising combination of toughness, speed and scoring touch ... has yet to record a multi-point game in his Irish career ... spent 1996-97 season with North Iowa Huskies of the United States Hockey League (USHL) ... one of 10 current Irish players who are products of the USHL, with the others including sophomore goaltender Tony Zasowski (Omaha Lancers), senior defenseman Ryan Clark and sophomore left wing Jake Wiegand (both former Lincoln Stars players), Dolder and junior left wing Jon Maruk (Twin City Vulcans), sophomore right wing Michael Chin and freshman forward Kyle Dolder (Des Moines Buccaneers), freshman defenseman Tom Galvin (Waterloo Blackhawks) and freshman center Aaron Gill (Rochester Mustangs) ... one of eight Minnesota natives on 2000-01 Notre Dame roster, joining the Dolder brothers, plus classmates Carlson (Edina) and Kyle Kolquist (Duluth), Maruk (Eden Prairie), junior Sam Cornelius (Edina) and Gill (Rochester) ... one of 79 all-time Notre Dame hockey letterwinners from the state of Minnesota (out of 234), a group which includes 1973 All-America defenseman Bill Nyrop (Edina) ... noteworthy former Irish players to wear No. 13 include forward Kevin Hoene (‘68-’71, 50G-51A in 88 career games), left wing Matt Hanzel (‘85-’89, 50G-51A in 101 games), winger Sterling Black (‘89-’93, 39G-51A in 121 games) and defender/forward Brian McCarthy (‘93-’97, 19G-26A in 144 games) ... a former teammate of two current players in the Central Collegiate Hockey Association: Ohio State defenseman Jaisen Freeman (Team Minnesota All-Stars) and Lake Superior sophomore Lionel Crump (North Iowa Huskies).

CAREER NOTES: Part of a senior class that has played in three CCHA first-round playoff series that were extended to the maximum three games (plus a 2000 trip to the CCHA semifinals) ... his 16 career points versus CCHA teams include four versus Ferris State (2G-2A) and three assists vs. Western Michigan ... owns two career goals versus Michigan State (the rest of the Irish veterans have just four between them) ... heads into his senior season with 102 career games played, eight goals (two on the power play), 12 assists, 40 penalties for 88 minutes and a -7 plus-minus ratio.

AS A JUNIOR: Provided several timely plays while appearing in 33 of 42 games and registering a career-best 11 points ... skated primarily on the second and third lines with a variety of linemates ... his season statistics included six goals, five assists, 13 penalties for 34 minutes, two power-play goals and a -2 plus-minus ratio ... took 44 shots while scoring on 13.6 percent of them, the third-best shooting percentage among Irish regulars ... did not register a mutli-point game ... filled in on the second power-play unit during final three weeks of season (when David Inman was out due to illness) ... recorded all 11 of his points in final 26 games of the season ... scored in consecutive losses at Michigan State (4-1) and at home versus UMass (4-3) ... those goals sparked a streak in which he registered points in six of seven games ... set up Van Arkel’s goal from the left circle to give Irish 1-0 lead in 3-3 game at Denver ... fed Inman for game-tying breakaway in 2-1 win over Lake Superior ... played key role in late game-tying score versus Western Michigan (18:37), slapping a backhanded shot on goal that led to Carlson’s rebound score (the Irish went on to win in overtime, 4-3) ... opened scoring in 3-3 game at Alaska Fairbanks, after alertly scooping home a loose puck ... ended seven-game point drought by scoring in final regular-season game at Michigan State (a 5-3 loss) ... won a leftside faceoff and then put a shot on goal that led to Andy Jurkowski’s third-period, game-tying goal in 4-3 CCHA playoff win over Ferris State ... joined Van Arkel and senior defenseman Tyson Fraser as unlikely goalscorers in 4-3 CCHA playoff win over Ferris State ... gave Irish 2-0 lead in that game, knocking home a rebounded Brett Henning shot after a turnover in the Bulldogs zone.

AS A SOPHOMORE: Saw action in 29 of 38 games, with three assists, 22 shots, 15 penalties and a -3 plus-minus ... assisted in 2-1 loss at Western Michigan, with his shot setting up Van Arkel’s rebound goal ... set up Dolder’s first-period goal at Northern Michigan, for a 2-0 lead just 11 seconds after Aniket Dhadphale had scored on the power play (the game ended 3-3) ... combined with Brian Urick to assist on Ben Simon’s goal in second game of CCHA playoff series with Northern Michigan (a 7-1 loss).

AS A FRESHMAN: Appeared in 40 of 41 games, with two goals, four assists, 41 shots and 12 penalties ... had no points in first 10 games before scoring early second-period goal to for 2-1 lead in 5-5 tie with Ferris State ... went without a point in the next 14 games before setting up a rifle shot by Steve Noble at Bowling Green, giving the Irish a 2-1 lead (Notre Dame won 5-4 in overtime) ... opened the scoring in first game versus Michigan, at 9:20 of the first period (the Wolverines came back for a 7-2 win) ... assisted on early first goal in 7-1 win over Ferris State ... combined with Craig Hagkull on crisp passes that set up a goal by Mark Eaton just two minutes into the third and deciding CCHA playoff game at Michigan, with the Wolverines rallying for a 4-3 win.

PREP & PERSONAL: A three-year hockey letterwinner at Alexandria High School ... all-conference as a sophomore, all-state as a senior ... led team to conference titles during his junior and senior years and the regional title as a senior ... totaled 63 points as a senior ... selected in eighth round of ’97 NHL draft by the Los Angeles Kings, one round before his classmate and current Irish defenseman Ryan Clark was selected by the New York Islanders ... joined with Clark and current senior forwards Simon (5th round, Chicago) and Joe Dusbabek (7th round, San Jose) as just the second foursome of Notre Dame players taken in the first nine rounds of the same NHL draft ... hails from same high school as recent Notre Dame women’s golf co-captain Tracy Melby (’98) ... born Feb. 7, 1978, in Alexandria, Minn. ... son of Kevin and Donna Kopischke ... full name is Jay Kevin Kopischke ... a finance major in the Mendoza College of Business.

Career vs. CCHA

1999-2000 vs. CCHA

Kopischke's Career Statistics

Kopischke's Career Bests

7 Shots On Goal

vs. Western Michigan (1/21/00)

2-Game Goal Streak

• Dec. 5-10, 1999 (vs. Western Michigan and UMass)

4-Game Point Streak

• Dec. 20, 1999 - Jan. 7, 2000 (vs. Princeton, Denver, Colorado College and Lake Superior)