The Irish Hockey team was victorious over Lake Superior State on December 1st.
Talented left wing who has outstanding offensive instincts ... strong skater with great hands who is a natural goal scorer ... is a threat to score any time he touches the puck ... has excellent size and speed and is tough to knock off his skates ... gifted stick handler who is strong on the puck ... can set teammates up as well as score ... has outstanding vision on the ice ... continues to develop physically ... has all the tools to become a dominant college hockey player ... joins the Notre Dame lineup after playing last season with the Penticton Vees in the British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL) where he was a teammate of current Irish freshman Steven Fogarty ... was second on the team in scoring with 42 goals and 52 assists for 94 points in 56 games ... had 14 power-play goals, two short-handed markers and a pair of game winners ... winner of the Bruce Allen Trophy as the Interior Division's rookie-of-the-year award winner ... was member of Penticton squad that was 54-4-0-2 to win the regular season title, scoring 334 goals while giving up just 133 for a +201-goal differential ... along the way, the Vees set a North American junior hockey record by winning 42 consecutive games ... the Vees then won the BCHL playoff title with a 12-2-0-1 record, defeating Powell River, 4-0, Fred Page Cup Trophy with Lucia scoring six goals with 10 assists in 15 games ... Penticton then won Canada's national junior A hockey title - The RBC Cup - going 2-2 in the round-robin round before defeating the Soo Thunderbirds in the semifinals and winning a dramatic 4-3 decision in the championship game against the Woodstock Slammers ... chosen in the second round, 60th overall, by the Minnesota Wild in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft ... selected to attend the U.S. National Junior Evaluation Camp in Lake Placid, N.Y., Aug. 4 to Aug. 11, 2012 along with Thomas DiPauli, Fogarty and Robbie Russo ... one of four Minnesota natives on the Notre Dame roster along with Lee (Edina), Fogarty (Edina) and Nick Larson (Apple Valley) ... one of three Irish players to play in the BCHL along with Fogarty (Penticton) and junior Shayne Taker (Cowichan Valley) ... Mario becomes the third son of a former Notre Dame player to play for the Irish, joining current teammate Kevin Nugent, Jr., and his father, Kevin Nugent, Sr. `78 and former goaltender Rory Walsh `06 and his father Brian Walsh `77 ... Mario's father, Don Lucia, currently the head hockey coach at Minnesota, is an `81 graduate and played one season with Kevin Nugent, Sr. ... signed a national letter-of-intent to attend Notre Dame in the fall of 2011 along with Thomas DiPauli, Sam Herr, Vince Hinostroza and Justin Wade.
PREP & PERSONAL: Graduated from Wayzata High School in Plymouth, Minn. ... was a two-time letter winner for the Trojans ... selected all-Lake Conference in his sophomore and junior years ... all-state selection as a junior ... led Wayzata to the Minnesota 6AA finals in 2010-11 as he led the Trojans in scoring with 30 goals and 24 assists for 54 points ... spent time in 2010-11 with the USA National Team Developmental Program, playing is six games, scoring three goals in helping Under-18 team to the gold medal at the Four Nations Cup in Sweden ... in Nov. of 2010 helped USA Junior National Select Team to a bronze medal at the World Junior A Challenge ... led the tournament with four goals ... full name is Mario Paul Lucia ... son of Don and Joyce Lucia ... has two sisters, Ali and Jessie and one brother, Tony ... father was a defenseman at Notre Dame (1977-81) and had seven goals and 23 assists in 124 career games while playing for "Lefty" Smith ... brother, Tony, played hockey at the University of Minnesota from 2006-10 and is currently a member of the San Jose Sharks organization ... sister, Jessie, played volleyball at Concordia University ... born in Fairbanks, Alaska ... enrolled in First Year of Studies and plans to major in Business at Notre Dame.
