Sean Molina Hometown: Skokie, IL High School: Loyola Academy Weight: 200 Position: Defenseman Birthdate: 05/22/1977 Previous Team: Dubuque Saints (IA)

Steady fourth-year player on veteran Notre Dame defensive unit, which includes five seniors (who have logged a combined 401 career games), one junior, one sophomore and two freshmen ... considered one of the top skaters on the team ... again will be counted on to be a strong force in front of the Notre Dame net ... turned in the best season of his career in 1998-99, as the Irish coped with injuries to several of their top defensemen ... added 10 pounds to his frame prior to senior season ... has helped Notre Dame make the following defensive strides over the past three seasons: 5.0 fewer opponent shots per game (31.2 in 1995-96, down to 26.2 in ’98-’99); an improved shot margin of 8.6 (from -3.9/gm to +4.5); a dropoff in penalties to the tune of nearly three per game (from 11.31/gm to 8.39); a 5.9 percent jump in penalty-killing efficiency (.773 to .832); and a drop in team goals-against average of more than 1.7 goals per game (4.36 to 2.60) ... one of four freshmen to play 20-plus games with the Irish in 1996-97 before helping the Irish win 18 games in their sophomore season and 19 as the CCHA’s fourth-place team in 1998-99 ... one of 11 Illinois natives who have earned a monogram with the Notre Dame hockey program, a group which includes junior winger Matt Van Arkel (Richton Park) and sophomore goaltender Jeremiah Kimento (Palos Hills) ... three current Irish freshmen also hail from Illinois: right wing Michael Chin (Urbana), defenseman Evan Nielsen (Evanston) and goaltender Tony Zasowski (Darien) ... also one of eight current Irish players who are products of the United States Hockey League (he played for the Dubuque Fighting Saints), with the others including senior defenseman Andy Jurkowski and freshman goaltender Tony Zasowski (both from the Omaha Lancers), junior defenseman Ryan Clark and freshman left wing Jake Wiegand (both former Lincoln Stars players), junior left wing Jay Kopischke (North Iowa Huskies), junior right wing Ryan Dolder (Twin City Vulcans) and freshman right wing Michael Chin (Des Moines Buccaneers) ... will experience many more reunions throughout 1999-2000, as nine of his former teammates play for teams on the upcoming Irish schedule, including four former Dubuque Fighting Saints players: Western Michigan left wing Matt Addessa, Union forward Jay Varady, Nebraska-Omaha center Kyle O’Keefe and New Hampshire forward John Sadowski (Varady and O’Keefe also played with Molina on the Chicago Young Americans) ... his former Chicago Young Americans teammates include Ferris State left wing Brian McCullough and Bowling Green forward Brad Newman ... played in the USA Viking Cup with three current CCHA players: Bowling Green forward/defenseman Mike Jones, Miami forward Mark Shalawaylo and Alaska Fairbanks defenseman Mike Jaros.

CAREER NOTES: Leads all current Notre Dame players with 108 career games played, missing three as a freshman, one as a sophomore and two as a junior ... could crack the Irish top-10 list for career games, by playing in 37 of the 38 regular-season games during 1999-2000 ... needs to log 42 games in the upcoming season to become the third Notre Dame player ever with 150-plus career games played (defenseman John Schmidt appeared in 152 games from 1978-82 while All-America defenseman Jack Brownschidle played in 150 from 1973-77) ... owns 13 career assists but has yet to score a goal during his Notre Dame career, on 74 shots ... has totaled just 26 career penalties (76 minutes), or one per every 4.2 games.

AS A JUNIOR: Saw action in 36 of 38 games ... was paired mostly with freshman Sam Cornelius for the first half of ’98-’99 before skating with All-American Benoit Cotnoir down the stretch ... recorded five assists (one was shorthanded while another set up a game-winning goal) ... whistled for 13 penalties (42 minutes) ... tied with Ben Simon for second on the team with a +13 plus-minus rating (Brian Urick led the team at +23) ... part of a solid blue-line unit that set team record for goals-against average (2.60) for the second straight season ... member of defensive unit that was strong at protecting leads, as the Irish were 15-2-3 when scoring first and 16-0-3 when leading at the second intermission ... recorded his first assist in the second game of the season, on Chad Chipchase’s second-period goal that put the Irish ahead for good in a 4-2 win over Lake Superior ... combined with Brian Urick to assist on Dan Carlson’s shorthanded goal in 9-5 rout of Western Michigan ... assisted on Aniket Dhadphale goal in 6-2 win over Alaska Fairbanks ... also assisted on Ben Simon’s equalizing goal in second period of late-season 3-1 loss at Lake Superior ... recorded the primary assist on Brett Henning’s late third-period goal that tied late-season game at Miami, 2-2 (the RedHawks won in overtime).

AS A SOPHOMORE: Appeared in 40 of 41 games ... five of his six assists came in a five-game midseason stretch ... totaled just four penalties (eight minutes), or one every five games ... played a major role in helping Irish post the lowest goals-against-average in Notre Dame hockey history (2.73, bested in 1998-99), which also ranked eighth in the nation ... helped Irish post the program’s lowest penalty-killing percentage since 1970 (.845, fourth-best in the CCHA) ... played a big part in helping Notre Dame easily repeat as the CCHA’s least-penalized team (6.37/gm) ... helped hold Michigan State to one goal and an 0-for-7 power play effort in stunning 6-1 Irish win (in East Lansing) ... also assisted on a goal by Chipchase to cap the scoring in that game ... assisted on two goals in 5-1 win over Brown at Minnesota’s Mariucci Classic, including the first goal of the game by Steve Noble and a goal by Dan Carlson that put the Irish ahead 3-0 ... assisted on another Noble goal four games later, a second-period score that tied the first game at Alaska Fairbanks, 1-1 (the Irish won 4-2) ... came back the next night to assist on both Irish goals in tough 3-2 overtime loss to the Nanooks ... did not play in the Nov. 24 loss to Lake Superior (4-2).

AS A FRESHMAN: Appeared in 32 of 35 games among top six defensemen ... totaled two assists and just nine penalties (one every 3.6 games) ... helped the Irish rank fourth in the Central Collegiate Hockey Association for penalty-killing percentage (.805) ... skated primarily with senior Ben Nelsen ... notched his first career point in one of the biggest wins of the season, a 7-5 comeback at Bowling Green, after setting up Lyle Andrusiak’s goal early in the third period that cut the Falcons’ lead to 4-3 ... also assisted on Brian Urick’s first-period, 4-on-4 goal against Alaska-Fairbanks that gave Notre Dame a 1-0 lead (the Nanooks rallied for a 5-4 win) ... missed three games in early January.

PREP & PERSONAL: Played for the Dubuque (Iowa) Fighting Saints of the United States Hockey League ... earlier played for the Chicago Young Americans ... attended Loyola Academy in Wilmette, Ill., where he was a catcher and second baseman for the Loyola baseball team ... twice all-conference in baseball while serving as team captain during his senior year ... helped Team USA win a silver medal at the 1995-96 Viking Cup international hockey tournament ... led team to 1993 Bantam national championship in Anchorage, Alaska ... father Rob Molina played club hockey for Loyola University ... member of the National Honor Society and the Insignis Service Group ... born May 22, 1977, in Chicago, Ill. ... son of Rob and Peggy Molina ... full name is Sean C. Molina ... a finance major in the College of Business Administration.

Notre Dame Record Book

Career Games Played

Molina's Career Statistics

Molina's Career Bests

2 Points
at Alaska Fair. (2A; 1/9/98)
vs. Brown, @Minn. (2A; 12/28/97)

3 Shots on Goal
vs. N. Michigan, CCHAs (3/13/99)
at Northern Michigan (1/22/99)
vs. Western Michigan (2/21/97)

2-Game Point Streak (3A)
Jan. 8-9, 1998 (at Alaska Fairbanks)