Eric Ringel Class: Freshman Hometown: Hinckley, OH Height / Weight: 6-0 / 189 Position: Defenseman Birthdate: 04/04/1990 Last Team: Mahoning Valley Phantoms (NAHL)

Comes to Notre Dame after playing the last two seasons with the Mahoning Valley Phantoms of the North American Hockey League (NAHL) ... offensive-minded defenseman who will look to develop his all-around game at Notre Dame ... strong skater who moves the puck well ... intelligent playmaker who makes smart plays with the puck ... has a tremendous upside and the tools to become an excellent collegiate defenseman ... must get stronger and adapt to the speed and size of opposing players ... led Mahoning Valley defensemen in scoring with seven goals and 20 assists for 27 points in 50 games during 2007-08 season, ranking 15th among NAHL defensemen ... helped Mahoning Valley to a 36-18-4 record and a second-place finish in the North Division ... Phantoms advanced to NAHL championship game where they lost the Robertson Cup title to St. Louis and fellow freshman Nick Condon ... during `06-'07 season helped Mahoning Valley to a 47-14-1 record and first place in the North Division ... had 10 goals and 15 assists for 25 points in 51 games to finish second among Phantom defenders and tie for 23rd among NAHL defensemen ... also saw duty with USA Hockey during `06-'07 when he played for Under-17 Select team in the Four Nations Tournament and the Vlad Dzurilla Tournament in Feb. of 2007 ... product of the Cleveland Barons AAA program ... one of six Notre Dame players to have seen action in the NAHL, joining senior Erik Condra (Texarkana), juniors Brett Blatchford (Texas) and Tom O'Brien (Mahoning Valley), sophomore Ryan Guentzel (Southern Minnesota) and fellow freshman Nick Condon (St. Louis) ... O'Brien also played for Mahoning Valley (2004-05) ... just the second native of Ohio to play hockey at Notre Dame, joining former standout Ben Simon `00 (Shaker Heights) ... one of seven freshmen on the Notre Dame roster ... signed national letter-of-intent in early-signing period (Nov. of 2007) along with Patrick Gaul and Sean Lorenz.

PREP & PERSONAL: Graduated from South Range High School in North Lima, Ohio ... also attended University School in Cleveland as a freshman and sophomore ... full name is Eric Joseph Ringel ... son of Roman and Maria Ringel ... has two brothers, Adam and Dean ... born April 4, 1990 in Cleveland, Ohio ... enrolled in First Year of Studies ... plans on majoring in business at Notre Dame.