May 9, 2007

Notre Dame, Ind. - University of Notre Dame hockey coach Jeff Jackson announced today that Ryan Guentzel (Woodbury, Minn.) will join the Irish hockey roster in September for the start of the 2007-08 season, giving Notre Dame an eight-man freshman class. Guentzel is currently playing in the United States Hockey League (USHL) with the Sioux Falls Stampede, one of the four teams that have advanced to the Clark Cup finals.

Guentzel joins seven others who signed national letters of intent in the fall of 2006 - Robin Bergman (F, Stockholm, Sweden), Ian Cole (D, Ann Arbor, Mich.), Billy Maday (F, Burr Ridge, Ill.), Brad Phillips (G, Farmington Hills, Mich.), Calle Ridderwall (F, Stockholm, Sweden), Ted Ruth (D, Naperville, Ill.) and Ben Ryan (F, Brighton, Mich.).

In making the announcement, Jackson said, "Ryan rounds out a strong, talented class of players that will join us as we move into next season. He's a playmaker who sees the ice well and is smart with the puck."

A 5-11, 170-pound forward, Guentzel finished the regular season as the second leading scorer at Sioux Falls, scoring nine goals with a team-high 38 assists for 47 points as the Stampede finished fourth in the West Division with a 34-21-5 record. His 38 assists tied him for 13th in the USHL while his 47 points were 31st overall. In six postseason games, he has two goals and three assists for five points. Sioux Falls faces Indiana on May 12th in one of two USHL Clark Cup semifinal games.

The 20-year old forward spent the 2005-06 season with the Southern Minnesota Express of the North American Hockey League (NAHL). He finished third in scoring with the Express, scoring 20 goals with 35 assists for 55 points. Six of his goals came on the power play with two being game winners. Southern Minnesota was first in the Central Division with a 35-17-6 record and advanced to the NAHL semifinals. Prior to playing for the Express, Guentzel played at Hill-Murray High School where he was team captain and led the Pioneers in scoring as a senior in 2004-05 with 17 goals and 31 assists in 25 games and was honorable mention all-state. He had 114 career points in three seasons at Hill-Murray. As a sophomore he was a teammate of current Notre Dame forward Garrett Regan.

                              Class of 2007-08
Player           Pos.   DOB    Ht.  Wt. S/C  Hometown/2006-07 Team 
Robin Bergman     F   7/12/88  6-0  191  L   Stockholm, Sweden/Cedar Rapids RoughRiders (USHL)
Ian Cole          D   2/21/89  6-1  210  L   Ann Arbor, Mich./U.S. Under-18 Team
Ryan Guentzel     F   7/14/86  5-11 170  R   Woodbury, Minn./Sioux Falls Stampede (USHL)
Billy Maday       F   2/25/88  5-11 175  R   Burr Ridge, Ill./Waterloo Black Hawks (USHL)
Brad Phillips     G   4/22/89  6-2  163  L   Farmington Hills, Mich./USA Under-18 Team
Calle Ridderwall  F   5/28/88  5-11 175  L   Stockholm, Sweden/Tri-City Storm (USHL)
Teddy Ruth        D   2/14/89  6-0  190  R   Naperville, Ill./USA Under-18 Team
Ben Ryan          F  10/18/88  6-0  195  R   Brighton, Mich./Des Moines Buccaneers (USHL)