Notre Dame hockey at Sears Centre this weekend
Billy Maday did not have the Rudy dream to play for the University of Notre Dame.
He did, however, want to play hockey at the Division I level, and when Notre Dame came calling, Maday answered.
Maday, a junior forward with the Irish, will lead his team into the Sears Centre in Hoffman Estates on Saturday for the third annual Shillelagh Tournament, a four-team event that brings some of the best of collegiate hockey to the suburbs.
On Saturday, Boston University will play Brown University at 3 p.m., and that game will be followed by Notre Dame against Minnesota State. On Sunday, Minnesota State plays the first game and Notre Dame will play in the second game, with opponents to be determined by the outcomes of Saturday's games.
Collegiate hockey does not get much attention in the Chicago area, and Maday, who is from suburban Burr Ridge and attended Benet Academy, enjoys the chance to showcase his skills in front of friends and family. Maday has played in the previous two tournaments at the Sears Centre.
“Last year I had between 25 and 50 people there,'' Maday said. “It was kind of everything; friends, family, teammates and my little brother and his hockey team and their parents were there.
“It's really cool,'' he said. “You get to this level and people have to pay for tickets to see you play, and that is a different element. When you get to do that in front of friends and family, it means more and they get to see how you develop over the years.”
Notre Dame has several other players with Chicago ties, including sophomore defenseman Sam Calabrese from Park Ridge, and freshmen Kevin Lind of Homer Glen and T.J. Tynan of Orland Park. Minnesota State will showcase sophomore defenseman Evan Mosey of Downers Grove and sophomore goaltender Phil Cook of Wheaton. Brown University's roster includes freshman forward Jimmy Siers of Mt. Prospect.
Maday played junior level hockey for the Chicago Chill, which is now called the Chicago Fury, a triple-A league, and that exposure led to his college career.
“I used that as a stepping stone to get noticed, which led me to playing junior hockey (with the Waterloo Blackhawks) and ultimately to Notre Dame,'' he said. “As I started to play for the Chill, getting the opportunity to play at the college level was becoming a reality. I wanted to play at a good school with a good program, and Notre Dame was one of the first schools to take notice of me. I felt the academics and the direction the program is headed was too good to pass up.”
The quality of the hockey played at the Shillelagh tournament should be top-notch considering the competition involved. The Irish are ranked 13th in the USA Today/American Hockey Magazine rankings, and Boston University is ranked 12th.
Notre Dame has won the tournament the first two years, and defeated North Dakota last year in a shootout in the title game.
<b>Shillelagh Tournament featuring four college hockey teams</b>
Who: Notre Dame (11-6-2), Boston University (8-4-5), Brown University (3-4-4), Minnesota State (6-8-4).
Where: Sears Centre Arena, 5333 Prairie Stone Parkway, Hoffman Estates
When: Games at 3 p.m. and 6 p.m. Saturday, with doors opening at 2 p.m.; Sunday's games will start at 2 p.m. and 5 p.m.
Tickets: $10, $15, $20, $35 at searscentre.com
Source: searscentre.com