Kyle Lawson Class: Junior Hometown: New Hudson, MI High School: South Lyon Height / Weight: 5-11 / 210 Position: Defenseman Birthdate: 01/11/1987 Last Team: Tri-City Storm (USHL)

Strong, steady defenseman who ranks among the top blueliners in the Central Collegiate Hockey Association ... will serve as one of the team's alternate captains in 2008-09 ... leader of the Irish defense as a junior ... led all Notre Dame defensemen in scoring as a sophomore in 2007-08 with five goals and 21 assists for 26 points ... honorable mention all-CCHA selection as a sophomore ... steady, reliable, smart defenseman ... competitive player who skates well and moves the puck quickly ... has a strong, accurate shot from the point ... has the knack for making big plays at key times .... has played in 83 career games with nine goals and 36 assists for 45 points ... as a freshman was selected to the CCHA all-rookie team ... played for the U.S. Junior National Team that won bronze medal at 2007 World Junior Championships in Sweden ... served as alternate captain ... came to Notre Dame after playing one season in the United States Hockey League (USHL) with the Tri-City Storm ... product of the U.S. National Team Developmental Program and is one of seven former U.S. Under-18 team alums on squad along with senior Jordan Pearce, sophomores Ian Cole, Teddy Ruth, Brad Phillips and freshmen Patrick Gaul and Sean Lorenz ... selected in the seventh round of the 2005 NHL Entry Draft, 198th overall by the Carolina Hurricanes ... signed a national letter-of-intent to attend Notre Dame in Nov. of `04 along with Erik Condra, Christian Hanson, Pearce, Kevin Deeth and Ryan Thang and deferred to the `06-'07 season ... one of four Tri-City Storm alums on the roster along with seniors Luke Lucyk and Christian Hanson and sophomore Calle Ridderwall ... one of seven Michigan natives on the Irish hockey roster along with seniors Condra (Livonia) and Justin White (Traverse City), junior Brett Blatchford (Temperance) and sophomores Cole (Ann Arbor), Phillips (Farmington Hills) and Ben Ryan (Brighton) ... one of 15 Notre Dame players to see action in the USHL.

AS A SOPHOMORE: Played in 45 of Notre Dame's 47 games on the season ... led Irish defensemen in scoring with five goals and 21 assists for 26 points, all career highs ... had 18 penalties for 36 minutes ... scored two power-play goals with 11 power-play assists on the year ... had two game-winning goals and assisted on six other game winners ... finished with a +13 to tie for second on the team in plus-minus ... 21 assists was second on the squad ... had four multiple-point games on the year with a career-best four-point game (1g, 3a) in CCHA playoff game versus Ferris State (March 15) ... was an honorable mention all-CCHA selection ... selected to the Frozen Four all-tournament team ... scored first goal of the season in 4-3 win against fifth-ranked Denver on Oct. 19 ... added an assist in second game of series ... had a goal and an assist in series sweep of Lake Superior (Nov. 1-2) ... goal versus the Lakers was first game-winning goal of the season and came via the power play ... had first multiple-point game with two assists in 4-1 win over Western Michigan (Nov. 16) ... was selected CCHA defensive player of the week following sweep of Western Michigan ... picked up third goal of year and second game winner in 2-1 home win against Bowling Green (Nov. 20) ... had a career-best six-game point streak (1g, 6a) from Nov. 20 to Dec. 7 ... had three assists in 57th Rensselaer Holiday Tournament ... recorded one assist in win over Alabama-Huntsville ... had two assists in championship game versus Rensselaer, setting up Ryan Thang's game-winning goal in championship game as Irish overcame a 3-0 deficit to win 4-3 ... had just two assists in 13 games from Dec. 8 to Feb. 9 before assisting on goals in both games of series at Alaska ... set up Ryan Thang game winner in 2-1 win over Nanooks on Feb. 15 and Mark Van Guilder's game-tying goal in 1-1 tie on Feb. 16 ... had five points (1g, 4a) in best-of-three CCHA second round series with Ferris State ... had career-best four-point game (1g, 3a) in 6-3 win in game two with Bulldogs ... set up Ian Cole's game winner in 2-1 game three win ... fifth goal of the season came on the power play in NCAA West Regional win over New Hampshire (7-3) ... assisted on lone Irish goal in 4-1 loss to Boston College in national championship game on April 12 ... had key goal disallowed versus Eagles that would have cut 3-1 lead to 3-2 at 4:56 of third period ... in nine postseason games had two goals and five assists for seven points and was +4 in those games.

AS A FRESHMAN: Played in 38 games with four goals and 15 assists for 19 points ... two goals came on the power play ... called for seven penalties for 14 minutes in the sin bin ... took 65 shots on goal ... led all Irish defensemen and was fourth on team with a +21 ... selected to CCHA all-rookie team ... recorded first collegiate assist in 7-1 win against No. 1 Boston College ... added five more assists before recording first career goal and two-point game in Dec. 3 win against Alaska ... set up a Ryan Thang goal and then got first goal at 8:15 of second period, giving Irish a 4-1 lead in 6-2 victory ... that started him on a six-game point streak (3g, 4a) from Dec. 3 to Jan. 19 ... had one assist in 7-3 win at Michigan on Dec. 8 ... notched first career power-play goal in 4-3 win over Wolverines on Dec. 10 ... missed Northern Michigan and Robert Morris series while playing for U.S. Junior National Team in Sweden ... returned to record assists in both games of Lake Superior State series (Jan. 12-13) ... closed streak with third goal of the year (ppg) in 3-2 loss at Western Michigan ... recorded second multiple-point game with two assists in Jan. 26 game versus Miami (4-1 win) ... final goal of the year came in first game of CCHA quarterfinals against Alaska ... added an assist in series-clinching win against Nanooks on March 10 ... final assist of the year came versus Alabama-Huntsville in 3-2 double-overtime win ... helped set up Ryan Thang's game winner at 15:18 of the second overtime ... had one goal and two assists in six postseason games.

WITH USA HOCKEY: Served as alternate captain of 2007 U.S. Junior National Team that won bronze medal in Sweden ... played in seven games with no points and two penalty minutes ... spent the `04-'05 season with the U.S. Under-18 team ... had four goals and 21 assists in 45 games while being a member of gold-medal winning teams at the Four Nations Tournament and the Under-18 World Championships in the Czech Republic ... strong performance at Under-17 Select Festival in 2004 earned him a spot with national program ... was an alternate captain on 2004 Under-18 Select Team that finished fourth at World Cup.

PREP & PERSONAL: Graduated from South Lyon High School in South Lyon, Mich. .... came up through the Honeybaked AAA program where he had 17 goals and 41 assists for 58 points in `03-'04 ... following one season in the U.S. program, played in the USHL for the Tri-City Storm ... led the Storm defensemen in scoring with nine goals and 13 assists for 22 points in 49 games ... full name is Kyle Joseph Lawson ... son of Robert and Judith Lawson ... has one brother and one sister ... born Jan. 11, 1987 in Southfield, Mich. ... has a double major in psychology and computer applications at Notre Dame.

Lawson's Career Statistics