News

Edina, Mn-The wait is over for Edina junior center Connor Hurley as he announced  today with the MNHockeyCenter.com that he will be attending college and playing hockey at the University of Notre Dame for the 2014-2015 season.  

"The academics was a big thing and the facilities there and the coaching was really good," Hurley said.  "Everyone that I have talked to has been really impressed by the coaching there."

The prolific point producing center joins an Irish team that will be jumping to the Big East from the CCHA next year with the likes of Boston College, Boston University and New Hampshire on the new conference schedule.   Appearing in the Frozen Four at the Xcel Energy Center last year, the Irish are a team that continues to load up with talent as it already boasts a pair of Edina players in Steven Fogarty and Anders Lee.  

When asked about the two former Hornets involvement in the recruiting process, Hurley admitted they helped with his decision and said, "We talked to them, Steven Fogarty and Anders Lee, it was good and they helped out a lot."

Hurley's older brother Ryan was a stand out lacrosse and hockey player at the Academy of Holy Angels who had options for both sports.  The elder Hurley chose lacrosse where he went on to star at Cornell University and play professionally.  He helped his younger brother through the sometimes treacherous waters of the recruiting game in college athletics.

"I talked to him multiple times about it and he just said make the right choice and you will know when you know and you will feel it and talk about it with the family and you will make the right decision." Connor said of his older brother's advice.

The announcement surrounds a player who is highly touted by all levels of hockey including Division I College hockey where he is set to play the next level and as the highest ranked player from Minnesota by the National Hockey League's Central Scouting bureau.  

Hurley brings an impressive resume that began as a freshman at the Academy of Holy Angles where he collected (10g-27a-37pts) in 26 games played while playing alongside his brother Cullen and current Wisconsin Badger Joseph LaBate.  Hurley moved on to the Edina Hornets and made his impression felt immediately his sophomore year where he led his team to the State Tournament and had another impressive offensive showing (26g-32a-58pts) in 30 games played.

Currently, Hurley is the top leading Class 2A scorer in Minnesota with (8g-7a-15pts) in six games while helping lead his Hornets to a 6-0 start.  

This past fall has been busy for Hurley who played in the Upper Midwest High School Elite League, then for a brief stint with the US National Development Team for a brief stint this past fall.  

For now, he is focused on his next game with the Hornets as they continue to take the one game at a time approach. "Coach (Curt Giles) has been stressing just take it one game at a time and just practice by practice, get better ever time on the ice as a team and start gaining more chemistry," Hurley said.  "Especially with a couple of the new guys and just try get it rolling as we have been."

Things couldn't get much better for the Hornet junior as he focusses on a trip to the State Tournament, college hockey and a potential high round National Hockey League pick this upcoming spring.