By Warren Kozireski–
Like most college freshman Joe Wegwerth had trouble adjusting to the Division I game. Since joining the U.S. National Development program and then Green Bay and Cedar Rapids of the USHL for one season he hasn’t been much a goal-scorer, but instead uses his 6’3”, 230 lb. frame to play responsible defense and shutting down the opposition playing left wing on usually the third line.
Drafted by Florida in the fourth round of the 2014 NHL Entry Draft, he this season helped Notre Dame reach the Frozen Four scoring a collegiate career-best seven goals and 11 points.
He registered his first collegiate two-goal game Oct. 22 against Penn State.
“It’s been really special for all of us,” Wegwerth said one day before their national semi-final loss to top-ranked Denver. “Since day one this has been the goal and we’ve had a lot of ups and downs.
“Three months ago we hit a really rough patch of the schedule where we knew we were playing three or four of the top-15 teams in the country and we got a ton of momentum and that’s when our game really started to turn around. Ever since that point, we’ve been a different team; a confident group.”
The Fighting Irish lost in the Hockey East semi-final to UMass-Lowell but received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament as the fourth-seed in the Northeast Regional in Manchester, NH.
“That game we had against Lowell at Boston Garden where we kind of got the doors blown off of us (a 5-1 loss)—that was the moment where we realized that this is a big stage and let’s put this behind us.
“Going into Manchester we took care of business there (defeating top-seed Minnesota in the first round and Lowell in the regional final).
Wegwerth played one-plus season with Brewster in the Empire Junior League after his bantam time with the Westchester Express and Brewster High before heading to Ann Arbor, Michigan where the U.S. Development team used to be (now in Plymouth, MI).
He was a physical force on 2013-14 with the U-18 national team racking up 123 minutes in penalties over 60 games before scoring nine goals during his one season in the USHL.
“Everyone has a job to do and everybody has contributed here. If you look at the scoresheet the past few months there is a different hero every night and we’re not relying on one guy.
Though on the big stage of the Frozen Four and now almost a time zone away in South Bend, Indiana, Wegwerth hasn’t forgotten where he came from.
“I try to still follow it (development hockey in the Westchester region). Obviously I played high school for Brewster and I still follow high school hockey down there pretty regularly. I still keep in touch with a lot of my coaches from junior.
“A lot has changed—it’s gotten so much better. Top D-1 teams are recruiting from that league now, so it’s cool to see and I’m proud to say that I played in that league. A lot of my good friends that I went on to play with, so some really good players have come out of there.
“It’s crazy. Growing up playing against and with those guys like Alex Tuch and Jack Eichel and Long Island guys like the (Jeremy) Bracco’s, the (Ryan) Hitchock’s, the (Anthony) Fortunato’s all those guys. It’s cool to see where we’ve all taken our careers.”
