FUTURE SAINT DOWNING COMMITS TO MICHIGAN

Press Release

Michael Downing has yet to play a game of junior hockey, but he already knows where he will continue his career when his days in Dubuque are up. Downing, a defenseman who will join the Fighting Saints in their quest to repeat as Clark Cup champions, has committed to the University of Michigan for the 2013-14 season. The Fighting Saints selected Downing with the third overall pick in the USHL Futures Draft in April. Downing will play along the blue line in Dubuque with his brother Jake, who played for the Omaha Lancers last season and has not yet committed to a college.

The commitment to Michigan will allow Downing, a native of Canton, Michigan, to remain close to home during his college years. He will head to Ann Arbor next week to skate with the Team USA U17 Select squad in the Five Nations Tournament, along with Garrett Cecere, who was also selected by the Fighting Saints in the Futures Draft.

Downing is an offensive threat, possessing what Fighting Saints Head Coach Jim Montgomery calls, “a bomb of a shot”. He spent last season playing high school hockey for Detroit Central Catholic, where he put up 4 goals and 10 assists in 14 league games.

“Congratulations to Mike on his well-deserved scholarship to the University of Michigan. It is a great opportunity for a Michigan native to play in the Big Ten Hockey Conference,” said Montgomery. “It will be fun for our fans and staff to watch Mike grow as a person and student-athlete over the next two years.”

The 2013-14 season, Downing’s freshman year, will be the first in which Michigan will compete in the Big Ten Hockey Conference, joining fellow Big Ten programs Wisconsin, Minnesota, Michigan State, Ohio State, and Penn State.

(Nathan can be reached at fourniern@students.nescom.edu)