Praise the Lordo

Sioux Falls Stampede defenseman Joseph Lordo has committed to Penn State for 2012, according to a USHL release.

Joseph Lordo

Defenseman
Sioux Falls Stampede (USHL)
5'11", 185 pounds
St. Louis, MO
DOB 1/28/1991

EliteProspects.com

Season   Team                   Lge    GP    G    A  Pts  PIM
-------------------------------------------------------------
2008-09  STL Amateur Blues 18U  Mdgt   38    4   13   17   70
2009-10  St. Louis Bandits      NAHL   38    0    9    9   73
2010-11  Sioux Falls Stampede   USHL   59    3    7   10   79
2011-12  Sioux Falls Stampede   USHL   34    3    9   12   73

Since the release is short, here's the whole thing (other than the last paragraph, which simply lists the other USHLers committed to PSU).

The Sioux Falls Stampede announced that defenseman Joseph Lordo will play collegiate hockey next season at Penn State University.

Lordo, who turned 21 on Saturday, has appeared in all 34 games for the Stampede this season and collected 12 points (3g, 9a) and 73 penalty minutes while also serving as a team captain. It already surpasses his point total from his first USHL season in which he posted 10 points (3g, 7a) in 59 games for Sioux Falls last year. The St. Louis, Missouri native was selected by the Stampede in the 2010 USHL Entry Draft.

Lordo will be part of a Penn State University program next season that competes for the first time as NCAA Division I. They are scheduled to play as an independent school before joining the newly-formed Big Ten Conference for the 2013-14 season.

Hockey recruiting, much like in any other sport, is based largely on connections and Lordo is no exception. He came up on the St. Louis Amateur Blues with previous commit David Goodwin, and the two were also teammates (for one game, anyway) with the St. Louis Bandits in 2009-2010. For the last two years, they've clashed as USHL opponents - one a high-scoring center, the other looking to stop him from scoring. Both were selected in the 2010 USHL Entry Draft, although Goodwin (2nd round, 25th overall) went much higher than Lordo (18th round, 266th overall).

That's hardly turned out to be an accurate measure of their relative worth. Lordo, as mentioned, is the Stampede's captain and a mainstay on the team's blueline. He's come on offensively of late, scoring 11 of his 12 points this season in the last 17 games. He also carries a -2 rating, no small achievement on a 12-20-2 team that's -36 in the goals for-goals against statistic.

Lordo looks to shut down a guy in a hideous pinstriped jersey.

The Stampede wasn't always a cellar dweller. In Lordo's rookie USHL campaign, Sioux Falls finished a robust third place and advanced to the league semifinals before losing to eventual champ Dubuque. Lordo's three playoff goals trailed only Kyle Rau (a Florida Panthers draft pick now tearing it up at Minnesota) and Connor Reilly (who now plays alongside Curtis Loik with the BCHL's Penticton Vees and is set to join the Gophers next season). Incidentally, two of the three markers came against fellow commit Matt Skoff as the Stampede put down he, Tommy Olczyk and Sioux City in the first round.

In short, he'll add further all-around stability to a defense corps that is quickly filling up with some of Guy Gadowsky's best recruits so far. Lordo joins Mark Yanis, Luke Juha and Connor Varley in their quest to help Penn State surprise some teams right out of the gate this fall.