BY MATT MACKINDER
Clarkston News Staff Writer

Ty Gallagher, 16, will trade in the red, white and blue for gold and blue when the Clarkston native heads to the University of Notre Dame in two seasons to play for the Fighting Irish NCAA Division I hockey team.
This season, Gallagher is playing the first of two years for USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program in Plymouth. He’s skating with the Under-17 Team this season and will move up to the Under-18 Team in 2020-21. In making the Notre Dame choice, Gallagher backed out of his previous commitment to Miami (Ohio) University.
“Notre Dame has always been my dream school,” said Gallagher. “It was a real honor that they offered me, and once the opportunity came about, I decided to take it. The main reason I took the offer is when I stepped on campus the first time, I actually looked at my dad and I was like, ‘This is where I want to go.’ I’ve always loved the campus. Then, meeting the coaches and getting to know them, it’s the right place for me.”
He’ll head to Notre Dame as a true freshman in the fall of 2021, and as part of the Big Ten conference, will be back home several times during the season to play the University of Michigan and Michigan State University.