NCAA Men’s College Hockey Round Up: Minnesota trio of draftees leads Notre Dame

A trio of Minnesota NHL draftees played a big role in Notre Dam’es wins this weekend.Danny Nelson (Maple Grove, MN) and Blake Biondi (Hermantown, MN) each scored in Notre Dame’s 4-1 win over St. Lawrence on Friday. Nelson also scored on Saturday along with fellow Maple Grove native Justin Janicke, who also added an assist. Janicke is a 2021 seventh-round draft pick of the NHL’s Seattle Kraken. Nelson was chosen in the second round in 2023 by the New York Islanders. Biondi, a former Mr. Hockey winner, was a fourth-round pick in 2020 by Montreal.  Notre Dame is 2-0-0 to start the season.

Kurth’s hat trick leads Gophers

Connor Kurth (Lindstrom, MN/Gentry Academy HS) scored a hat trick and Ryan Chesley (Mahtomedi, MN/Shattuck-St. Mary’s/USNTDP) scored twice to lead the Gophers past Air Force in their season opener Friday at the annual Ice Breaker in Las Vegas. The Gophers dropped the title game, however, to Omaha in a 2-1 overtime loss. Mason Nevers (Edina, MN) recorded his first goal of the season in the ,ons.

Schifsky’s hat trick leads Michigan

Garrett Schifsky (Andover, MN) had a hat trick in No. 10 Michigan’s 4-1 win over Arizona State Friday in Tempe. Schifsky is in his second season with the Wolverines. He netted 16 goals and added 18 assists in 41 games last season. He also played two seasons for Waterloo in the USHL. Jackson Hallum (St. Thomas Academy HS) added an assist in the game. Michigan and Arizona St. skated to a 3-3 tie Saturday with Shifsky earning an assist. The Wolverines are 2-1-1 on the season.

Wisconsin teammates lead Omaha to Icebreaker title

Former high school teammates Zach Urdahl (Eau Claire, WI) and Sam Stange played a big role in Omaha’s two wins to take the Icebreaker Tournament in Las Vegas. On Friday Urdahl had a pair of goals in No. 15 Omaha’s 3-2 win over UMASS. Urdahl played two seasons for the University of Wisconsin before transferring to Omaha two years ago. Stange is a fifth-year player who also played at Wisconsin for four years before transferring.  Stange scored a goal in the Mavericks 3-2 overtime win over Minnesota Saturday. 

Molenaar gets first goal as a Bulldog

Joe Molenaar (Minnetonka, MN) scored his first goal as a UMD Bulldog. The St. Cloud State transfer scored in the Bulldogs 4-2 win over UMASS Friday. UMASS turned the tables on the Bulldogs Saturday with a 4-1 win. Jack Smith (St. Cloud, MN/St. Cloud Cathedral HS) scored the lone goal for UMD, who is off to a 1-2-0 start.

Laylins connect in St. Thomas’ 5-5 -tie

Casy and Luc Laylin (St. Michael, MN) connected on a 2-on-1 for one of St. Thomas’ five goals in their 5-5 tie against Vermont. Lucas Wahlin (Woodbury, MN/Hill-Murray HS) had a goal and an assist and Liam Malmquist (Edina, MN) had three assists. Mason Poolman (East Grand Forks, MN) also chipped in two goals and an assist. Poolman added another goal in Saturday’s 3-1 win. Matthew Gleason (St. Paul, MN/Cretin-Derham Hall HS) added a goal. Junior winger Cooper Gay (Hanover, MN/Benilde-St. Margaret’s HS) also got on the score sheet for the Tommies who improved to 1-1-1 on the season.

Burnevik stays hot for Huskies

Austin Burnevik (Ham Lake, MN/Totino-Grace HS) continued his hot play with a goal and two assists in St. Cloud State’s 3-2 win over Bemidji State to improve to 3-0-0 on the season. Burnevik was a sixth-round draft pick this past summer and had five points through the team’s first three games. Fellow NHL draftee Colin Ralph also scored his first collegiate goal. The 6’5” defenseman (Maple Grove, MN/Shattuck-St. Mary’s) was chosen 48th overall by the St. Louis Blues. Jackson Jutting (Savage, MN//Prior Lake HS) and Will Magnuson (Chaska, MN) scored for the Beavers, who fell to 1-2-0.

On Friday Burnevik scored twice, but it was Thor Byfuglien’s (Roseau, MN) third-period goal that lifted the Huskies past the Beavers 4-3. Carter Randklev (Moorhead, MN) netted a pair of goals for the Beavers in the loss.

Hennen helps lead Augustana

Tyler Hennen (Hallock, MN/Kittson Central HS) had two assists as Augustana upended Long Island University 4-0 Friday. Hennen finished his high school career with 309 points and had 123 points his senior season where he was named a Mr. Hockey finalist. LIU rebounded with a 3-2 win Saturday. Luke Mobley (St. Louis Park, MN) scored one of the two goals for the Vikings. Both teams are 1-1-0.

Burkholder scores for Colorado College

Defenseman Max Burkholder (Chaska, MN) had a goal and an assist as Colorado College upended Northern Michigan 6-1 Saturday. Drew Montgomery (Grand Forks, ND) added a goal and Charlie Strobel (Stillwater, MN/Hill-Murray HS) added an assist. Burkholder added another assist Friday in their 4-3 overtime win. Noah Laba (Northville, MI) had a huge weekend with a goal and five assists, including the game winner on Friday night. 

Pitlick scores again for Minnesota State

Rhett Pitlick (Chaska, MN0 scored his second goal of the season on Saturday to help Minnesota State-Mankato past Merrimack. Merrimack shutout the Mavericks 1-0 Friday. Will Hillman (Blaine, MN) added two assists for the Mavericks on Saturday to help them improve to 2-2-0 on the season.