Over the weekend the University of Minnesota Duluth (UMD) men’s hockey team closed out their 2024-2025 slate falling to Arizona State University in the National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) quarterfinals. On Wednesday head coach Scott Sandelin spoke to the media reflecting on their season.

“A lot to be excited about with certainly the young core. I just felt if this team could put everything together they could be pretty good. It just seemed like two parts were good, one part wasn’t or whatever, it kind of seemed that way. A lot of growth in some of those young kids. I just wish we could have been playing,” Sandelin said.

He went on to add that goaltending is a priority to shore up for next season. As for offense, he highly praised the work of freshman Max Plante for his skill and dedication.

Regarding the future of their roster, Sandelin said it all depends on the transfer portal which opens to everyone on March 31.

“You know, at this time usually you want to look for going on a vacation, right? Now you’re worried about who’s coming, who’s going. You’re looking at all this stuff and it used to be just, let’s get our recruits signed and make sure they’re in order and let them know when to be here, and have a good send off for your seniors,” Sandelin explained.

UMD officially ended their season 13-20-3 overall, going 9-13-2 in conference play.

On a high note, Sandelin confirmed that three time cancer survivor Will Francis is signing a professional deal with the San Diego Gulls of the AHL. They are affiliated with the NHL’s Anaheim Ducks, who drafted Francis 163rd overall in 2019.

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