During the 2023-24 season, I’ve tracked how the former UND players that left last year’s team. In the offseason, UND lost six players from the 2022-23 team to the NCAA Hockey Transfer Portal. Most of the players that have moved on have impacted their new teams. One player, Nick Portz, has struggled to stay in the St. Cloud State lineup.
The Transfers
Luke Bast, UMD, five games (2g-4-6pts) minus-two. Bast hasn’t scored a goal since October 20, 2023. He just broke a five-game pointless streak by picking up an assist in the series finale against the Miami RedHawks. Back in November, Bast said this during his appearance on the Bulldog Insider Podcast. Bast will get another chance against his former team on February 23-24, 2024.
“I was actually on the phone with my dad, a couple days ago, and he was talking to a fellow father from North Dakota,” Bast said. The fellow UND hockey father said, hey, ‘what would you rather do? Fly on a chartered plane and not play or get left behind? Or would you rather fly commercial and play every night?’
Another Friday night game, another Luke Bast goal😎
2-0 UMD | #UMDvsBSU | #BulldogCountry pic.twitter.com/oHZBQiuhT7
— UMD Men's Hockey (@UMDMensHockey) October 21, 2023
Nick Potz, SCSU, nine games (1g-1a-2pts) plus/minus-even. He played in one game during the second half of the 2023-24 season and nine of the Huskies’ 24 games. He played his first game in two and a half months against his former team on January 20, 2024. He scored the first goal of his Husky career on October 20th, 2023.
Nick Portz with his first goal as a Husky! #SCSUHockey #OurSCSU pic.twitter.com/SIP0ZofhUk
— Husky Productions (@hphky) October 21, 2023
Brent Johnson, OSU, 26 games (4g-6a-10pts) minus-two. He had a six-game pointless streak during December and January. He recorded two assists in the past weekend’s series against Penn State. Johnson is having the best season of his collegiate career.
All the postgame recognition!
⚫️ Stephen Halliday – Game puck
⚫️🎩 Jake Dunlap – Hard hat and first OSU goal puck
⚫️ Brent Johnson – First OSU goal puck #GoBucks pic.twitter.com/PVWshf19SH— Ohio State Men's Hockey (@OhioStateMHKY) October 14, 2023
Cooper Moore, QU, has played 25 games (2g-12a-14pts) and is plus-20. He has had four multi-point games and is currently on a four-game pointless streak. He has surpassed his point total from last season and is having a career year. It would appear that transferring to Quinnipiac has worked out well for Moore.
It didn’t need to be that close, though. As Pecknold said postgame, Quinnipiac did not play up to its standard. Moore’s early goal — his first as a Bobcat — gave the visitors a lead before Northeastern sophomore defenseman Vinny Borgesi snuck the puck into the net to even it up.
“(Moore’s) been playing really well,” Pecknold said. “Both goals he wired, he’s good.”
Current ECAC Player of the Week & serious Hobey Baker candidate Collin Graf with an absolute 🫛 of a pass to Cooper Moore who scored. It was part of a 6 goal 1st last Friday as Quinnipiac crushed Princeton 9-2.pic.twitter.com/bJPX6BXMXl#lovesportscasting #inthebooth
— Phil Giubileo (@philgpbp) January 15, 2024
Matteo Costantini, WMU, 24 games (6g-16a-22pts) plus-16. He has five multi-point games. He’s currently on a two-game pointless streak. This is after he had a 12-game point streak where he scored (3g-13a-16pts).
COSTANTINI’S INCREDIBLE RUN
Matteo Costantini came to Western Michigan as a transfer from North Dakota this offseason and has done nothing but offensively for the Broncos.
In 22 games this season, the junior center has posted 22 points on six goals and 16 assists. Over the team’s last 12 games, he’s taken his production to another level.The 2020 Buffalo Sabres draft pick is currently riding a 12-game point streak, tallying 16 points on three goals and 13 assists in that stretch. His 12-game streak is the longest in program history since Patrick Galivan’s 13-game stretch back in 2008-09.
The longest streak in program history is held by Dan Dorion, who scored a point in 44 straight games. (Link)
Kicked off yesterday's episode of Prospect Avenue (find it on YT or wherever you get your podcasts) with a chat about WMU centerman Matteo Costantini. He kept his point streak going last night with 1+1 in the Broncos' 6-3 loss to Duluth and now has 21 points in 21 games: pic.twitter.com/lDdJsKJdIs
— Kris Baker (@SabresProspects) January 20, 2024
Jakob Hellsten, UNH, 14 games (8-5-1, GAA 1.72 and a .923 save percentage), he’s 3-3-0 in his last six games. He’s taken over in goal. On January 19, 2024, he had a 20-save shutout against UConn. Tyler Muszelik, who’s 5-3-0 with a 3.38 GAA and a .874 save percentage. With the loss to Vermont, UNH dropped to 16th in the Pairwise Rankings. UNH has nominated Hellsten as a Hobey Baker Memorial Candidate.
Hellsten leads Hockey East and is second in the nation in goals against average (1.69), while he is first in the conference and fifth nationally in save percentage (.925). He has two shutouts on the season and was named the Hockey East Stop It Goaltending Co-Goaltender of the Week on Jan. 8. Hellsten, who is 8-4-1 on the season, is on the Watch List for the Mike Richter Award, given annually to the top goalie in men’s NCAA Division I hockey.
Jakob Hellsten with a HUGE save for the 'Cats.
Game Day Central ➡️ https://t.co/fTXuLcXE5G
Watch Live on ESPN+ ➡️ https://t.co/e01cyJiOy4#BeTheRoar pic.twitter.com/BwuBBtt6sg— UNH Men's Hockey (@UNHMHOCKEY) October 26, 2023
