Battleford product Blake Young will have a chance to finish off his collegiate hockey career on a high note.
The senior forward for the Minnesota-Duluth Buldogs will be heading to the NCAA’s Frozen Four tournament in St. Paul, Minnesota, on April 5 after his team picked up a 2-1 win over the Air Force Falcons in a quarter-final game in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, Saturday.
This marks the second straight year that the Bulldogs have made it to the semifinal round, as they lost in the 2017 national championship game to the Denver Pioneers.
New Jersey Devils prospect Joey Anderson and Nick Wolff both scored for the Bulldogs, who limited the Falcons to just 12 shots on goal.
Prior to their win over the Falcons, the Bulldogs kept their season alive in dramatic fashion Friday with a 3-2 overtime win in the first round of the tournament over the Minnesota State Mavericks.
Parker Mackay was the hero for the Bulldogs, who scored three unanswered goals.
Young suited up in both games but was held off of the scoresheet.
A former member of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League’s Battlefords North Stars, Young has seven goals and five assists in 42 games this season.
Awaiting Young and the Bulldogs in the semifinal are the Ohio State Buckeyes, who are making their first trip to the Frozen Four since 1998 and have never won the national championship.
The winner of that game will advance to the final on Saturday, April 7, and will face either the Michigan Wolverines or the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.
The Irish have also never won a national championship, while the Wolverines are looking to a win 10th championship and their first since 1998.
The Bulldogs’ only national title came in 2011, when they defeated the Wolverines in overtime by a score of 3-2 in St. Paul.
TSN 2 will air the final game at 5:30 p.m. Saskatchewan time.
