Thursday, January 9, 2014

Shaw commits to North Dakota

Press Release

When the University of North Dakota won their most recent NCAA hockey championship in 2000, a former Waterloo Black Hawk was on the roster; Waterloo defenseman Hayden Shaw hopes for similar success with the storied program, which he committed to on Thursday.

The Woodbury, Minnesota native has had an attention-grabbing rookie year in the United States Hockey League.  Shaw ranks sixth among league defensemen with 17 points from six goals and eleven assists.  He is tied for second among Waterloo skaters with ten points from power play situations.  The 17-year-old also has two official game-winning goals to his credit, as well as a shootout-clinching score against the Sioux Falls Stampede on November 15th.  After beginning his time in the league with a point in each of his first five games, Shaw is one of three Hawks among the USHL’s ten highest-scoring blue-liners, along with Mark Friedman and Brandon Montour.

“Hayden has outstanding hockey instincts,” said Black Hawks Head Coach P.K. O’Handley.  “He has made some very timely contributions and scored some big goals for us, while being one of only a handful of high school-aged players on our roster.  The future looks very bright for him as he continues to develop.”

Former Black Hawks Captain Andrew Panzarella is currently a junior at North Dakota.  Another former captain, Ryan Hale, was part of the Fighting Sioux’s 2000 championship squad.  North Dakota currently ranks third in the standings during their first season in the new National Collegiate Hockey Conference.

A total of 16 Black Hawks on the 2013/14 squad have now committed to NCAA Division I hockey teams.  In 2012/13, Waterloo’s total was just one higher at the end of the campaign.

 (Nathan can be reached at nathanfournier@mainehockeyjournal.com)

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