Tue, Nov 21st, 2023 - 12:19am
April 19, 2023 - 9:52am | By James McCarty
On Wednesday, University of North Dakota head hockey coach Brad Berry announced the addition of defenseman Bennett Zmolek. He spent the past two seasons at Minnesota State Mankato and had three years of eligibility remaining.
Berry voiced pleasure with the addition of Zmolek saying, “Bennett brings another element of play to our program that we are excited to have.” He continued, “His combination of size and puck-moving abilities are something that we look forward to having in our defensive group.”
During his freshman season in 2021-22, Zmolek played in 28 games, earning CCHA All-Rookie Team honors. During that season he tallied seven total points on two goals and five assists for the Mavericks. He also helped Minnesota State Mankato win both the CCHA regular season and tournament championships before earning a berth in the Frozen Four for the second time in program history. Zmolek had a plus-12 rating with 23 blocked shots in his freshman campaign.
The Rochester, Minn., native missed the entire 2022-23 season with an injury.
Zmolek is the fifth transfer to join North Dakota this offseason, joining defensemen Garrett Pyke and Keaton Pehrson, forward Cameron Berg, and goaltender Ludvig Persson.
