In Sunday exhibition action, Casey Mittelstadt (2017, first round) showed off his stickhandling skill with a dominating shift that resulted in a backhand goal at 5:53 of the opening frame and later added a trio of third-period helpers as No. 3 Minnesota downed the University of Alberta 6-2.
Instagram from @evegoe: Turns out this Mittelstadt guy is pretty good.
Projected to remain hot coming off a four-point game, Mittelstadt will be an integral part of the high-powered Gophers' attack when regular season play kicks off Friday versus host No. 6 Minnesota-Duluth at the 2017 IceBreaker.
While Mittlestadt looks to make an immediate impact, Minnesota will be without the services of forward Connor Hurley (2013, second round) for the entire season. Hurley produced 14 goals and 48 points over the previous three seasons with Notre Dame, but will sit out the entire 2017-18 season due to NCAA transfer regulations.
Christopher Brown (2014, sixth round) notched two assists and a plus-2 rating Saturday while serving as the top-line centerman as No. 13 Boston College got past New Brunswick 4-2.
Boston College defenseman Casey Fitzgerald (2016, third round) played to an even rating in Saturday's win over New Brunswick. The Eagles gets the season going Friday versus Quinnipiac.
Senior forward Judd Peterson (2012, seventh round) opened the preseason playing the center position, registering four shots on goal as No. 9 St. Cloud State steamrolled Regina 8-1.
Third-year defenseman William Borgen (2015, fourth round) registered one shot on goal for St. Cloud State, who kicks off the regular season Saturday at Minnesota State.
Philip Nyberg (2016, fifth round) produced one shot on goal as Connecticut defeated St. Francis Xavier 2-1. UConn heads north this weekend to begin the Hockey East conference schedule Friday at Maine.
Junior defender Ivan Chukarov (2015, seventh round) sat out Saturday as Massachusetts blanked Queens University 1-0. The Minutemen launch the regular season schedule Friday against Arizona State.
Brett Murray (2016, fourth round) did not play Sunday as No. 10 Penn State dropped a 4-3 overtime decision to the University of Ottawa. Next up for Penn State is Friday's season opener at Clarkson.
Providence College defenseman Jacob Bryson (2017, fourth round) was a pleasant surprise last season, finishing third among Hockey East freshmen defensemen with 20 points, and sixth among all NCAA freshman defenders with 17 helpers. The Friars, who did not play last week, will begin the season on the road Friday at Miami.
Also among the idle last week was senior forward Maxwell Willman (2014, fifth round), who will play a featured role for Brown University this season following his 2016-17 breakout campaign that saw him pot 11 goals and 26 points. The Bears don't begin their season until Friday, Oct. 28 when they visit Yale.