The Bemidji State University men’s ice hockey program today announced the addition of Mitch Cain (Fort Frances, Ontario), Danny Mattson (Minneapolis, Minn.), Sean Rudy (Long Sault, Ontario) and Andrew Walsh (Dawson Creek, British Columbia) to the Beaver hockey program for the 2011-12 season. All four incoming student-athletes signed National Letters of Intent during the NCAA’s regular signing period that began April 13.
All signees are contingent upon admission to BSU and compliance with NCAA rules, including certification by the NCAA Eligibility Center.
“We are excited to welcome these four players to Bemidji State University and our hockey program,” said BSU Assistant Coach and Recruiting Coordinator Ted Belisle. “As a class, these players, along with our early signees, Matt Prapavessis (Oakville, Ontario) and Sam Windle (Maple Grove, Minn.), bring a good balance of size and talent to our line up.”
• Mitch Cain (6-2, 205, Forward, Fort Frances, Ontario), a forward for the Des Moines Buccaneers of the United States Hockey League (USHL), has played in 58 of 60 contests for a team that is tied for third in the USHL’s Western Division with 174 goals scored this season. Cain ranks second on the team in goals scored (19) and is fifth among his teammates in scoring with 19-8=27 points, which includes five goals on the power play and a pair of game winners.
Cain, posted at least a point in 20 games for the Buccaneers in 2010-11, which includes a streak of six points (5-1=6) in six games from March 4-19. He recorded four multi-point efforts and a pair of hat tricks. His first hat trick of the season came in a 5-4 victory Dec. 29 at Youngstown, while his most recent three-goal game came March 26 as the Buccaneers defeated Indiana 5-3. Des Moines was 16-4 when he registered a point.
A two-year veteran of the USHL, Cain has accumulated 28-20=48 points in 116 games for Des Moines.
The Buccaneers completed the 2010-11 season 29-25-6 to finish seventh in the Western Division standings.
Prior to his time in the USHL, Cain piled up 26 goals and 36 assists for 62 points during the 2008-09 season for his hometown Fort Frances Jr. Sabres of the SIJHL and earned the league’s Best Defensive Forward Award.
“Mitch comes to us after three years of junior hockey playing the last two in the USHL with Des Moines,” commented Belisle. “He has a lot of physical talent to add to our hockey program. He is a big, powerful forward with tremendous speed. We look for Mitch to add grit and determination to our forward group next season.”
• Danny Mattson (5-10, 183, Forward, Minneapolis, Minn.) is a two-year veteran forward of the USHL, seeing time with Omaha (2009-10), Chicago (2009-10) and Youngstown (2010-11). He split the 2010-11 campaign between Chicago and Youngstown, netting 5-7-12 points in the ‘The Windy City’ during the first 23 games of the season before playing the final 23 games with the Phantoms, where he finished third on the team in points per game (0.74) posting 4-13=17 points. A power-play cog, 11 (3-8=11) of his 29 points this season came on the man advantage.
Mattson capped the season scoring in 12 of 23 appearances for Youngstown, which included 15 points (4-11=15) in the final 15 contests of 2010-11. He registered six multi-point efforts and posted a season-high 1-3=4 points leading the Phantoms to a 8-2 victory over his former team, Chicago, April 9.
A native of Minneapolis, Minn., Mattson played high school hockey at Academy of Holy Angels, where he led the Stars with 25-51=76 points in 27 games in 2008-09. The 2009 Minnesota Mr. Hockey finalist paced Class AA in scoring, while his +49 plus/minus rating was tops in the Minnesota State High School League as a senior. He completed his high school career with a school record 89 goals, 163 assists for 252 points, shattering the mark previously held by former University of Minnesota and NHL draftee Jay Barriball.
Mattson’s commitment to the Beavers follows a path his father took more than 20 years ago. Terry Mattson played 93 games for BSU between 1985 and 1988 posting 25-81–106 points. The elder Mattson was teammates with current BSU head coach Tom Serratore in 1986 when Bemidji State captured the NCAA Division III National Championship and earned All-America honors in 1987.
Mattson will rejoin fellow 2011-12 newcomer Sam Windle, who also played the first 31 games of the 2010-11 season with the Chicago Steel.
“Danny is a talented forward who has the potential to chip in offensively,” said Belisle. “He is a cerebral player and has the ability to play on the power play. We are excited to work with Danny’s talent next season.”
• Sean Rudy (6-3, 190, Forward, Long Sault, Ontario) has posted 48-79=127 over the course the of the last two seasons as a member of the Wellington Dukes of the Ontario Junior Hockey League (OJHL). He was named a First Team All-Star to cap 2010-11. The team’s leading scorer this season, the Long Sault, Ontario native piled up 22-51=73 points to rank among the top 20 in OJHL point production. A force on the power-play, Rudy has compiled a team-leading 6-19=25 points on the man advantage and had a game-winning goal.
Rudy contributed at least a point in 47 of 58 games for the Dukes in 2010-11, which includes 16 of 20 playoff contests and a 17-game scoring streak that stretched from Dec. 10-Feb. 6 during which he potted 6-23=29 points. Of his 33 multi-point games, he posted a season-high three points on 13 occasions.
Rudy helped lead Wellington to 32-6-5-7 (W-OTW-OTL-L) and a OJHL East Division title during the regular season and a 16-4 playoff mark en route to the Buckland Cup Championship. The Dukes compete for the Dudley Hewitt Cup in Huntsville, Ontario beginning April 19 with the winner crowned Central Canadian Champion and will move on to compete for the National Junior A Championship and rights to the Royal Bank Cup.
“Sean is still in the midst of a very successful junior season leading Wellington through the playoffs. He is both the team’s captain and its leading scorer. Belisle added, “He is a very reliable player with a strong work ethic and possesses a lot of the intangibles that help you win. He is a hard player to play against and will add some height to our line up. We are excited to have him part of our program.”
• Andrew Walsh (6-2, 200, Goaltender, Dawson Creek, British Columbia), a goaltender from Dawson Creek of the North American Hockey League (NAHL), saw time in 32 of 58 games for the Rage posting an overall record of 8-19-1. He led the team in minutes played (1,800:29) and saves (1,027), while posting a .902 save percentage and 3.70 goals allowed average.
Walsh accounted for the only shutout of the season for the Rage recording 36 saves Oct. 16 in a 1-0 victory at Kenai River. He posted at least 30 saves in 19 of 32 appearances, which included a season-high 45 in a 2-0 loss to Alaska Sept. 25.
Prior to his stint with Dawson Creek, Walsh played three seasons in the British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL) with Prince George (2009-10), Langley (2008-09) and Salmon Arm (2006-07).
“Andrew is a big, talented goalie that has seen a lot of rubber during his time in junior hockey. We like the fact that he brings some height in our net,” said Belisle. “He is also a very good first save goalie and controls his rebounds very well. We look forward to working with his talent as a goaltender.”
BSU’s regular period signees join Matt Prapavessis (Oakville, Ontario) a defenseman for the Lincoln Stars (USHL) and Chicago Steel/Des Moines Buccaneers (USHL) blueliner Sam Windle (Maple Grove, Minn.), who both signed NCAA National Letters of Intent with the Beavers during the early signing period (Nov. 10-17).
The Beavers, who recently completed their inaugural season in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association with an overall record of 15-18-5 and a 8-15-5 mark in league play, finished tenth in the WCHA standings and capped the season with a trip to the Red Baron WCHA Final Five in St. Paul, Minn. Bemidji State, the tournament’s No. 6 seed opened the event with a win over the No. 3 seed Minnesota Duluth, which would rebound to win the 2011 NCAA Division I Men’s Ice Hockey Championship, before bowing out to the second seed, University of Denver, in the semifinals.