The Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) had four teams receive a berth in the tournament, Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA) and ECAC Hockey each had three teams receive a berth in the tournament, while Hockey East had two berths.
That summer he also received a full athletic hockey scholarship to University of Alaska Fairbanks, where he was named to the CCHA All-Rookie team in his freshman year.
The Panthers were a strong franchise and several of the team went on to play for the Saint Louis Billikens in the old CCHA.
Starting in 1982, the CCHA Tournament first round was held at the rink of the higher seed with Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, Michigan hosting the CCHA Tournament semifinals and finals.
Alongside Brad Fast he formed a star offensive duo among Spartan defencemen and in his sophomore year scored 25 points in 42 contests to be named to the All-CCHA Second Team.
After graduating from South Anchorage High School, he attended the University of Notre Dame and played for their men's ice hockey team in the CCHA for the following four years.
During the 2009–10 Michigan Wolverines men's ice hockey season, he was named to the CCHA All-tournament team as he led the team to the championship.
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During the 2008–09 Michigan Wolverines men's ice hockey season, he was named to the All-Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA) first team.