GRAND FORKS — UND coach Dane Jackson said in his introductory press conference last month that he wants the Fighting Hawks to be a leader in recruiting Western Canada.

On Friday, UND landed one of the top-performing young players in the Western Hockey League.

Saskatoon Blades forward Cooper Williams, who tallied more points than any 2008-born player in the WHL this season, announced his commitment to UND on Instagram.

Williams scored 21 goals and tallied 57 points in 68 regular-season games for the Blades.

The 6-foot, 150-pound Calgary native was one of six finalists for the WHL’s Rookie of the Year honor.

“He’s very, very smart,” Saskatoon coach Dan DaSilva told

Global News

in December. “He has a high hockey IQ. He’s in the right position. He knows where to go on the ice — both offensively and defensively. That’s his biggest asset, I’d say, is his ability to think and to read plays.”

Williams, 17, is expected to return to the Blades next season. His date of arrival on campus is yet to be determined.

Williams, who is eligible for the 2026 NHL Draft, visited UND last week.

“It was awesome,” he said. “Everything was so cool. I met a couple of guys on the team. They were awesome. The staff was awesome as well.”

Williams said he had been thinking about attending college for a while. He signed with Saskatoon, but in November, the NCAA changed its rules to allow players from the three Canadian Hockey Leagues to retain their college eligibility.

“I was thinking about (college) for a while now, even before the WHL Draft,” Williams said. “It was a 50-50 split. It’s awesome that the rules changed.”

Williams said he knew about UND because of former Fighting Hawks defenseman Jacob Bernard-Docker, who helped coach hockey at Williams’ elementary school in Calgary.

“I talked to one other school over the phone, but I didn’t want to check out other schools,” Williams said. “(At UND), the facilities are great, the campus is unreal and it just seemed like the right fit for me.”

Williams is the second 2008-born player to commit to UND, joining West Fargo’s Keaton Jundt.

UND has a commitment from one 2009-born player in forward Eli McKamey, who accelerated his education and will be a senior next year.

The Fighting Hawks have been busy building the 2025-26 roster since Jackson was announced as head coach in late March.

Their 2025 commitments have included freshmen Jack Kernan (center) and Jan Špunar (goaltender). They’ve also picked up transfers Ellis Rickwood (Clarkson center), Anthony Menghini (Minnesota Duluth winger), Isaac Gordon (Michigan Tech winger), Gibson Homer (Arizona State goaltender) and Zach Sandy (Minnesota Duluth goaltender).

Williams is the first non-2025 commit of the Jackson era.

Schlossman has covered college hockey for the Grand Forks Herald since 2005. He has been recognized by the Associated Press Sports Editors as the top beat writer for the Herald’s circulation division four times and the North Dakota sportswriter of the year twice. He resides in Grand Forks. Reach him at bschlossman@gfherald.com.

The University of Texas Hockey Team has seen great success on the ice, they’ll look to build off that success at the Southeastern Collegiate Frozen Showcase in 2026.

Ice hockey is gaining ground in the heart of SEC country, with club teams from several Southeastern Conference universities set to take center stage at the inaugural Southeast Collegiate Frozen Showcase in January 2026.

COLUMBIA, Mo. – University of Missouri gymnastics has signed graduate transfer Sara Wabi from Illinois State, head coach Shannon Welker announced on Friday. 

The Chicago native joins the Tigers after four seasons with the Redbirds, helping lead the team win the 2023 and 2025 Midwest Independent Conference (MIC) Championship and a trio of All-MIC First Team recognitions during her senior season. Wabi’s performance earned her a bid to compete on bars as an individual in the Seattle Regional of the 2025 NCAA Championships. 

“We are thrilled to welcome another high-level transfer to our program,” Welker said. “Sara is an elite competitor and brings great experience after competing at Illinois State for the last four years. She is a huge addition to our uneven bars squad – we cannot wait to begin working with her.” 

 

In 2024, Wabi saw action on floor and bars in every meet and was named to the All-MIC Second Team on both bars and floor at the MIC Championship. She scored 9.875 or better nine times during the season.

Wabi’s first collegiate meet came in 2023, where she competed on floor for the entirety of her sophomore year. She earned All-Midwest Independent Conference First Team honors on beam and bars that season as well. 

Before college, Wabi competed for Aspire Gymnastics Academy. During the 2021 Illinois State Meet, she placed second on bars, fourth on beam, seventh on floor, eighth on vault and fourth in the all-around.

Daughter to Steve and Sheryl Wabi, Sara was born on November 20, 2002.

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For all the latest on Mizzou gymnastics, stay tuned to MUTigers.com and follow the team on Facebook, X, and Instagram.

NEWS RELEASE

NORTHERN ONTARIO JUNIOR HOCKEY LEAGUE

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The Soo Eagles of the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League (NOJHL) have announced two more players from their 2024-25 squad have committed to attend schools and play college hockey in the United States this fall.

Forward Jack Ohlund will be off to NCAA Division III New England College, while defenceman Luke Russell will be attending Liberty University of the American Collegiate Hockey Association.

The 20-year-old Russell spent two seasons with the Eagles, appearing in 79 career games.

A native of Lakeville, Minn., he scored 16 times and dished out 23 assists for 39 points.

On pace to set personal bests in all offensive categories, his 2024-25 campaign was cut short due to injury.

Of his tally total, four of his markers came on the power play and he also notched one game-winner.

“Jack was the definition of a power forward,” said Eagles head coach Jeremy Rebek.

“He’s was a strong skater who was hard to play against and was good along the wall, while bringing strength, speed and scoring ability,” added Rebek. “Despite losing him to injury in November, he recovered nicely and was a great character individual on and off the ice.”

Based out of Henniker, New Hampshire, the NEC Pilgrims are members of the 11-school New England Hockey Conference.

As for Russell, the 20-year-old Alexandria, Minn., product was a solid stay-at-home type of defender for the Eagles over the course of his two seasons in the NOJHL. He also served as an assistant captain with the Eagles.

In his time with the club, he appeared in 100 career contests, including six in the playoffs.

He went on to score three times and dole out 27 assists.

Located in Lynchburg, Virginia, the Liberty Flames compete out of the ACHA’s D-I conference.

NOJHL COMMITMENTS TRACKER

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Yale Athletics

In a 2021 preseason poll, Yale’s gymnastics team was slated to be the second best team in the Gymnastics East Conference. The Bulldogs opened their season with individual first place victories over West Chester, Long Island and Brown — by Lindsay Chia ’22 on beam and by Sherry Wang ’24 SPH ’25 on bars. 

They capped off the season by placing first in the Ivy League championship and fourth at the GEC championship, with Chia taking home the all-around gold medal. At the end of a remarkable season, Head Coach Andrew Leis was named Women’s Coach of the Year by USA Gymnastics and Raegan Walker ’23 was crowned vault champion at the USA Collegiate Championships.

Building off the previous year’s momentum, the Bulldogs placed third at the 2023 Ivy championship and took second in the GEC championship. Walker and Sarah Wilson ’24 won multiple GEC Gymnast of the Week honors, and Riley Meeks ’23 placed second in the USA Gymnastics Collegiate National Individual Finals on the balance beam.

In 2024, the Bulldogs secured the second-highest team score in program history at the Tonry Invitational meet, where Gigi Sabatini ’26 won first place all-around. That season, the Bulldogs took home second place again at the GEC championship, and Wilson and Ella Tashjian ’27 won individual championships in bars and floor, respectively.

To round out a record-breaking four years, the Bulldogs posted a season-high score at the 2025 Ivy championship and finished in third place behind Penn and Brown. The team earned second place at the GEC championship for the third straight year.