The Grand Forks (N.D.) Herald reported Friday that goaltender Aaron Schweitzer, who anchored North Dakota’s 1997 NCAA championship run, will not return for his junior season this year, opting instead to try out for the Canadian national team.
“We’ve heard rumblings in the past regarding Aaron moving on,” North Dakota assistant Jeff Bowen told the Herald. “So I can’t say this is a shock to us. But until he called us this week, we thought he was coming back.”
Schweitzer, whose freshman year of 1996-97 was one of the best among WCHA netminders, suffered through an injury-plagued sophomore season, eventually falling to number two — behind WCHA Rookie of the Year Karl Goehring — on UND’s depth chart. For the year, Schweitzer was 7-5-0 with a 4.22 goals-against average and an .859 save percentage.
Schweitzer’s departure leaves the Sioux without a third goaltender; the backup to Goehring is expected to be Andy Kollar, a redshirt freshman.
