University of Minnesota Duluth men's hockey coach Scott Sandelin announced his crew of captains Tuesday afternoon – the most Bulldog players to simultaneously wear a letter in the same season in program history.
Those five players include senior defenseman Joey Pierce, who will wear the lone "C" after serving as an alternate last season. Four players will join Pierce as alternates – graduate forward and Cornell transfer Kyler Kovich, junior defenseman Aaron Pionk, sophomore forward Max Plante and sophomore defenseman Ty Hanson.
While it was the team that voted on its captains last week, Sandelin more than agreed with their choices.
"I don't think we can go wrong with any of these guys, these are guys who represent how we want to play," said Sandelin. "They compete, work hard, they want to win and they are so driven – all the things we want – I like this group a lot. They really complement each other. You have older players like Kyler and deeply respected players like Joey. You have vocal leaders in the younger guys and it really is just a good mix of guys that are the epitome of Bulldog hockey."
Pierce is the lone returning captain off the 2024-25 squad, and his first game of the new season will mark his 100th in a UMD jersey. The Hermantown, Minn. native has recorded a goal and 12 assists over his career. Pierce has also excelled in the classroom – he's a three-time National College Hockey Conference Distinguished Scholar-Athlete (the league's highest academic honor), and was named to the 2024-25 College Sports Communicators Academic All-District® Men's At-Large Team this past spring.
Kovich comes to the Bulldogs after spending four seasons with the Big Red. A product of Coquitlam, British Columbia, Kovich played in 78 games at Cornell, including all 36 over the 2024-25 season. Kovich had 22 points with the Big Red, including nine goals and 13 assists. He posted the most offensive season of his career last year with five goals and nine assists, and is also a AHCA/Krampde All-American Scholar and was a 2025 ECAC Hockey All-Academic Team selection.
Pionk has never missed a game for the Bulldogs in two seasons, having now skated in 73-straight games. Hailing from Hermantown, Minn., Pionk has posted a point in more than half of his collegiate games – he's recorded six goals and 40 assists for 46 points, along with two power play goals and one game-winner. Pionk ranked 10th in the NCHC in assists per game (0.64) in league play last season, and is a two-time NCHC Academic All-Conference Team member.
Hanson played in all 36 of UMD's games as a rookie, recording four goals and 10 assists for 14 points. A native of Hermantown, Minn., Hanson had two multiple point games last season and was both a 2024-25 Newcomer NCHC Distinguished Scholar-Athlete and Newcomer NCHC Academic All-Conference Team selection.
Plante, despite playing in just 23 games last season due to injury and national junior team duty, scored nine goals and dished 19 assists for 28 points as a rookie. That 1.21 points per game average for the Hermantown, Minn. product helped make him a 2024-25 Finalist for NCHC Rookie of the Year, and cleared him a spot on the 2024-25 NCHC All-Rookie Team. Plante – who had nine games with two or more points last season – was also named a 2024-25 Newcomer NCHC Distinguished Scholar-Athlete. Plante follows in his father Derek's footsteps – the elder Plante was a team captain as a senior in 1992-93 after serving as an alternate in 1991-92.
The Bulldogs will open up the 2025-26 season against the University of Alaska Fairbanks in Fairbanks, Alaska on Oct. 3-4. The Friday-Saturday series will get underway that Friday at 10:00 p.m. CDT.
