PREVIEW | Red Leafs face NCAA Hockey Royalty in Michigan Wolverines

by Jake Friedrich

ANN ARBOR, MI – The Simon Fraser University Red Leafs are set to take on the #5 ranked University of Michigan Wolverines in the programs’ first ever meeting.

The Red Leafs head to Ann Arbor for the first of twelve games states-side after winning their first games of the year against non-conference competition, defeating the ACAC’s Briercrest College Clippers 6-1 on Friday night, and 4-3 in the shootout on Saturday afternoon.

“I’m excited, obviously,” said forward Caleb Parkhouse when asked about the upcoming weekend, “I’m thankful and grateful for everyone who’s laid the foundation for us to have this opportunity.”

“Obviously we have our work cut out for us going into Michigan, but our group has been working hard,” said Head Coach Mark Coletta.

“[The University of Michigan], along with some other programs, is the bar: that’s where you want to be when it comes to NCAA hockey,” said Coletta, “Elite, high performance hockey, and for SFU to play a handful of these universities this year is tremendous.”

“They will be fast and highly skilled, so we will have to play disciplined and structured.”

Nick Wicks will make his debut as captain of the Red Leafs, succeeding Mitch Ledyard who led the team to two consecutive championships in 2021 and 2022.

This will be the Wolverines’ first game of the 2023.24 campaign, playing one week before the official NCAA Ice Hockey season officially starts. The Wolverines fell to the eventual champion Quinnipiac Bobcats in the first round of the NCAA Frozen Four tournament to end their 2022.23 season, and will face the Providence Friars to kick off the new season.

MICHIGAN LAST 5

04.06.23 | 2-5 L vs #3 Quinnipiac (Frozen Four)

03.26.23 | 2-1 OTW vs #11 Penn State (NCAA Playoffs)

03.24.23 | 11-1 W vs #19 Colgate (NCAA Playoffs)

03.18.23 | 4-3 W at #1 Minnesota (Big10 Playoffs)

03.11.23 | 7-3 W vs #9 Ohio State (Big10 Playoffs)

SFU Red Leafs Non-Conference Squad vs. University of Michigan Wolverines (NCAA D1)

WHERE | Yost Ice Arena; 1116 S State St., Ann Arbor, MI

WHEN | 4:00pm PDT / 7:00pm EDT

WATCH | Big10+

LIVE UPDATES | @SFUHockey on Twitter / X

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