Tyler Young set to face former team in NCAA tournament
· Yahoo Sports
Mar. 24—GRAND FORKS — Last spring, Tyler Young had an inkling his time at Merrimack College was coming to an end.
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Young was mostly a healthy scratch his first two seasons with the Warriors, then worked his way into a more regular role as a junior.
"I had some injuries," Young said. "They were definitely turning in a new direction, but I think we kind of knew, mutually, it was time for me to look for a new spot. I had kind of been thinking about it down the stretch there and what I wanted to do. It was super hard, but the way it ended, it worked out perfectly for both sides, I guess."
Nearly four months after entering the transfer portal, Young finally found his new home when UND offered him a spot under first-year head coach Dane Jackson.
Young and the Fighting Hawks posted a 27-9-1 record, won the Penrose Cup as National Collegiate Hockey Conference champions and earned the No. 2 overall seed in the NCAA tournament.
His old team, Merrimack, won 20 games for just the third time since joining Hockey East in 1989. The Warriors then won Hockey East's playoff title — Merrimack's first trophy at the Division-I level.
On Sunday, Young learned his new team will play his old team in the first round of the NCAA tournament.
UND will take on Merrimack at 7:30 p.m. Thursday in the Denny Sanford Premier Center in Sioux Falls, S.D.
"A bunch of different emotions," Young said minutes after seeing the bracket. "You don't know what to think, but we kind of knew last night we were probably going to get them. It's exciting. They've been playing well. Obviously, they're on a heater, good goaltending. It will be good to see some familiar faces. But we've got to win a hockey game at the end of the day."
Young said he had positive memories from his time at Merrimack College, which is located in North Andover, Mass., about 30 minutes north of Boston.
"Ending was bittersweet," Young said. "I loved my time there. It was awesome. Really appreciate the coaching staff and everything they did for me. Obviously, (head coach) Scott Borek was a great mentor to me and gave me a chance. I'll forever be indebted to them. It was tough saying goodbye to that place, but I still reach out to them every once in a while. It's nothing but good feelings there."
Young's father, Scott, played at Boston University and was an assistant coach there from 2014-17.
So, Tyler's knowledge of college hockey revolved around Eastern schools.
"I always thought the be-all, end-all was BC, BU, Northeastern and those teams," he said. "You know in the background that North Dakota is a blue blood. They've got the history. But you don't really know about the culture until you really get out here."
Young committed to UND on July 21. He was on campus soon after that.
Young moved into an apartment with sophomore defenseman E.J. Emery. They live next door to senior forward Ellis Rickwood, senior defenseman Bennett Zmolek and freshman forward Josh Zakreski.
Then, a special year began.
"I pinch myself sometimes," Young said about this season. "It's pretty surreal. You kind of get nervous with the transfer portal and stuff. You just don't know how it's going to shake out. Getting to come here in the first place was super special, but then, just biding my time and getting the opportunity that they've given me and trying to run with it has been super special. I wish I had another year at this place, because it's been literally a dream come true.
"I was still shocked my first game here. You don't realize how special this team is to the community here. It's a different planet out here. It really is."
Young enjoyed introducing his family to UND hockey, too.
His mother, Mary, has been to Grand Forks several times. His brother, Brett, and sister, Kelly, also have made the trip. His father, now an assistant coach for the Vancouver Canucks, got to make his first visit to Grand Forks during the Olympic break.
"They knew it was super special, just the name alone, 'North Dakota,'" Young said. "But even my dad didn't (really know). He had never been out here before. They didn't grasp how crazy this building was and the culture and the fans. I think it opened their eyes a little bit, too. They had the same thought process as me. BU and BC, those are the big dogs. But this place is super special. It's tucked away here in North Dakota, but it's worth the trip."
Young was a healthy scratch in UND's first five games of the season and in eight of the first 10.
On Nov. 14, he got back into the lineup for a home game against Arizona State. Young scored a goal, tallied two points and has not been out of the lineup since then.
He has five goals and 11 points in 29 games for UND.
"His skating is outstanding," UND associate head coach Matt Smaby said. "He's tenacious, too. If you have a tenacious guy who skates well, that always bodes well. He's got a good shot. He's got good puck skills."
Smaby said Young brings valuable veteran experience, too.
"On the bench, he's a calming presence for the guys," Smaby said. "You can't replicate experience and he's obviously had a lot of that throughout his hockey career. We've got a good mix of young guys and a couple older guys, too. In those big moments, you need those older guys to calm the waters and settle things down. He's done a really nice job of that."
This will be Young's second trip to the NCAA tournament.
Merrimack reached the NCAA tournament during Young's freshman season, but lost to eventual national champion Quinnipiac in the first round.
"We were kind of a Cinderella run that year," Young said. "This is so much different now. I can take it in and I'll be able to really appreciate everything, especially with this being the last ride. It's pretty special and there's not another group I'd want to do it with."
Young said watching the NCAA selection show on Sunday was another unique experience in a memorable season.
"You kind of dream about these days, being the No. 1 seed, being the team that's talked about," Young said. "It's pretty special. I hope these guys don't take it for granted, because you don't know how much this comes around. From my experience, it's once-in-a-lifetime, so I've got to run with it."