The crowd went wild as the buzzer signaled the end of the game. Sweat was dripping down the athletes as they barrelled onto the ice and exchanged victorious cheers, embracing each other. Nick Swaney, a freshman at the time of his first national championship, will always remember this moment, especially now as he reflects on his time as a Bulldog.

Swaney is a senior forward this season and one of the highest point scorers in the National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC). So far this season, he has tallied 21 points from 7 goals and 14 assists. Throughout his career as a Bulldog, he has been on the winning team of two national championships and hopes for the opportunity again this year. This would be especially meaningful after the abrupt end to last season due to COVID-19. On top of all that, he was a 7th round draft pick for the Minnesota Wild in 2017.

The Lakeville, Minnesota native started skating at the age of 2 at Apple Valley Ice Arena and played on his first team shortly after that. However, he was not always the forward that UMD is so used to seeing on the ice.

“I actually played defense until right before my freshman year of high school,” Swaney explained. “Then I switched and the switch has paid off pretty good. So, I’m glad I did it.”

Growing up in Minnesota, Swaney watched a lot of Gopher and Bulldog hockey games. When it came time to look at colleges and talk to teams, UMD just stood out. 

“I took my first visit here and I fell in love with the coaches, the campus and it’s hard to pass up on a hockey program like Duluth,” Swaney said about his decision to play for UMD. “It was a pretty easy decision once I got talking to everybody.”

Swaney is one of the six seniors graduating this year. However, this was not the senior year any of them were expecting. 

The team spent the first three weeks and nine games of their competitive season in Omaha. Every NCHC team was there to play the first half of the year in a pod to limit the spread of COVID-19. In addition to that, the regular season is conference matches only. This means the team will miss out on playing a couple big games like the Minnesota Gophers, but they will play St. Cloud State six times this season.

Games were not the only thing affected by the coronavirus though. Practices were also managed differently. The team actually had to practice in two separate groups and be in different locker rooms to start their season. The practices were mainly separated by house and the locker room is grouped the same way. This made it difficult to catch up with the team or get to know the new players. 

“The pod for us was a huge stepping stone into that team bonding aspect,” Swaney said. “It for sure brought us closer together. I think that when you look at the best teams and teams in the past when we’ve been successful, it’s a lot of the time it’s because of how close we are off the ice.”

Throughout the season, Swaney has fluctuated between the first and second place for the NCHC’s top point scorer. Currently, he sits one point behind North Dakota’s Shane Pinto. However, Swaney tries not to think about it.

“I try not to really think about it. I think that being with linemates like Noah Cates and Quinn Olson and different guys for sure makes it easier,” Swaney stated. “I think if you get too worried about scoring points, it’s something that can work in the opposite direction. For me, it’s just coming out and playing my game every night and just understanding that if I do play my game, the points and stuff will follow.”

As the season begins to come to a close, Swaney and the rest of his team look forward to finishing their season strong. They are keeping the Penrose Cup in the back of their mind and would love the opportunity to defend their national champion title if given the chance. Even with those goals in mind, Swaney is not quite ready to close this chapter of his life yet.

“It kind of doesn’t feel real. It feels like I just stepped onto campus my freshman year,” Swaney said. “I have for sure loved every experience I had here and I’m not quite ready for it to be done yet, so I’ve got to enjoy this last semester as best as possible.”