{"id":448474,"date":"2026-02-06T07:24:27","date_gmt":"2026-02-06T07:24:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/448474\/"},"modified":"2026-02-06T07:24:27","modified_gmt":"2026-02-06T07:24:27","slug":"rickwood-the-rock-college-hockey-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/448474\/","title":{"rendered":"Rickwood The Rock : College Hockey News"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tFebruary 5, 2026<\/p>\n

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North Dakota Senior Forward Adds Presence After Transfer; Earns NCHC January Honor<\/p>\n

by Jordan McAlpine<\/a>\/CHN Reporter (@jordan_mcalpine<\/a>)<\/p>\n

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Ellis Rickwood played 96 games over the past three seasons at Clarkson and was coming off a career-high 35-point campaign.<\/p>\n

Rickwood, who is listed at 6-foot-2 and 205 pounds, centered Clarkson\u2019s top line last winter and was an All-ECAC First Team selection. He was also among the nation\u2019s top faceoff men at 57.5 percent, as his 430 faceoff wins ranked 10th in the NCAA.<\/p>\n

The Ontario native entered the portal on April 22 and committed to North Dakota three days later. It\u2019s a decision that\u2019s paid off for both sides.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been amazing here so far,\u201d Rickwood said. \u201cIt was honestly a pretty tough decision to transfer at first and you never know how it\u2019s all going to end up, but I\u2019m happy I did and I’ve\u00a0gotten to experience playing here. Because this place is special and it\u2019s unbelievable how well we\u2019re treated.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rickwood has been quite the addition for UND, and he\u2019s especially been on a tear of late.<\/p>\n

The right-shot center was named the NCHC\u2019s January Forward of the Month last\u00a0Wednesday;\u00a0Rickwood has 13 points over his past eight games, along with a 59.9 faceoff win percentage.<\/p>\n

Rickwood ranks third on UND\u2019s roster with 24 points through 21 games, and he\u2019s second with three game-winning tallies. He missed five games (Nov. 15-Dec. 6) with a lower-body injury, too.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s also made an impact as a veteran presence down the middle, especially for a young roster. UND\u00a0lost its top two\u00a0centers from 2024-25 \u2014\u00a0Sacha Boisvert and Cameron Berg \u2014\u00a0along with\u00a0Louis Jamernik V, Jake Schmaltz and Carter\u00a0Wilkie,\u00a0which created the perfect opportunity.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d say with it being my senior year and my last chance, I wanted to go somewhere where I could make an immediate impact at both ends of the rink,\u201d Rickwood said. \u201cIf you ask anybody around me, I take a lot of pride in being a well-rounded, 200-foot center, and I think I take more pride in a good defensive play or a big faceoff win than scoring at times. But I just want to be someone my coaches can trust in any situation.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo looking at this opportunity and the role I could have coming into this season, I thought it was a perfect fit, and somewhere I could excel. And I don\u2019t think being that complete player was my strength coming into college, but it\u2019s something I\u2019ve worked on the last couple years, and I love being dependable and being a\u00a0rock for the guys.\u201d<\/p>\n

After three seasons in the ECAC, Rickwood wanted to prove he could produce in a conference like the NCHC \u2014\u00a0especially as he aspires to carve out a pro career.<\/p>\n

Despite his breakout junior season, he received little pro interest last spring \u2014\u00a0something he hopes will change in a few months.<\/p>\n

At the same time, Rickwood said he owes a lot to Clarkson and reiterated he enjoyed his time with the Golden Knights. Especially playing under J.F. Houle, who took over last season.<\/p>\n

\u201cI learned so much and I\u2019m really thankful for my time out there,\u201d Rickwood said. \u201cI didn\u2019t have a great freshman year, and honestly, that was really tough for me. But I just kinda put my head down and went to work. Then I got hurt my sophomore game and was out for a bit, and I learned a lot throughout that process.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think once I came back, I really tried to prioritize my defensive game and learn the positioning better and the defensive side, and I took a lot of pride in it. So to have that mindset and (Houle) really trusted me and let us play a little more free last season, I think it helped a ton. It\u2019s all just kinda continued building this season and gotten me where I am now.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rickwood has centered Will Zellers and Mac Swanson since the Christmas break on UND\u2019s top line. Zellers has been one of the nation\u2019s top freshmen scorers and starred at the WJC, and Swanson has 17 points of his own.<\/p>\n

The trio combined for 12 points (4-8-12) last time out as UND swept Arizona State in Tempe.<\/p>\n

The Fighting Hawks currently sit atop the NCHC standings with 38 points and sit third in the NPI with eight games left. UND is 12-2 over its past 14.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve got a great group of guys and great coaches, and I really felt like everyone felt comfortable right away,\u201d Rickwood said. \u201cNot only are there a bunch of great guys, but great hockey players too. So no matter where you\u2019re at in the lineup or who you\u2019re playing with, you\u2019re going to have skilled players around you and be put in a spot to succeed. You just have to find that chemistry and I feel like everyone has really been clicking these past few weeks.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now UND will look to keep it clicking the rest of the season.<\/p>\n

The Fighting Hawks are coming off a bye and will head to Duluth this weekend. It begins a stretch of four consecutive NCHC series, as UND looks to clinch its seventh Penrose Cup.<\/p>\n

While Rickwood would love to put together another big month offensively, his main goal is simply helping UND win \u2014\u00a0doing \u2018whatever it takes.\u2019<\/p>\n

Make no mistake, the focus is on Friday\u2019s game at UMD, but there\u2019s plenty of excitement for the final stretch.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wish I had more than one year here, but I\u2019ve enjoyed it so much and I\u2019ve never been on a team this talented. So these next couple months are definitely going to be exciting,\u201d Rickwood said. \u201cWe\u2019re trying not to look too far ahead and are taking it one day at a time and just staying in the moment, but the vibes are really high.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think you can feel it in our room that we\u2019ve got something brewing and everyone is on the same page, and the end goal is to play for a national championship.\u201d<\/p>\n