November 10, 2009
Lofquist Leaves Minnesota For OHL
CHN Staff Report
Sam Lofquist
CHN Community Log In/Register
November 10, 2009
CHN Staff Report
Sam Lofquist
MINNEAPOLIS — Minnesota sophomore defenseman Sam Lofquist has decided to leave the program and withdraw from school.
According to reports, Lofquist, a one-time member of the U.S. National Team Development Program, will head to the major junior Ontario Hockey League. Lofquist went to a tryout camp for the London Knights two years ago, before coming to Minnesota.
It is the fourth straight season the Gophers had a player leave mid-year.
Lofquist, a Somerset, Wis., native, has played in three of the Gophers’ eight games this season and did not register any points. He appeared in 35 of the team’s 37 games as a freshman, totaling one goal and three assists.
Discuss this article in the College Hockey News Blog
Lofquist was hurt for part of the season, but was a healthy scratch when Minnesota played Wisconsin last weekend.
The Gophers are already without freshman defenseman Nick Leddy, who has a broken jaw, and senior forward Jay Barriball, who is out for the season after knee surgery. They will play, for now, with only six healthy defensemen.
Lofquist joins a number of recent USNTDP graduates to go the OHL route instead of going to, or staying in, college hockey. That list includes Kenny Ryan, who enrolled at Boston College, only to leave before the start of the season.
