Noah Cates, Four Seniors Will Return Next Season for UMD Men’s Hockey Team

Along with the return of Cates, Matt Anderson, Louie Roehl, Kobe Roth and Koby Bender will all be back with team as fifth-year seniors.

DULUTH, Minn. – Last week, the UMD men’s hockey team said good-bye to three of their top forwards on the team. Nick Swaney, Jackson Cates and Cole Koepke all signed NHL deals and fans expected to hear about more Bulldogs going to the pros. But that won’t be the case.

This week we learned that team captain Noah Cates will return next season for his senior campaign. The Stillwater native was mulling over the option of joining his brother Jackson in Philadelphia. But in the end, he wanted another shot at a national title at UMD.

“A ton went into it, with and without Jackson’s decision. But ultimately, I just kind of wanted to do what was best for me and my development and just stay here, kind of stick with the plan and the process that we have here and that I have for myself. And just having fun, having a normal year. I just wanted to come back to that and UMD and do those little things that you will take for granted one day,” said Cates.

Along with the return of Cates, Matt Anderson, Louie Roehl, Kobe Roth and Koby Bender will all be back with team as fifth-year seniors. That’s thanks to the NCAA’s blanket waiver which allows seniors to gain an extra year of eligibility due to the pandemic.

“Obviously our program and our culture around here is just top-notch so I wanted to come back and be a part of that again. And then our group of seniors that we have coming back are just really tight. We’ve been together for the past four years. After this year, I think we definitely miss the fans and the atmosphere around there. We’re just hoping that next year is going to be back to normal and that we can definitely finish on a good note with that,” said Bender.

A UMD official has also confirmed that senior graduate transfer Matt Cairns will not return for next season.