Liv-ing it up with North Dakota
From Yorba Linda to Anchorage
The NAHL’s Kenai River Brown Bears have announced that forward Dylan Contreras has committed to play NCAA Division I hockey for the University of Alaska Anchorage. Contreras, 20, is playing his first season with the Brown Bears and third in the NAHL. The Yorba Linda native began his NAHL journey in the 2021-22 season with the Corpus Christi IceRays where he recorded 25 points in 55 games. Contreras returned for another year last season and increased his presence on the scoresheet, tallying 32 points (eight goals, 24 assists) in 56 games. “I am very honored and excited to announce my commitment to continue my education and play NCAA D-I college hockey at the University of Alaska Anchorage. I’d like to thank my family, teammates, and coaches for all of their support and help along the way,” said Contreras. Contreras joined the Brown Bears for the 2023-24 campaign
See CONTRERAS on 9
rado for the NAHL’s New Jersey Titans, EHL’s New Jersey Bears, and ACHA’s U.S. Naval Academy. Needless to say, Mikolajczyk is a very busy man. “We have a good bunch of players but a very small roster,” said Mikolajczyk of his CC team. “The program had been dormant for five seasons prior to the players bringing me in. There had been some coaching and
The NCHC has announced that its Rookie of the Month is North Dakota defenseman Jake Livanavage. Livanavage tied for the NCHC lead among defensemen scoring in January with eight points in eight games, while tying for second among rookie scoring. He dished out seven assists during the month, which tied for fourth among all NCHC skaters, while chipping in one goal from the blue line. Livanavage posted a plus-6 plus/minus in January, tying for fifth in the NCHC, while not committing a single penalty all month. The Gilbert native recorded points in six of eight games during the first month of 2024 to help UND to a 6-1-1 record. He dished out an assist each night in a sweep of Alaska to start January. Two weeks later, he recorded a three-point weekend in a win and tie at St. Cloud State. Livanavage tallied two assists in the series-opening win on Jan. 19, while he scored a game-tying
See MIKOLAJCZYK on 18
See LIVANAVAGE on 9
Chris Mikolajczyk is currently in his second season coaching Colorado College’s ACHA team. Photo/Michelle Mikolajczyk
Helping grow the game in Colorado
BY MATT MACKINDER COLORADO HOCKEY HUB Chris Mikolajczyk is originally from New Jersey, but moved to Colorado four years ago and has been serving in a number of hockey roles since then. Mikolajczyk is in his second season as head coach for Colorado College’s ACHA team after previously coaching two seasons at Doherty High School. He also scouts in Colo-
FEBRUARY 2024