Hibbing/Chisholm junior defenseman Scott Perunovich, who verbally committed to UMD in April, will suit up for the U.S. National Team Development Program Under-18 squad on Saturday when it takes on the Bulldogs in an exhibition at 7:07 p.m. on Saturday at Amsoil Arena.
The USNTDP is short a defenseman thanks to the IIHF World Junior Championships going on right now in Finland, so they reached out to Perunovich, who played for the U.S.A. Under 18 Selects at the Ivan Hlinka Memorial Cup in August in the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
“I’m excited, nervous too,” said Perunovich, 17, of Hibbing. “I just want to hold my ground, do as much as I can.”
Perunovich — who USA Hockey lists at 5-foot-10, 150 pounds and would join the Bulldogs in the fall of 2017 at the earliest — has eight goals and 27 assists in just 11 games this season for Hibbing/Chisholm, which is 11-0 going into Tuesday’s 7:30 p.m. showdown against Cloquet-Esko-Carlton in Hibbing. Perunovich posted 11 goals and 42 assists a year ago for the Bluejackets.
- UMD received a verbal commitment Thursday night from 16-year-old defenseman Hunter Lellig of Waterloo, Iowa. Lellig, at 6-foot-1, 175 pounds, is a junior in high school and in his second season with the Chicago Mission Midget Minor (Under 16) AAA program. This past spring he was taken in the sixth round of the 2015 USHL Futures Draft by his hometown Waterloo Blackhawks. Lellig would join the Bulldogs in the fall of 2017 at the earliest.