The Steele County Blades are proud to announce that goaltender Nick Mizen has committed to play college hockey at Kent State University in the fall. Nick was an instrumental part to the Blades success for the last two seasons..

The Newcastle, Australia native played in 34 total games for the Blades over the last two seasons. He led the goaltenders on the team this season in total games played with 24. He featured a goals against average of 3.01 and a save percentage of .902.  In his two years in Owatonna, Mizen had a 2.63 goals against average and a .915 save percentage. Mizen is currently playing for the Sydney Ice Dogs in the Australian Ice Hockey League.

Head Coach Nick Adamek had this to say about Mizen’s choice. “Miz took a huge risk coming to us two seasons ago. We promised him nothing and he knew that he was going to have to earn everything he got in year 1 with the Blades. He did not disappoint. With an undefeated season in 2016-17, he set himself up to run with the #1 job this past year. Through some ups and downs, Miz persevered and was an absolute stud for our club in playoffs.” Adamek added,”He believed in the process, he had a winners attitude and pushed his teammates to be better every day. The Golden Flashes are getting a solid goaltender and an even better person.”

Kent State University Assistant Coach Zack Nowak added, “We are very excited to have Mizen at Kent State next year. We believe that he will be a big part of our teams future and we see a lot of potential as an athlete and person. We are also thrilled with the different experiences that he will bring to our team. All of the guys who know him on our current team can’t say enough nice things about him and have said he will be a great guy to have in the locker room.”

“I want to thank the Steele County Blades organization for providing me with an environment where I could continue to develop and find success on and off the ice. Many of my best memories in hockey so far happened during my two years in Owatonna. The culture that the Blades coaching staff has established created an atmosphere that allowed us come together as a team. I look forward to competing on the ice at Kent State University and continuing my education.” remarked Mizen.

Kent State University is located in Kent, OH. The Golden Flashes compete in the GLCHL (Great Lakes College Hockey League) at the ACHA Division I level. They are coached by Head Coach Jim Underwood. Kent State University is 110-95 for a win percentage of .537 in six years under Underwoods guidance. The Golden Flashes finished ranked 19 of  60 teams at the ACHA Division 1 level last season..

Mizen joins Blades Kyle Wadden (Morrisville St. College, NCAA Div. III), Tristan Klewsaat (Waldorf University, NAIA), Justin Movalli (Framingham St. University, NCAA Div. III), and Zach Bettmeng (Becker College, NCAA Div. III) in committing to a school from this season. The Blades will have more announcements of where their players will be headed shortly.