GRAND FORKS — UND's logjam of forwards for next season has sent another into the NCAA transfer portal.
UND forward Brendan Budy entered the portal Tuesday — four days before the deadline to get in for next season.
Budy played two seasons for the Fighting Hawks, scoring five goals and 10 points in 56 games.
The junior from Langley, B.C., had one point last season in 22 games. It was a key one, though. He scored the game-winning goal in the third period against Minnesota Duluth in November.
Budy missed the entire month of January with an injury and was a healthy scratch for the team's NCAA tournament game against Notre Dame.
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UND has been trying to manage its large forward list throughout the last month.
The Fighting Hawks lost just one forward to graduation in fifth-year senior center Connor Ford.
The returns of fourth-year seniors Gavin Hain and Mark Senden coupled with the explosive performances in the United States Hockey League by four forward commits who likely need to come to campus in the fall — Jackson Blake, Owen McLaughlin, Dylan James and Ben Strinden — has led to three departures.
Budy and fourth-year senior Ashton Calder went to the transfer portal and recruit Cole Spicer opted to de-commit instead of play another year of junior hockey.
UND now has 15 or 16 forwards penciled in for next season, depending on whether James comes to campus.
Blake, McLaughlin and Strinden are all expected to come.
Prior to UND, Budy spent one semester at the University of Denver before returning to junior hockey, where the Fighting Hawks recruited him.
Budy was a nominee for the Hockey Humanitarian Award for his work in raising money and awareness for diabetes. Budy is a Type 1 Diabetic.
