Goalie Zach Driscoll signs pro contract with Glasgow Clan

GRAND FORKS — Zach Driscoll is headed overseas next season.

The goaltender who backstopped UND to a third-straight Penrose Cup as National Collegiate Hockey Conference regular-season champions in March has signed a one-year contract with the Glasgow Clan.

The Clan are based in Scotland and play in the United Kingdom's top league, the Elite Ice Hockey League. The EIHL has 10 teams — five in England, three in Scotland, one in Wales and one in Northern Ireland.

Driscoll got a taste of pro hockey in the spring, when he signed an amateur tryout deal with the Toledo Walleye in the ECHL. Driscoll played three games with Toledo and posted a .913 save percentage.

That stint came after an excellent fifth-year season with the Fighting Hawks, where he saved his best for the stretch run.

Playing behind a UND squad decimated by injuries, Driscoll went 10-3-1 with a .935 save percentage during the last two months of the season to propel the Fighting Hawks to a share of the league title and a trip to the NCHC Frozen Faceoff.

Driscoll finished runner-up for the NCHC's goalie of the year award and earned second-team all-NCHC honors.

For the season, he was 22-11-1 with a .908 save percentage and a 2.34 goals-against average.

The Apple Valley, Minn., product was a key pickup out of the NCAA transfer portal in the summer of 2021. Prior to come to UND, he starred for three years at Bemidji State and played one at St. Cloud State.

As a fifth-year senior, Driscoll earned the unique distinction of becoming the first goalie in college hockey history to beat two schools he played for.

Driscoll is the fourth player from last season's UND team to sign a pro deal for next season. Previously, defenseman Jake Sanderson signed with the NHL's Ottawa Senators, forward Connor Ford signed with the American Hockey League's Henderson Silver Knights and goalie Harrison Feeney signed with Bollnas in Sweden.

Defenseman Brady Ferner also is expected to sign a pro contract in Europe.

UND will return two goaltenders in the fall — sophomores Jakob Hellsten and Kaleb Johnson. The Fighting Hawks are also bringing in a fifth-year senior in Michigan State transfer Drew DeRidder.