University of Minnesota Athletics
Photo by: Brace Hemmelgarn
10/27/2026 10:30:00 AM | Men's Hockey
Four-point effort Friday to cap sweep of UND
ROSEMONT, Ill. - After a breakout, four-point performance to secure Minnesota's sweep of No. 3 North Dakota, freshman Wyatt Cullen was named the Big Ten Conference First Star of the Week, it was announced by the league office Tuesday.
The forward from Moorhead, Minn., put together a memorable Friday night in front of a sold-out 3M Arena at Mariucci crowd, recording a hat trick and an assist. His effort powered the Golden Gophers during an outburst of four-straight goals that erased a one-goal deficit against the rival Fighting Hawks. Cullen's hat trick was the first by a Gopher in nearly two years and the first to record a hat trick versus UND since Nov. 9, 1996, when Casey Hankinson had a four-goal night.
After being held to one point through his first five NCAA appearances, the freshman scored the first goal of his collegiate career on the power play to tie the game in the second period before adding an assist on the go-ahead tally five minutes later. He then scored twice in a four-minute span of the third period, with his second of the contest going down as the game-winning goal.
Cullen is the first Minnesota player to land a weekly award in 2026-27 and the most recent to pick up First Star of the Week honors since Brodie Ziemer on Dec. 9, 2025.
The forward from Moorhead, Minn., put together a memorable Friday night in front of a sold-out 3M Arena at Mariucci crowd, recording a hat trick and an assist. His effort powered the Golden Gophers during an outburst of four-straight goals that erased a one-goal deficit against the rival Fighting Hawks. Cullen's hat trick was the first by a Gopher in nearly two years and the first to record a hat trick versus UND since Nov. 9, 1996, when Casey Hankinson had a four-goal night.
After being held to one point through his first five NCAA appearances, the freshman scored the first goal of his collegiate career on the power play to tie the game in the second period before adding an assist on the go-ahead tally five minutes later. He then scored twice in a four-minute span of the third period, with his second of the contest going down as the game-winning goal.
Cullen is the first Minnesota player to land a weekly award in 2026-27 and the most recent to pick up First Star of the Week honors since Brodie Ziemer on Dec. 9, 2025.
Players Mentioned
Forward
/ Men's Hockey
Forward
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