Duluth hockey standout Biondi announces transfer to Notre Dame

SOUTH BEND — The building of the 2024-25 Notre Dame hockey roster continued Tuesday with the announcement by Minnesota Duluth forward Blake Biondi that he will play his graduate season at Notre Dame.

Biondi, a former Minnesota Mr. Hockey from Hermantown and four-year starter for coach Scott Sandelin’s Bulldogs, announced via social media and to The Rink Live’s Jess Myers that he will graduate from Duluth and then move to South Bend to work on a master’s degree while playing for coach Jeff Jackson’s Fighting Irish. 

Both Duluth, a member of the National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC), and Notre Dame, a Big Ten member, were eliminated in their respective conference tournaments and did not make the NCAA 16-team tournament field announced Sunday.

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“I am so excited to work toward a master’s degree and play at Notre Dame next year,” Biondi said on social media. “This is an opportunity I am grateful for and can’t wait to see what God has planned.”

The 6-foot-1, 198-pound Biondi, who turns 22 in late April, scored 37 goals and had 76 points in 25 games as captain of Hermantown High School’s hockey team in 2019-20. At Duluth, he amassed 30 goals and 58 points in 119 games with career highs of 17 goals and 28 points during his sophomore campaign of 2021-22. He played just 17 games as a junior, scoring just three goals and six points, before having surgery on both shoulders. Biondi bounced back last season to score eight goals and for 19 points in 34 games for Duluth, which finished 12-20-5 this season.

Biondi, whose father Joe skated for Duluth from 1990-93, will graduate from the school’s Labovitz School of Business with a double major in business and marketing. He leaves the program with the blessing of head coach Scott Sandelin, a coaching friend of Jackson.

“I want to acknowledge that it was a really hard decision to leave UMD but feel it’s the best choice for my career,” Biondi added in social media. “The past four years as a Bulldog and my time in Duluth will be something I always value. Now, I am ready to get things going in South Bend and put on the gold helmets!! Go Irish!”