Matt Frattin admitted the sting of North Dakota’s 2-0 semifinal loss to Michigan still lingered as he faced the media for the last time as a college hockey player.
“Obviously, I’m disappointed about the loss last night where a few bounces didn’t go our way,” Frattin said at the press conference following the Hobey Baker Memorial Award presentation Friday at the Xcel Energy Center.
“But today was a life experience that not many people can cherish.”
Frattin did not win college hockey’s top individual award but, as one of three finalists, appeared before a national television audience, a thousand or two UND fans and his Fighting Sioux teammates in the seats.
“It was a group decision with the coaching staff for the team to stay back today and be here for moral support,” Frattin said.
UND coach Dave Hakstol and his wife, Erinn, Frattin’s parents, Val and Giby, and Frattin’s brother accompanied Matt on the ice for the presentation.
Frattin said he is flying to Toronto on Saturday to join the NHL team that drafted him in the fourth round of the 2007 draft, the Toronto Maple Leafs.
He’ll join the club Saturday night for the season finale against Montreal.
“There’s so much history between those two clubs and I can’t even imagine how crazy the fans and the atmosphere is going to be,” Frattin said.
