Bruins forward Sanford makes NCAA DI commitment
August 18, 2014
By John Peterson
With the 2014-15 season in sight, an Austin Bruins forward decided his Division I hockey future Friday. Winger Brennan Sanford (Holt, Michigan) committed to play NCAA Division I hockey in nearby East Lansing for the Michigan State Spartans of the Big Ten Conference.
Sanford started his North American Hockey League (NAHL) tenure in 2012-13, appearing in 41 games for the Kalamazoo Jr. K-Wings organization. After the season, he earned an opportunity with the Bruins for the 2013-14 season.
In 29 games for the Bruins, Sanford tallied ten goals and added eight assists and 60 penalty minutes before a midseason trade sent him to the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders of the USHL.
Sanford’s hockey career will come full circle when he steps onto the ice in the green in white uniforms at Michigan State. Before he started his junior career, he skated for the Lansing Capitals 18U team in the NAPHL during the 2011-12 season.
The 6’2/205 lbs. 19-year-old totaled 70 regular season games during his two-year NAHL career and had 27 career points. During the 2011-12 season, while in the NAPHL with Lansing, Sanford had 19 points in 18 games played and was also an All-Academic selection during that season. His 19 points that season ranked 3rd.
Following University of Minnesota goaltender Nick Lehr (Roseville, MN), Sanford becomes the second member of the Bruins 2013-14 roster to commit to a Big Ten Conference team, and tenth Division I commit in total.