GRAND FORKS, N.D. - North Dakota senior defenseman
Ben Blood has signed a contract with the National Hockey League's Ottawa Senators.
Blood was selected by Ottawa in the fourth round, 120th overall, of the 2007 NHL Entry Draft. He will report to the Binghamton Senators, Ottawa's American Hockey League affiliate, for the remainder of the season.
A native of Plymouth, Minn., Blood was named to the All-Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) Third Team as a senior after registering a career-high 21 points (3 goals, 18 assists) in 42 games. Blood helped lead the Fighting Sioux to their league-record third straight Broadmoor Trophy as WCHA playoff champions and the No. 1 seed at the NCAA West Regional, where he was named to the all-tournament team.
The 6-foot-4, 226-pound Blood led the NCAA in plus/minus as a junior in 2010-11 with a +32 and was named to the WCHA Final Five All-Tournament Team.
A recreation and tourism studies major, Blood was a three-time selection to the All-WCHA Academic Team.
Blood finished his collegiate career with 48 points (10 goals, 38 assists) and 229 penalty minutes in 160 career games, and owned a career plus/minus rating of +50. His collegiate career ended having played in 142 consecutive games.
Blood is the third member of UND's three-player senior class to have moved on to the professional ranks since the end of UND's season. Forward Mario Lamoureux (Gwinnett Gladiators) and goalie Brad Eidsness (Reading Royals) each signed amateur tryout agreements in the East Coast Hockey League (ECHL).
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