Zach Okabe

Photo by: Luke Schmidt

NCAA Men's Hockey 2021: NCHC Frozen Faceoff

Photo by: Russell Hons

Photo by: Bill Prout

Photo by: Kelsey Whaley

Position:
Forward
Height:
5-9
Weight:
170
Class:
Junior
Hometown:
Okotoks, Alberta
High School:
Charles Spencer

Honors and Awards: 2022-23 All-NCHC Honorable Mention ... 2023 NCHC Frozen Faceoff All-Tournament Team ... Two-time NCHC Forward of the Week (Oct. 4, 2021; Dec. 5, 2022) ... NCHC Rookie of the Week (Jan. 6, 2020)

2023-24 (FIFTH-YEAR SENIOR): Played in all 38 games while scoring 10 goals and 14 assists for 24 points with three power play goals and one game-winning goal in his fifth season as a Husky … Finished his career with 52 goals and 67 assists for 119 points, ranking 21^st on SCSU’s all-time scoring list … Among program records, finished his career ranked second in games played (176), sixth in hat tricks (two), 11^th in game-winning goals (10) and 18^th in goals (52) … One of only 25 skaters in program history to reach 50 career goals … Scored a goal in season-opener against St. Thomas (Oct. 7) … Became the 38^th member of SCSU’s 100-point club with a pair of assists against Minnesota Duluth (Nov. 18) … Logged a pair of assists at Omaha (Dec. 9) … Found the back of the net in 6-1 win over Bemidji State (Dec. 31) … Scored in back-to-back games against Denver (Jan. 13) and North Dakota (Jan. 19), and then again in both games against Omaha (Jan. 26-27) … Scored in three consecutive games against Miami (Feb. 9-10) and Western Michigan (Feb. 23) … Scored against Minnesota Duluth (March 9).

2022-23 (SENIOR): Played in 41 games and earned All-NCHC Honorable Mention honors after recording 18 goals and 18 assists for 36 points with a +16 mark on the ice and five game-winning goals … Set career highs in nearly every offensive category including goals (18), assists (18), points (36), plus/minus (+16), and game-winning goals (five) … His five game-winning goals rank fourth on the all-time single season program list … Was named to the NCHC Frozen Faceoff All-Tournament Team after leading the Huskies to a conference championship … He’s the only player in program history to record multiple natural hat tricks, and one of 13 Huskies to record multiple hat tracks … Opened his senior campaign by scoring a goal and adding an assist in road win over St. Thomas (Oct. 1) … Had two points with a goal and assist in win over No. 2 Minnesota State (Oct. 21) … Scored a goal and had an assist in win over No. 2 Denver (Nov. 4) … Added an empty net goal to seal a 3-1 win at Colorado College (Nov. 18) … Recorded a pair of goals and added an assist for a three-point game and a +3 mark on the ice at Colorado College (Nov. 19) … Recorded his second career and the 65^th hat trick in program history against North Dakota (Dec. 3), sparking six unanswered goals and a three-goal comeback while earned NCHC Forward of the Week honors for his performance … Had a goal and two assists for second consecutive three-points game at Miami (Dec. 9) … Scored the game-winning goal and had an assist with a +3 mark on the ice against Colorado College (Jan. 14) … Scored a power play goal and added an assist in win over No. 3 Denver (Jan. 20) … Added a goal to finish sweep of No. 3 Denver (Jan. 21) … Scored the game-winning goal in overtime on senior day to defeat Minnesota Duluth (March 4) … Set the Huskies to the NCHC Frozen Faceoff championship game with the game-winning goal in overtime to defeat No. 17/16 North Dakota (March 17) … Scored a goal in NCAA Tournament victory over No. 10/9 Minnesota State (March 23).

2021-22 (JUNIOR): Appeared in all 37 games in junior campaign, scoring 28 points with 11 goals and 17 assists … Recorded six power play goals and two game-winning goals … Among team leaders, ranked second in power play goals (six), third in assists (17), fourth in points (28) and fifth in goals (11) … Had a three-point game to start the season, recording a goal and two assists in 12-2 win over St. Thomas (Oct. 2) to open the season … Scored a goal in SCSU’s win over St. Thomas (Oct. 3) at the Xcel Energy Center … Had an assist against Wisconsin (Oct. 22) … Had a goal and assist in 4-1 road victory over Colorado College (Nov. 6) … Scored a goal at Western Michigan (Nov. 19) … Had a goal and assist in 8-1 rout of North Dakota (Dec. 3) … Contributed to 5-2 win over Bemidji State (Jan. 1) with a goal and assist … Had two goals and an assist with a +3 mark on the ice against Miami (Jan. 21) … Had a goal and two assists at Denver (Feb. 4) … Had a goal and an assist against Western Michigan (Feb. 11) … Scored a goal in 4-1 win over Western Michigan (Feb. 12) … Had a pair of assists against Minnesota Duluth (March 12) in NCHC Quarterfinals.

2020-21 (SOPHOMORE): Okabe was one of St. Cloud State's top offensive threats in 2020-21 as a member of the famed International Exchange Line. As a sophomore, Okabe appeared in 30 games for the Huskies and tallied 22 points with six goals and a team-leading 16 assists with 60 shots on net. He tallied his first goal of the season in St. Cloud State's 5-3 win over North Dakota in December and tallied a six-point scoring streak from February 20 to March 16. He additionally tallied at least one point in two of the team's four NCAA tournament games.

2019-20 (FRESHMAN): In first season with the Huskies, Okabe played in 30 games for the Huskies...led all first-year players with seven goals...also had two assists for a total of nine points...had 35 shots, one power play and one game winner in 2019-20... scored four goals, including the GWG vs. Minnesota State on Dec. 28...also scored goals in wins over Miami and Denver during his rookie season...scored first collegiate assist at WMU on Jan. 24, 2020...scored first goal at the HBNHC on Jan. 31 vs. Miami.

Before SCSU: A 2019 graduate of Charles Spencer H.S...played junior hockey in 2017-18 and 2018-19 with the Grande Prairie Storm of the AJHL...scored 23 goals and 39 assists during his first season with Grande Prairie and added 32 goals and 29 assists during his final season with Grande Prairie in 2018-19...charted 55 goals and 68 assists during his junior career in the AJHL.

Personal: The son of Nobuaki and Maree Okabe...business management major...enjoys playing rugby and skating on his backyard rink back home...is a citizen of Japan, Australia and Canada.