Gophers add 6-5, 205-pound D-man from Las Vegas

It didn't take long for the Gophers to find a replacement for Aaron Ness, the junior defensemen who signed with the New York Islanders four days after the end of their season.

On Saturday, the NAHL announced that Chris Rial, who will turn 21 in September, has committed to the Gophers for next season.

Rial is 6-5, 205 and plays for the Kenai River Brown Bears of Soldotna, Alaska.

In 55 games, he had 14 goals and 12 assists for 26 points. He is from Las Vegas, Nevada.

That has to be a first, I'm guessing? The U of M bringing in a player from Sin City.

But Las Vegas turned out a pretty good player this season. Denver forward Jason Zucker of Las Vegas was the WCHA rookie of the year. Zucker, a Wild second round draft pick, scored the game-winning goal Saturday as the Pioneers beat Western Michigan 3-2 in overtime in the West Regional i Green Bay, Wis., to advance to Sunday's regional final against North Dakota.

The NAHL story on Rial is here.

Expect forward Sam Warning of Cedar Rapids to sign with Gophers this spring, too, so he can workout with players this summer and come in if an unexpected opening develops.

Warning has 21 goals and 18 assists for 39 points in 50 games for Cedar Rapids. He is fourth on his team in scoring and is a plus-12. He is from suburban St. Louis, Mo.