New Mexico defenseman Johnson makes NCAA commitment

The New Mexico Ice Wolves of the North American Hockey League (NAHL) are proud to announce that defenseman Keenan Johnson has committed to play NCAA Division III hockey for the University of Wisconsin-River Falls (WIAC).

The 6’2/205 lbs. native of Menomonie, Wisconsin, grew up only about an hour from the University of Wisconsin-River Falls, a program with a rich history of former NAHL players.

Johnson, 21, entered the NAHL in the 2016-17 season with the Topeka Roadrunners, later rebranded to the Topeka Pilots, where he played two and a half seasons before making the move to Texas and finishing the second half of the 2018-19 season with the Corpus Christi IceRays.

Johnson was then acquired by the Ice Wolves in a trade, when New Mexico sent their third round pick to the IceRays for Johnson and fellow veteran Andrei Golikov. Johnson was named the first captain in Ice Wolves history prior to the team’s first regular season game and went on to play in 42 games during New Mexico’s inaugural season.

Johnson is looking forward to starting the next step in his playing career. “I’m excited to be headed to such a top-notch program at UW-River Falls. I really enjoyed my time in the NAHL and will always be grateful to my coaches and teammates. I couldn’t have asked for a better fit than New Mexico to finish out my junior career.”

UW-River Falls, which is located 30 minutes from the Minneapolis/St. Paul area, plays in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) and are 19-time WIAC Champions. The three-time NCAA National Champions play their home games out of the brand new 65-million-dollar W.H. Hunt Arena, located directly on campus.

Click here for an updated NAHL to NCAA commitment list