10 things to know about this weekend's Ice Breaker Tournament

Oct. 12—GRAND FORKS — Army has had a men's hockey program since 1903.

UND has had one since 1946.

Until 3 p.m. Thursday, the Black Knights had never stepped on the ice in Grand Forks.

UND will host Army for the first time in program history at 7:07 p.m. Friday in the opener of the Ice Breaker Tournament.

The only previous meeting between the programs came on Dec. 28, 1966, when UND beat Army 7-3 in the St. Paul (Minn.) Classic. Bill Selman was the head coach of UND at the time and Gino Gasparini was a player.

"To play in the best college hockey building in front of the best college hockey fans is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for our players," Army coach Brian Riley said. "For non-league games, I like to play against programs and coaches I have a lot of respect for. I really like Brad Berry. Here he is coaching one of the top teams in the country, yet he always makes you feel like you're more important than he is. It's a great opportunity for us to go and play a program that's unbelievably rich in tradition."

Riley also said it was intriguing to play in Grand Forks because it's a military town with an Air Force base nearby.

"I know the people there have a lot of respect for our military," Riley said. "When they look at our players during the national anthem, I hope they realize, especially in today's world, there's good and evil, and some people are willing to stand in the middle to protect the good from the evil. Those guys are willing to stand in the middle. I understand the fans there want North Dakota to win, but I'm sure they'll respect our guys."

Bemidji State is co-hosting the event with UND.

On Saturday, the Fighting Hawks will host Wisconsin at 6:07 p.m., while Army plays in Bemidji.

Here are 10 things to know about this weekend's Ice Breaker Tournament:

This will be UND's fifth time participating and second time hosting the Ice Breaker, which started in 1997 and is now administered by College Hockey Inc.

UND played in 2000 in Ann Arbor, Mich., 2008 in Boston, 2011 in Grand Forks and 2015 in Portland, Maine.

The Fighting Hawks have only won the event once — 2015. That season ended with UND winning its eighth NCAA national championship.

UND took second in 2011, third in 2000 and fourth in 2008.

Army participated in 2009 and 2012, finishing fourth both times. Wisconsin has participated three times — 1997 (second), 2002 (third) and 2010 (third). This is Bemidji State's first time.

Army hockey has been under the direction of the Riley family for 73 years.

Brian Riley is in his 20th year as head coach. Prior to him, his brother, Rob, served as head coach for 18 years.

Prior to that, their father, Jack, was head coach for 36 years, beginning in 1950. Jack was behind the bench for the 1966 meeting between UND and Army.

"I have a ton of respect for Brian Riley and what he's done for that program," Berry said. "There's a long lineage of Rileys that have coached at Army and also around the nation in college hockey."

After UND lost its defensemen from last season, it was able to dip into the transfer portal to fill those voids with veterans like fifth-year seniors Keaton Pehrson from Michigan, Garrett Pyke from Alaska and Logan Britt from Sacred Heart.

Army did not have that luxury after losing Anthony Firriolo, Thomas Farrell and Noah Wilson on the back end.

Picking up transfers isn't feasible for the Black Knights.

"Our application process is pretty much done by the time the portal opens up," Riley said. "And if we were able to get one, they'd have to come in here and start off as a freshman. No credits would transfer. They'd start as a plebe, which means you're at the bottom of the totem pole. I'm not sure how attractive that is. It's been challenging to say the least. I think it will get better for us once this fifth year, COVID year disappears. Then you won't have all these players with an extra year looking for a place to play.

"I get it, though. If I was North Dakota or some of these other teams in our league, I'd find a way to make it work. But we can't."

Only nine players returned to college hockey this fall after scoring 20 goals a season ago.

Three of them are playing in the Ice Breaker — UND's Riese Gaber, Army's Joey Baez and Wisconsin's David Silye, who transferred from Minnesota State.

"We're not a high-powered offensive team," Riley said. "But we have a guy with 20-plus goals. In college hockey, that's pretty good."

Army is bringing in players from both Dakotas.

Junior forward

Lucas Kanta played high school hockey at Grand Forks Central

and won three state championships. Freshman defenseman Easton Zueger is from Sioux Falls, S.D.

Minnesotans on the team include former Duluth East star Ricky Lyle, forward Nik Hong of Minneapolis, forward Joey Dosan of Bloomington Kennedy and defenseman Jon Bell of St. Cloud Cathedral.

Army has played one game so far this season, losing 6-0 at home to Union on Sunday.

The Dutchmen scored three in the first, two in the second and one in the third, while outshooting Army 46-19.

Starting goaltender Gavin Abric, who has posted a .925 and a .901 in his two years as a starter, was pulled after two periods.

"We weren't ready last weekend," Riley said. "We better be ready this weekend. We're looking forward to playing in the Mecca of College Hockey in front of the best fans."

Wisconsin made a coaching change in the offseason, firing Tony Granato and hiring Crookston, Minn., native Mike Hastings from Minnesota State.

Hastings filled out his staff with all former Section 8 players — associate head coach Todd Knott of Red Lake Falls, Minn., and assistant coach Nick Oliver of Roseau, Minn.

The Hastings era started last weekend with a pair of games against Division-I newcomer Augustana University of Sioux Falls. The Badgers won 4-0 and 3-0. Junior goalie Kyle McClellan stopped all 43 Vikings shots.

Hastings brought three key transfers with him from Minnesota State to Wisconsin.

The transfers are David Silye, who racked up 23 goals and 39 points last season, sophomore Christian Fitzgerald, who had 29 points as a rookie, and sophomore Simon Tassy.

Hastings also inherited a talented freshman class from Granato, including Blue Jackets draft pick William Whitelaw, Red Wings pick Owen Mehlenbacher, Islanders pick Quinn Finley, Islanders pick Zach Schulz and former Fargo Force standout Joe Palodichuk.

This will be Wisconsin's first time in Ralph Engelstad Arena since November 2018, when the Fighting Hawks swept a two-game series.

UND won the series opener 5-0 behind a hat trick from Rhett Gardner. They won the series finale 3-2 in overtime on a game-winning goal from Jacob Bernard-Docker.

UND hasn't been to Madison, Wis., since November 2017. No future games are scheduled between the former Western Collegiate Hockey Association rivals.

A champion will be declared at the end of the Ice Breaker Tournament.

Teams will be awarded three points for a regulation win, two for an overtime or shootout win, one for an overtime or shootout loss and zero for a regulation loss.

If one tiebreaker establishes a position for one or more teams, each team is placed in the applicable position. Once a team is placed, the remaining tied teams shall start the tiebreaking process again at Step 1.

Tiebreakers are: 1. head-to-head, 2. most regulation wins, 3. most three-on-three wins, 4. most shootout losses, 5. goal differential, 6. fewest goals against, 7. most periods won, 8. fastest goal in the tournament.