UND, Minnesota sign four-year deal for future men's hockey games
May 8—GRAND FORKS — UND coach Brad Berry and Minnesota coach Bob Motzko repeatedly expressed confidence an agreement was on the way for the longtime rivals to play future men's hockey games.
That deal is now done.
UND and Minnesota have signed a four-year agreement for future rivalry games beginning in 2025-26.
The teams will play in Ralph Engelstad Arena in Grand Forks in 2025-26 to start the deal.
They'll play in Minnesota's 3M Arena at Mariucci in 2026-27.
They'll return to Grand Forks for a series in 2027-28.
The contract closes with a two-game set in Minneapolis in 2028-29.
This agreement will begin after a one-year hiatus for the rivalry. UND and Minnesota won't play in the regular season in 2024-25.
The North Dakota-Minnesota rivalry was arguably the most intense in college hockey during their days as Western Collegiate Hockey Association opponents.
In 2013-14, they split up. Minnesota moved into the Big Ten and UND to the National Collegiate Hockey Conference. Initially, there were struggles to get the rivalry games back on the books. They went three years without a regular-season meeting.
Since then, they've played seven years in a row — minus the pandemic-altered season of 2020-21 when nobody played nonconference regular-season games.
UND and Minnesota games have been highly competitive.
The last three meetings have ended in splits. One of them featured back-to-back overtime games.
Since 2012, there's only been one sweep in the rivalry series. That came in 2019-20, when the Fighting Hawks won a pair of games in Minneapolis on Thanksgiving weekend.
UND and Minnesota have both been dominant in their new leagues. They've each won six conference titles in 11 years.
Both finished ranked in the top 10 last season.
UND's future schedules are filling up.
This upcoming season, UND will play exhibitions against Augustana and the University of Manitoba. It will open the regular season with the U.S Hockey Hall of Fame Game against Providence in Ralph Engelstad Arena.
UND's home nonconference series will be against Boston University and Robert Morris. It will play Minnesota State and Cornell on the road. The Fighting Hawks also will take on Bemidji State — one game in Bemidji, one in Grand Forks.
With the Minnesota contract signed, UND's 2025-26 nonconference schedule is now complete.
The Fighting Hawks are set to take on St. Thomas, Minnesota and Mercyhurst in two-game home series. They'll play at Clarkson. They'll also play Bemidji State — one game in Bemidji, one in Grand Forks.
There's only one nonconference slot left open for 2026-27.
That year, the Fighting Hawks will play two-game series at Minnesota and St. Thomas. They'll play at home against Clarkson. They'll also play Bemidji State — one game in Bemidji, one in Grand Forks.
UND has the rights to the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame Game in 2026 and is working on turning it into a destination game.
The top candidate right now is Austin, Texas.
The last slot in 2026-27 will be a two-game home series. The opponent has yet to be determined.
