UND's exhibition games against Manitoba might not be an annual occurrence
Oct. 6—GRAND FORKS — UND will open the men's hockey season Saturday night as it so often does — by playing an exhibition game against the University of Manitoba.
UND has played the Bisons in a preseason exhibition game in 16 of the last 19 years.
Two of the exceptions were 2020-21 and 2021-22, when the coronavirus pandemic closed the U.S.-Canada border and Manitoba couldn't get to Grand Forks. The other was 2011-12.
But the Manitoba games may not be an annual occurrence anymore.
The NCAA passed a waiver in 2020 allowing teams to play other NCAA Division-I, Division-III or ACHA club teams in exhibition games during the pandemic. A year later,
that waiver
became permanent.
UND will take advantage of that next season.
The Fighting Hawks will open with an exhibition game Oct. 5 against Augustana University, a new Division-I program out of Sioux Falls, S.D. The Vikings are playing their first Division-I games this weekend at the University of Wisconsin.
Next season's exhibition in Ralph Engelstad Arena between the Fighting Hawks and Vikings will feature the only Division-I hockey programs in the Dakotas.
Augustana is coached by Garrett Raboin, a former assistant at St. Cloud State and Minnesota. His assistant coach is Chad Demers, who will return to The Ralph, where he scored the state championship-winning, triple-overtime goal for Grafton-Park River in 2008.
Augustana also has a few local/area players. Grand Forks Central graduate Will Howard and Kittson County Central graduate Hayden Hennen are both freshmen for the Vikings. Hayden's brother, Tyler, is an Augustana commit.
Because Saturday's contest is an exhibition, UND can dress more than the usual 19 skaters and three goaltenders.
Coach Brad Berry said he intends to do that, though the exact number is unknown.
The Fighting Hawks have two questionable players — forwards Michael Emerson and Jackson Kunz.
Emerson, a freshman, missed Tuesday's intrasquad scrimmage due to an illness. He has since returned to practice. Kunz, a junior, suffered an injury blocking a shot during the scrimmage and left early. He also has returned to practice.
"I think it's really important to get the new faces in our lineup for sure," Berry said. "I'd like to dress everybody. I think we'll see how it is with those two guys (Emerson and Kunz). One year we did put five lines on the bench and eight defense. It's pretty crowded. You don't get a lot of reps in that. But at the end of the day, everybody got in the game."
Berry said Miami transfer Ludvig Persson will start in net for the Fighting Hawks. He also hopes to get freshman Hobie Hedquist and redshirt sophomore Kaleb Johnson in.
"I think we want to get them all in," Berry said. "Ludvig will start. Then, we'll put Hobie in, and we hope to get Kaleb in as well. That's the plan as of now."
UND opens the regular season Oct. 13 against Army in the Ice Breaker Tournament in Grand Forks. The Fighting Hawks will host Wisconsin on Oct. 14 to end the event.
Who: Manitoba at UND.
When: 6:07 p.m. Saturday.
Where: Ralph Engelstad Arena.
TV: Midco Sports (GF Ch. 27/622 HD).
Stream: NCHChockey.com.
Radio: The Fox (96.1 FM).
