UND hockey close to setting a return to Vegas
Jun. 25—More than 17,000 UND hockey fans bought tickets and made travel arrangements to attend the 2020 destination game in Nashville against Penn State.
Those plans had to be altered, though. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the game was pushed back to Oct. 30 of this season.
UND fans may have had to wait an extra 12 months for a destination game, but they'll get the opportunity to do it in back-to-back years.
UND has verbally agreed to play Arizona State in the 2022 U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame Game in Las Vegas, according to multiple sources. The contract is not yet complete according to Arizona State's record office, but it could be done by the end of next month. The Hall of Fame Games have traditionally occurred in late October or early November before the start of the conference schedule.
It will mark UND's second game in Vegas in four years. The Fighting Hawks played rival Minnesota in Las Vegas in 2018, beating the Gophers 3-1. That game was played at the smaller Orleans Arena in front of an announced sellout crowd of 7,412.
This time, UND will be doing it big, playing in the 17,500-seat T-Mobile Arena, home of the NHL's Vegas Golden Knights. T-Mobile Arena is located adjacent to the Strip, behind New York-New York.
The popularity of UND destination games has steadily increased to the point where UND and Ralph Engelstad Arena officials are confident they can sell out NHL arenas in the right cities.
The Fighting Hawks are expecting more than 17,000 to pack the October game against Penn State in Nashville's Bridgestone Arena, and they'll expect the same for the 2022 Vegas game.
In addition to the anticipated ticket demand from UND fans, Las Vegas is only a four-hour drive from Arizona State's campus.
UND has developed numerous relationships in Las Vegas, where it will host the 2026 NCAA Frozen Four, too.
The city holds some significance for the UND hockey program — it is the home of benefactors Betty Engelstad and Kris Engelstad McGarry. They are the wife and daughter of the late Ralph Engelstad, a former UND goalie and Vegas developer who built UND's current $104-million arena.
When UND played Minnesota in Las Vegas in 2018, it warmed up in jerseys with Engelstad's name and number, 23, on the back.
Las Vegas also is an attractive tourist destination for fans — a staple for destination games — and it has an abundance of available flights and hotels.
UND first dabbled in the idea of destination games in 2012, playing a game against Clarkson in Bell MTS Place, home of the NHL's Winnipeg Jets. In 2013, UND played an outdoor game against Omaha at Omaha's T.D. Ameritrade Park, home of the College World Series. That event was put on by the Mavericks, but UND fans flooded the baseball venue for it.
In 2016, the Fighting Hawks beat Boston College 4-3 in Madison Square Garden in an event that exceeded UND's expectations and further brought to light the potential of destination games. An estimated 8,000 UND fans traveled to New York City for that one.
By the time UND played in Madison Square Garden, the 2018 Las Vegas game had already been booked. Tickets for the Orleans Arena game went on sale a month after the New York City event and sold out instantly.
The New York City game and the 2018 Vegas game both featured a longstanding rival as the opponent — Boston College and Minnesota — to help drum up fan interest. The Nashville game and the 2022 Vegas game will feature first-time meetings between UND and two of college hockey's newest opponents.
The Oct. 30 game will be UND's first time playing against Penn State, and barring a postseason meeting this season, Vegas will mark the first game between the Fighting Hawks and Sun Devils.
The only other Division-I opponents UND has never faced are Connecticut, Bentley, Mercyhurst, RIT, Sacred Heart and D-I newcomers Long Island University and St. Thomas.
