North Dakota, Minnesota bring storied rivalry to desert

College hockey’s pre-eminent rivalry dates back to the 1947-48 season.

It’s rife with the kind of history and hatred that transcend time, space or the parameters of conference play. History and hatred that cannot be bound to the confines of Ralph Engelstad Arena in Grand Forks, North Dakota, or Mariucci Arena in Minneapolis.

History and hatred ready to manifest, once again.

In Las Vegas on Saturday night.

College hockey juggernauts and former conference rivals North Dakota (No. 17, per USCHO.com) and Minnesota (No. 5) will reunite in front of a sellout crowd at Orleans Arena in the annual U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame game with national ranking — and perhaps most importantly — everlasting pride on the line.

The longtime adversaries used to compete in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association, in which they developed their unique disdain as they battled for conference and national championships. Minnesota left the WCHA in 2013 for the Big Ten and its lucrative television revenue and North Dakota bailed the same year for the National Collegiate Hockey Conference — effectively altering the trajectory of future matchups.

But “the history and all that, it stays pretty fresh. It’s not like you forget about it, or we don’t see things or hear things” Gophers senior winger Brent Gates Jr. said. “We’re kind of experiencing it for ourselves, too.”

In wake of the WCHA’s dissipation, North Dakota and Minnesota make time to schedule non-conference games to preserve the tradition. The Gophers hold a 139-130-15 advantage over the Fighting Hawks, who hold an 8-5 edge in national championships.

Their Hall of Fame game was announced in July 0f 2016

“It’s a great event,” North Dakota coach Brad Berry said. “A lot of rich tradition, history, national championships. To be on the national level with all the nation watching, it’ll be great.”

Players from both teams spent the last couple days familiarizing themselves with Las Vegas as they prepare for Saturday night. The Fighting Hawks toured the strip on Thursday night, prompting senior forward Rhett Gardner to tout the hockey culture that’s seemingly embedded in the city.

“You can definitely see a lot of hockey hype around the town,” he said. “There’s a lot of Golden Knights jerseys on the strip.”

Yes, there are.

And on Saturday night, there will be a lot of North Dakota jerseys in Orleans Arena. The Fighting Hawks are technically the home team, and Gophers coach Bob Motzko joked that the school got about “50 tickets” for its fan base.

But he was none too concerned.

He expects a great atmosphere because North Dakota and Minnesota begets a great atmosphere.

In Grand Forks.

In Minneapolis.

And yes, in Las Vegas.

“When we can put college hockey in markets where they’re aren’t really familiar, especially in what’s becoming a hot hockey market, I think it’s great,” Motzko said. “We’re excited to be here.”

Contact reporter Sam Gordon at sgordon@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BySamGordon on Twitter.