Jordan Rust

COMM 200

Event Story

The UND campus and Grand Forks community has hopped on flights and relocated to

Nashville, Tennessee for the 2021 U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame Game versus Penn State University.

Where the NHL team the Nashville Predators call home, the UND Men’s hockey team will take

the ice at the Bridgestone Arena on October 30th at 7:00pm. This game has been a long time

coming, as it has been rescheduled due to COVID-19.

The UND hockey team is widely known as one of the greatest in the country with a very

rich history of legends that flow in and out of the program. North Dakota hockey still seeks out

to play the big named opponents to put on a great show for one of the most loyal fanbases in

all of college sports. With UND ranked at #6, there is hoped to pull out a win against the

unranked Penn State.

Although the game was rescheduled due to COVID-19, the Bridgestone Arena is still

taking precautions for the fans. All guests who are 12 years old and older, must show proof of

COVID vaccination or proof of a negative COVID test within 72 hours of the game. There are

sites set up in Grand Forks for fans to get tested before flying out, and there are sites in

Nashville for fans as well. With that being said, the mask mandate was lifted and is optional in

the Arena, and most of Nashville is open for a good time to the public. This is a breath of fresh

air and normalcy that we all craved last year.

 Knowing that this hockey game will be an extraordinary event, that isn’t all the fun

events lined up for the weekend. There is the 7Element Luncheon, an invite-only Alumni

Reception, and finally the North Dakota Friday Night Fan Party at the Wildhorse. The famous

Wildhorse Saloon is in downtown Nashville on Broadway. This is where North Dakota fans will

gather and celebrate being in Music City and get ready for the big game the next day.

With all that said, The University of North Dakota fans are fired up and ready to cheer

on the home team. The amount of green and white that covers the downtown streets of

Nashville is astonishing. What could be better than this? Family and friends, country music,

good food, and UND hockey. Quite the experience to be here. The nonstop chants and cheers

are making for an electric atmosphere, almost like being in the Ralph Englestad Arena, but on

steroids. UND hockey fans are unlike any sports fans with the dedication to hockey and the

school. Everywhere I look I see someone I know or a Sioux jersey, just in a completely different

state. “Sioux yeah yeah!” a man yells, with then a loud response from the crowd yelling “Yeah

Sioux Sioux!” This is an experience that the UND fans will never forget, and we are all praying

for a win by the home team on Saturday night. Go UND!