Fighting Hawks November 2018 by D1 Media

NOVEMBER 2018

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HIT THE ICE WITH THE 2018-19 UND HOCKEY TEAM

TABLE OF CONTENTS

40 HAWKADEMY Hawkademy allows UND student-athletes the chance to build their leadership skills alongside teammates and fellow athletes. It's goal? To create quality leaders on and off the field.

COLD-BLOODED

We hit the ice with 2018-19's UND hockey team. Coming off a season where their NCAA tournament streak was snapped, the Fighting Hawks will rely on early season success to carry them throughout the season. We spoke with the key players and coach Brad Berry about a multitude of UND hockey related topics.

Coach Brad Berry

Colton Poolman

Rhett Gardner

Nick Jones

Forwards

Hall of Fame Game

Defensemen

Goaltenders

Foreign Flavor

Season So Far...

Schedule

WHAT’S INSIDE

Athletics Calendar

Where Are They Now?

Champions Club

FIGHTING HAWKS MAGAZINE • NOVEMBER 2018

45 MEN’S AND WOMEN’S BASKETBALL Hit the hardwood as Fighting Hawks Magazine previews the 2018-19 men's and women's basketball seasons.

50 LONG-TIME COACHES We sat down with two of the most legendary coaches in UND athletics history, cross country's Dick Clay and long-time tennis coach Tom Wynne.

A DEEPER DIVE INTO FIGHTING HAWKS MAGAZINE

WHAT TO EXPECT The best possible content about the Fighting Hawks with stories you may have never read about before.

Six issues coming in 201819 (September, October, December, February, March and May)

We want to be your voice. Tell us what you want to see in the magazine by emailing info@ fightinghawksmagazine.com.

This is your tool on how you can become more active with the athletic department. We will do our absolute best to put as many action items as possible in the magazine so you know what’s happening.

GET INVOLVED

Become a Champions Club Member

Go to ndchampionsclub. com/join to become a member and help support UND student-athletes.

Make sure you “like” our Facebook page to stay upto-date on everything that’s happening with Fighting Hawks Magazine.

FIGHTINGHAWKSMAGAZINE.COM

NOVEMBER 2018 VOLUME 2 | ISSUE 5

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novemb athletics 11/1

Women’s Soccer: Summit League Championship Brookings, S.D.

11/3

Football at Idaho Moscow, Idaho 4:00 p.m.

11/3

11/1

Volleyball vs Western Illinois Grand Forks, N.D. 7:00 p.m.

11/2

Women’s Soccer: Summit League Championship Brookings, S.D.

Hockey vs Wisconsin Ralph Engelstad Arena 7:07 p.m.

11/6

Women’s Basketball at Syracuse Syracuse, N.Y. 2:00 p.m.

11/6

11/2

Hockey vs Wisconsin Ralph Engelstad Arena 7:37 p.m.

11/3

Women’s Soccer: Summit League Championship Brookings, S.D.

Men’s Basketball vs Northland College Grand Forks, N.D. 7:00 p.m.

11/9

Men’s and Women’s Cross Country - NCAA Midwest Regional Peoria, Ill.

11/3

Volleyball vs Purdue Fort Wayne Grand Forks, N.D. 11:00 a.m.

11/9

Volleyball at South Dakota Vermillion, S.D. 6:00 P.M.

11/9

Hockey at Miami Oxford, Ohio 6:35 p.m.

FIGHTING HAWKS MAGAZINE • NOVEMBER 2018

11/10

Football vs Portland State Alerus Center 2:00 p.m.

11/10

Hockey at Miami Oxford, Ohio 6:05 p.m.

11/10

Men’s Basketball at Milwaukee Milwaukee, Wis. 6:00 p.m.

11/11

Women’s Basketball at Valparaiso Valparaiso, Ind. 1:00 p.m.

11/14

Women’s Basketball at Illinois State Normal, Ill. 7:00 p.m.

11/14

Men’s Basketball at Kentucky - Ohio River Valley Showcase Lexington, Ky. 8:00 p.m.

ber calendar 11/16

Hockey vs Western Michigan Ralph Engelstad Arena 7:37 p.m.

11/16

Volleyball: Summit League Championship Denver, Colo.

11/17

Hockey vs Western Michigan Ralph Engelstad Arena 7:07 p.m.

11/17

Volleyball: Summit League Championship Denver, Colo.

11/17

Football at Northern Arizona Flagstaff, Ariz. 3:30 p.m.

11/17

Men’s Basketball vs Minnesota Morris - Ohio River Valley Showcase Grand Forks, N.D. 3:00 p.m.

11/18

Volleyball: Summit League Championship Denver, Colo.

11/20

Men’s Basketball vs Concordia University (Neb.) - Ohio River Valley Showcase Grand Forks, N.D. 7:00 p.m.

11/21

Women’s Basketball at Penn State University Park, Pa. 1:00 p.M.

11/23

Hockey vs Alaska Anchorage Ralph Engelstad Arena 7:37 p.m.

11/24

Hockey vs Alaska Anchorage Ralph Engelstad Arena 7:07 p.m.

11/24

Men’s Basketball at Utah Valley Orem, Utah 5:00 p.m.

11/27

Women’s Basketball at Rhode Island Kingston, R.I. 6:00 p.m.

11/27

Men’s Basketball at Montana State Bozeman, Mont. 8:00 p.m.

11/28

Women’s Basketball at Massachusetts Amherst, Mass. 4:00 P.m.

11/30

Hockey at Minnesota Duluth Duluth, Minn. 7:07 p.m.

Hit the ice with the 2018-19 N

BY Nolan Schmidt | PHOTOS BY J. Alan Paul Photography

FIGHTING HAWKS MAGAZINE â&#x20AC;¢ NOVEMBER 2018

North Dakota hockey team.

ft s t r a r t w s st i w s w f ar t if i t s t t s sw a t rt if s t st Coach Brad Berry recognizes the importance of early season hockey after last season’s end result.

efore the year 2017 ended, the North Dakota hockey team had five overtime ties on their record. By the time the regular season ended, the team had 10, a rather high mark by any account. As a reference, Brad Berry’s teams had only seven overtime ties in the previous two seasons combined. For Berry and his players, it was those ties that may have sabotaged them as the season came to a close. The end result? UND missed the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 15 years. Last season also snapped a 14-year streak of 20 wins or more for the Fighting Hawks (last season saw them win 19 total games). Coach Berry knows how important early season hockey is. He also aims to avoid having 10 ties by year’s end. In his mind, much of that is avoided in the month of November.

FIGHTING HAWKS MAGAZINE • NOVEMBER 2018

Q&A & What are those building blocks from last season that you’re transferring to this season? How do you avoid an end result like last season? It’s one of those things when I look at our record last year, the thing that sticks out to me is the ties. We had a lot of ties and if you win a number of those, you’re on the other side of things in the national tournament. For me, it’s not so much the loss at the end of the year. Our group was playing well at the end of the year. We lost an overtime game to St. Cloud, but beat Duluth, who eventually won the national championship. We didn’t get into the tournament because we tied 10 games. It was one of those things where we have to make sure we do the things in the season that prevents having to look at all those ties. When I look back in retrospect on the season, it’s about the details within our group and making sure we’re closing out games. Your team was one of the best in the nation on the power play and, on the other side, killing the penalty. How do you continue to succeed in that area? At the NHL level and at any level, you live and die by the power play and the penalty kill. Special teams are a significant part of success in an

the berry file

organization. That’s one thing at the beginning of the season we have to be sharp on and keep that going through the rest of the season. It’s something we are going to work with on a consistent basis and it’s something we have to make sure we’re good at early on. Again, when you look at the ties we had, if you score an extra power play goal or you defend the goal and kill the penalty, that’s the difference between winning and losing a game. Like I said, it’s very critical and we have to make sure we’re good at it early in the year. You lose guys like Christian Wolanin and Shane Gersich to the NHL over the offseason. Who steps up this season in your eyes? It’s early in the season as far as designating who that guy is and who will take over as a leader. I think we’re going to do it by committee. I think it’ll be situational because we have a great senior core. We have Rhett Gardner and Joel Janatuinen and Nick Jones and Hayden Shaw, those guys are great seniors who can help us in that regard as far as leading the way. I think our middle class will have to take a step, and they will, you look at Jordan Kawaguchi, he had a strong finish last year.

Collin Adams is a skill guy we’ll have to count on to elevate his offensive play. Grant Mismash too, he had a great start to the year, those guys will need to be even better this year. We have a really good freshman crew coming in too and they’ll have to earn everything they get. They’re going to be a very important part of us. You also lose Cam Johnson. However, you have guys with experience in Peter Thome and Ryan Anderson, but you also have the true freshman in Adam Scheel. How are you approaching that position this year? It’s going to be critical. It’s going to be a situation where those guys are going to get opportunities. They’re going to have to earn the net on a consistent basis and we’ll see who is going to establish themselves. I go back three years when Cam Johnson came in, he was under Zane McIntyre and the next year he had to earn the net and he did. It’s something we don’t have a big body of work on. Peter played in eight games last year, he had a good showing, but now he’s going to have to take a step. Adam Scheel is here as a freshman after a good junior career and he’ll get an opportunity same as Ryan Anderson.

Entering

fourth season as UND hockey coach

74-35-17 overall record (.646 win percentage)

2016 NCHC champions (34-6-4 record that season)

2016 nchc Coach of the Year

2016 uscho Coach of the Year

2016 ncaa hockey champions (5-1 victory over Quinnipiac) • UND assistant coach under coaches Dean Blais and Dave Hakstol from 2000-2006 and again from 2012-2015. Assumed the head coaching role after Hakstol left for the NHL’s Philadelphia Flyers. • Assistant with AHL’s Manitoba Moose from 2006-2008. • Worked as a scout for the Vancouver Canucks from 2008-2010 before becoming an assistant coach for the Columbus Blue Jackets from 2010-2012. • Played at UND from 1983-1986 under legendary coach Gino Gasparini. Accumulated 74 points in 112 games for North Dakota. • Had NHL stints with the Winnipeg Jets (1986-1990) and Minnesota North Stars, who later became the Dallas Stars (Berry played for the franchise from 1991-1994). 15

gr n n nd n d d it g g g n’ ri ri ri t gr n t n in ’ g ’ d ri gr it Senior Rhett Gardner has established himself thanks to the way he plays on the ice.

FIGHTING HAWKS MAGAZINE • NOVEMBER 2018

t's a common word used in the sport of hockey: grit. Every coach has used the word in a speech to their team, every player has tried to showcase it in their performance on the ice. Yet very few hockey players are truly gritty. A small number of players take pride in their blue-collar work ethic. In most cases, it is that very same work ethic that has gotten them to wherever they are now in the hockey world. Rhett Gardner is one of those players. He exemplifies what it means to be gritty on the ice. His "grind it out" mentality has won over his teammates, coaches and professional scouts. Because of it, he is poised to have a lengthy career in the professional ranks. The senior from Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, cannot see the game of hockey any other way. He is under the impression that, as the old saying goes, hard work and effort will lead to personal success. Gardner has seen plenty of that success in his time at North Dakota. All of this praise and attention paid to his work ethic led to Gardner being given the UND Coaches' Unsung Hero Award at the end of last season. For the senior, there's a pretty simple reason as to why he received the award. "I think it’s kind of the way I play the game. I don’t play the flashiest game or the most attractive game, but I do a lot of little things that not everyone notices if you’re not in the hockey world," he said. "Obviously the team recognizes it, my coaches recognized it, so

it meant a lot to win that award and I think it’s just a testament to how I play the game." While that may have been the most meaningful award Gardner received last season, it was not the only one. He was also named the NCHC Defensive Forward of the Year and was on the NCHC Academic AllConference team, his third season being named to said team. The numbers perfectly coincide with Gardner's postseason accolades. He totaled 20 points in just 33 games in 2017-18. With seven goals and 13 assists under his belt, he finished the season with a plus-6 rating. That mark was tied for sixth best on the team. Gardner is also vital in the faceoff circle for the Fighting Hawks. He compiled 459 faceoff wins last season which was the best in the National Collegiate Hockey Conference and seventh best in the country. However, perhaps the most telling statistic about Gardner is UND's record without him. While missing seven games over the course of the season,

North Dakota went an abysmal 0-3-4 without Gardner on the ice. When he was on the ice? The team went 17-10-6 overall. Now in his second season as an assistant captain, Gardner knows what it takes to become a leader on the ice for North Dakota. He feels as though his teammates respect him and feel comfortable coming to him if they have any qualms. "I’m pretty approachable for the younger guys. They know if they ever need to talk to me about school or hockey or anything, I’m approachable," he said. "I like to have fun around the rink with the guys, but I know when to do that and when not to do that. I think it’s important because you can’t always be serious around the rink, you gotta enjoy it. Finding the right balance is what makes good leaders. Knowing when to speak and when not to speak and what to say. I think sometimes there are times where nothing needs to be said and sometimes where you need to speak up. Just picking your spots and guys will listen." With a wide variety of classes on this North Dakota roster, senior leadership is key. Luckily for Brad Berry, he can sleep well at night knowing Gardner is as strong of a leader as he's ever had in his coaching tenure. It is with that leadership and overall skill set that has propelled Gardner to the eyes of NHL scouts.

Gardner's Path To UND And Beyond

2013-15 Played two seasons for the Okotoks Oilers of the Alberta Junior Hockey League. Played in 106 games, tallying 37 goals and 54 assists

2013-15 Represented Canada West at the World Junior A Challenge, serving as captain the latter year and winning a bronze medal in the former.

2014 Graduate of Vanier Collegiate in Moose Jaw.

2015-16 Freshman season at UND. Tied for fourth on the team with 11 goals. Was a vital member of the NCAA Championship team that season.

2016 Drafted by the Dallas Stars in the fourth round of the NHL Entry Draft. First UND player to be drafted following their freshman season since 2011.

2016-17 Sophomore season at UND. Set a career-high in points with 21.

2017-18 Junior season at UND. Named assistant captain for the first time. Led NCHC in faceoff victories and also took home the NCHC Defensive Forward of the Year honors. 18

Drafted by the Dallas Stars in the fourth round of 2016's NHL draft, Gardner will have a go at the professional ranks after this season concludes. In the meantime, Gardner may have a shot to eclipse the school's record for faceoffs won. To date, Gardner has won a total of 1,167 career faceoffs. The current record, held by Corban Knight stands at 1,746 career faceoff wins. Given Gardner's previous tallies of faceoffs won, the chance of him breaking Knight's record is in the realm of possibility. Gardner is sure to at least be second in school history by season's end. Current New Jersey Devil Travis Zajac was third with 1,134 wins, Gardner surpassed him on opening weekend. Next on the list would Chris VandeVelde with 1,474 faceoff wins and then Knight's mark. However, there are two things that Gardner will readily admit that he and the team need improvement in. For him, he knows he has to do a better job of staying out of the penalty box. Gardner was penalized 20 times last season and spent a total of 48 minutes inside the box. That is the equivalent of just over two full periods of hockey. While it was not the highest mark on the team, it was the third most minutes spent in the

FIGHTING HAWKS MAGAZINE • NOVEMBER 2018

penalty box by a UND player (behind Christian Wolanin and Cole Smith). Unfortunately for Gardner, he did not begin 2018 the way he would have wanted from that perspective. In the team's exhibition against Manitoba, he had four stints in the box on hooking, slashing and cross-checking penalties respectively. In total, Gardner spent 10 minutes serving out penalty sentences. Ultimately, he redeemed all of that by scoring the game-winning goal in overtime to carry the Fighting Hawks over the Bisons 3-2. However, to expect Gardner to redeem his penalties by netting game-winning goals consistently is a tough ask, even for a player of his caliber. From a team perspective, Gardner shares the sentiments of many North Dakota players and coaches. He knows the team needs to start the season strong in the non-conference before the NCHC gauntlet begins. "It’s huge. There’s a lot of out of conference games in October and November and those are huge down the stretch when preparing for the tournament," Gardner said. "I think the earlier you can start off on a good note, it’ll let you build and not have to start from scratch

every week. The biggest thing is playing our game and getting our systems right and going from there." Gardner won 10 or 17 faceoffs in the season opener at Bemidji State. He also had one shot on goal in the third period in the 2-1 loss to the Beavers. Gardner won 19 more faceoffs at the home opener the following night. Though the Fighting Hawks tied Bemidji State 1-1, Gardner was able to get three shots on goal that night. As UND split their weekend series with Minnesota State Mankato, Gardner finished with a plus-1 rating. However, he did receive a major penalty for checking from behind. Without Gardner on the ice, the Fighting Hawks lost that game 7-4. Rhett Gardner has more than established himself within North Dakota's hockey program. He is gritty. He is tough. He is blue-collar. While a similar sentiment can be said about other hockey players at other universities, none truly live it and breathe it like Rhett Gardner. That mindset (and his overall ability) will prove advantageous for him as his senior season moves along and into his transition to professional hockey.

no Y d? a r o t u A in t en N re ed te ot Y ? o rt En u ai te ne r d?

North Dakota's young forwards provide excitement on the ice.

#29 Jordan Kawaguchi

• Forward • Sophomore • Abbotsford, British Columbia • The sophomore affectionately known as “Guch” was awarded North Dakota’s Most Improved Player Award after 2017-18. He and teammate Cole Smith (center) were co-recipients of the honor. As just a freshman, Kawaguchi racked up 14 assists and five goals. That assist mark was best among Fighting Hawks freshman. Now, he looks to see those numbers improve in only his second season with North Dakota.

FIGHTING HAWKS MAGAZINE • NOVEMBER 2018

#26 cole smith

#16 Grant Mismash

• • • •

Forward Junior Brainerd, Minnesota Budding in his sophomore season, Smith saw action in 37 games last year. He had a high plus-7 rating, tied for sixth on the roster. While he only scored five goals and dished out five assists, he was invaluable to the team as a whole.

Forward Sophomore Edina, Minnesota Mismash was perhaps North Dakota's most valuable freshman last season. By season's end, he was named to the NCHC All-Rookie Team and was UND's Male Freshman of the Year across all sports. Mismash scored nine goals in 2017-18 and led all NCHC freshman with a staggering 94 shots on goal. The Edina product started 2018-19 strong, scoring a power play goal against Manitoba on October 6. And netting one against Bemidji State.

u rs e b ne l l r bl in ue ue er li n s li b ne l rs b UND defensemen look to build off a tremendous campaign last season.

FIGHTING HAWKS MAGAZINE • NOVEMBER 2018

#2 gabe bast • • • •

Defenseman Sophomore Red Deer, Alberta In a 2017-18 campaign that saw Bast miss 13 games due to different injuries, one could say his freshman season was stunted. However, in only 27 games played, Bast ranked fifth among NCHC freshman in points and assists. He ended up tallying 11 points and 10 assists by season's end, still a high mark across the entire North Dakota roster. He scored the first goal of the season against Bemidji State.

#28 hayden shaw • • • •

Defenseman Senior Woodbury, Minnesota Shaw is one of three assistant captains this season for the Fighting Hawks. The senior had a career year in 2017-18. Shaw compiled career highs in games (40), points (13) and assists (10). He also featured a plus/minus rating that was tied for sixth best on the team (plus-7).

re r f r l e f ig o a i n r vo fl ei r g av n or f fo North Dakota will rely heavily on their European products in 2018

FIGHTING HAWKS MAGAZINE • NOVEMBER 2018

#27 Ludvig Hoff • • • •

Forward Junior Oslo, Norway Hoff only saw 25 games of North Dakota action last season. The reason behind that, is the fact that Hoff represented his home country of Norway in 2018's Winter Olympics in Pyeonchang, South Korea. The Oslo native played in three Olympic competitions for the Norwegians. As for his time with the Fighting Hawks last season, Hoff notched three goals and six assists in those 25 games.

#25 Joel Janatuinen

• • • •

Forward Senior Espoo, Finland The Finnish product began his 2018-19 season strong with two shots on goal and a plus-2 rating in North Dakota's exhibition victory over Manitoba. Janatuinen finished up last season with a plus-9 rating while accumulating 13 points for North Dakota. He also had one game of multiple goals in 2017-18, scoring twice against Colorado College on February 10.

o n n et h c m pt ow om ap et o t n et a ca o in pt wn h ai c n ho

m East Grand Forks native Colton Poolman takes on the captain's role in his junior campaign.

FIGHTING HAWKS MAGAZINE â&#x20AC;¢ NOVEMBER 2018

very kid dreams of playing for his hometown team. Mike Modano in Detroit, Mark Messier in Edmonton, Chris Chelios in Chicago, the list goes on. For Colton Poolman, a native of East Grand Forks, Minnesota, the University of North Dakota was his Detroit Red Wings. They were his Edmonton Oilers and his Chicago Blackhawks. So, he set out to play for the program he grew up around. Now, in his junior season, he is the Fighting Hawks team captain, a goal he has long pursued. Poolman has now captured that goal.

For a local hockey player like Poolman, the opportunity to become captain of the UND hockey team is a dream come true. "It’s a pretty humbling experience. Just to be able to grow up watching this team, to be lucky enough to get to play on this team and to be named captain is such a huge honor," he said. "You just want to keep building tradition and do all the little things right and do what got you here in the first place." It may seem to be a daunting task for a junior to take on the captain's role. Not only do you need to remain sharp on the ice, but your leadership skills must be impeccable as well. Poolman knows how important leadership is from a captain's perspective. However, he does have his own brand of leading this Fighting Hawks team. "I’m probably not the most vocal guy around. I guess you could say I’m more of a lead by example type of guy," he said. "It’s just being yourself and not

trying to do anything out of the ordinary. I got to this point by just being myself, so there’s no need to change anything. Just being yourself I think is the biggest." One has to assume Poolman was named captain thanks to his durability on the ice. To date, he has yet to miss a game in his UND career, playing in 80 straight contests. It also helps that he has been one of Brad Berry's most valuable assets on defense in his two years. Poolman was an All-NCHC Honorable Mention last season after having 22 assists and seven goals on the year. His plus-15 rating was best on the team in 2017-18. The junior was also named to the NCHC Academic All-Conference team and was an NCHC Distinguished ScholarAthlete. The accolades continue as Poolman was a finalist for the NCHC Defensive Defenseman of the Year award and received UND's Archie Krum Memorial Athletic Scholarship. That honor is given to the athlete that

"demonstrates leadership qualities, high academic standards and athletic excellence.” It's easy to understand why Poolman is held in such high esteem by his teammates and coaches. In just two short years, he has become an example of what a studentathlete should be. He is successful on the ice and is even more successful in the classroom. Regardless of if he ends up playing professional hockey (which he will, no doubt), his future is set thanks to his work ethic. The junior saw tremendous individual success in 2017-18. Now back another year stronger, and presumably better, he feels that change is not necessary for the 2018-19 grind. "It’s just doing the same things that got me to where I was last year. Playing hard in your own end leads to good offense. That’s the biggest thing, staying true to what you are and playing the good defensive role," he said. "But also trying to expand that role and maybe add some offense every now and again too." Poolman paced one of the best defenses in college hockey in 2017-18. The Fighting Hawks were dominant and were one of the top penalty-killing teams in the nation last season. To sustain that level of success, Poolman says consistency is key. "We’ve started really hot early on in the season with the penalty kill and then

Colton Poolman’s Path To UND And Beyond

2014 Graduated from East Grand Forks High School. Led the Green Wave to a state championship in his senior season

2014-15 Played for the USHL’s Fargo Force

2015-16 Played for BCHL’s Penticton Vees. Had three goals and 37 assists in 57 games.

2016-17 Freshman season at UND. Had 12 points and 10 assists with a plus-5 rating by season’s end.

2017-18 Sophomore season at UND. Finished the season with 29 points (seven goals and 22 assists).

we kind of have dips and valleys," he said. "I just think the biggest thing is being consistently good and staying at a high level because there have been weekends where we give up three or four power plays goals. It’s just about consistency, that’s the main thing we want to get into our game there." A product of those "dips and valleys" Poolman speaks of is the team's struggles in the nonconference schedule. As November rolls on and the calendar turns to 2019, Poolman knows better than anyone how important early season hockey is. He looks to the ties of last year and how those were detrimental to the team's postseason hopes. "It’s just awareness for everybody. I don’t think we were too aware of how these ties would affect us early. I mean, a tie in November, you don’t

FIGHTING HAWKS MAGAZINE • NOVEMBER 2018

think about it too much, but in March, you need those points," he said. "It’s just that awareness and knowing that every game is a big deal. That’s what we need to start instilling in our younger guys and get them up to speed and say ‘hey, we need this game in November, we can’t afford this tie'. It kind of bit us in the end last year." Poolman and the Fighting Hawks have done their best to avoid those outcomes early in the season. With four shots on goal in the team's 3-2 overtime win over Manitoba, he flashed some of what he is capable of offensively. It is worth noting that North Dakota had a team total of 55 shots on goal, a staggering amount, regardless of opponent. Throughout the opening weekend, Poolman was able to put three shots on goal against Bemidji State.

While he finished the first weekend with a combined minus-2 rating, the Fighting Hawks were able to tie their home opener against the Beavers. Poolman put four shots on goal in two games against MSU Mankato. While he was unable to finish any of those attempts, UND did win one game out of the series. That was their first win of the regular season. Colton Poolman will go on to play in the NHL in some capacity. Where he plays or how he plays at that level is yet to be seen. What is not in question is his leadership ability at the University of North Dakota. This has driven him to successes on the ice and in the classroom. The end result is him being made captain of the Fighting Hawks hockey team, his hometown team. Now, he has the potential to become even more of a hometown hero for the Grand Forks area.

n cR cR ch cR u u T n n un c c h h ch T i Ti m m e e Senior Nick Jones has ice in his veins.

FIGHTING HAWKS MAGAZINE â&#x20AC;¢ NOVEMBER 2018

oung athletes, across any sport, want to be the hero for their team. They want to make a three-point shot as the buzzer sounds, they want to be the one to hit the walkoff home run in the bottom of the ninth. In the game of hockey, players want the puck on their stick in overtime or late in the third period in a tie game. Many find themselves not up to the task in such a big moment. They clank the jumper off the rim, they strikeout or they leave a shot wide of the net. Nick Jones thrives in those moments. He is prepared for them, because he has succeeded in those sequences before. So much so that Jones was one of the most clutch players in all of college hockey last season.

the time comes, you’re ready for it. I think a little bit of visualization goes into that," Jones said. "I think mentally, that’s the biggest thing, when we’re going into overtime or something like that, going into it knowing that I’ll score the goal. Just mentally preparing for that moment."

For Jones, it's not backing down from the moment, taking it head on and recalling the days when he was on an ice sheet alone, fantasizing about that very moment. It is one he and many other young athletes dream of. "When you’re growing up as a kid, you dream of scoring the game-winning goal every time, you’re not thinking about scoring the second goal of the game or whatever," he said.

Those four game-winning goals were tops on North Dakota's roster. However, Jones was tied for 17th in the nation in that statistical category. The nation's sole leader last season, Darien Craighead of Northern Michigan, had six gamewinners. Due to a logjam of players with five, Jones was pushed down that statistical leaderboard. However, Nick Jones was only two game-winning goals short of leading the nation in that category. That alone is something to behold.

These visions of hockey grandeur led Jones to have a team-high four game-winning goals last season. "Just believing that you’re going to get the goal. When it’s a close game, I go out there believing I’m going to be the one who scores every time. When

Along with that, Jones was named to the NCHC Academic All-Conference Team and was also named the NCHC's Distinguished Scholar-Athlete. So not only does he get the job done on the ice, but off it as well. Jones also received UND's Cliff "Fido" Purpur award at the end

of last season. The award is given to the player who "exemplifies hard work, determination and being a creator of excitement on the ice." When asked how he created excitement on the ice in relation to receiving that honor, Jones shook it off and laughed. "Honestly, I don’t even know," he said, smiling. "I wasn’t sure, that award has a bunch of things in it and I don’t know. I couldn’t tell you." What may be frightening for the opposition is the fact that Jones believes he has improved over the course of the offseason. This, after leading the team in goals with 15 and finishing second on the team in points with 30. Those two marks were career highs and were attained despite Jones missing six games over the course of the 201718 season. All in all, he concluded the season with a plus-9 rating, good for third on the Fighting Hawks roster. "I had a pretty good offseason this summer and working a lot on my game and I’ve been getting stronger, better on the ice, doing little things to improve my skills," Jones said. "With team success comes individual success so I got some good players I am playing with right now and I think just gelling with them will create individual success and team success." One thing that is different for the senior this season is his leadership role. He

Nick Jones’ Journey To UND And Beyond

2014 Graduate of Archbishop O’Leary High School in Edmonton, Alberta.

2014-15 Played at Ohio State University.

2015-16 Played three games for the Buckeyes before joining the BCHL Penticton Vees. Played alongside future UND teammates Gabe Bast, Colton Poolman, Dixon Bowen and former Fighting Hawk Tyson Jost.

2016-17 Played entire season with Penticton. Led them to a BCHL championship with a team-leading 62 points.

2017-18 Junior season at UND. Led the team in goals (15) and was second on the team in points (30).

will enter his first season as an assistant captain. Keep in mind, this is only Jones' second season with the program after attending Ohio State and spending some time in the BCHL. Jones sees his leadership qualities growing after a season where he became more of a vocal leader on the ice. "I think I’m able to be a little bit more vocal, more than last year. We just have such a close group right now that it’s not weird jumping into a leadership role, voicing your opinion," he said. "We have a closeknit team to where I can come in and not change much, but maybe be a little bit more vocal and all the guys have respect for all the leaders, so it’ll be an easy transition." Jones puts 2017-18 into perspective, seeing the shortcomings of the team early in 2017. "The non-conference games mean so much. We were so concerned last year, the NCHC and how hard it is and how much it grinded us, we got to put more emphasis on the non-conference games," he said. "Every team in the NCHC is going to be

FIGHTING HAWKS MAGAZINE • NOVEMBER 2018

a fight every night, but every team in the nonconference is different. We have to treat those games like we’re going into an NCHC game so we won’t have those ties or that loss to a team that you shouldn’t have lost to at the end of the year." What may prove beneficial for North Dakota is the mixture of conference and non-conference games early in the season. Their non-conference schedule stretches into 2019 before they hit a full NCHC schedule. If the team's aim is to not take any team lightly, playing a conference team and then a non-conference team in succession may allow them to keep that same NCHC mindset throughout the course of the season. Jones already looks to pace the Fighting Hawks offense in 2018-19. Though he did not score a goal in their opening exhibition against Manitoba, he recorded seven shots on goal, the most on the team. He also assisted on Grant Mismash's goal that broke the scoring seal in that game. Jones and UND were

dissappointed after their opening weekend loss and tie to Bemidji State. However, Jones played well as an individual for the Fighting Hawks. He had a total of seven shots on goal against the Beavers and assisted on both UND goals over the course of the weekend. Jones shared the puck again in UND’s series against Minnesota State Mankato. He assisted on two goals, but also had a total of five shots on goal. Jones also won a total of 27 faceoffs throughout the weekend. If you follow UND hockey, you know Nick Jones loves to find the net. Not only that, he loves to find the net at the most opportune times. This is what led him to four gamewinning goals last season and possibly more in 201819. It takes a certain kind of mental fitness to want to be the guy with the puck on your stick. Nick Jones wants more than the puck on his stick, he wants the puck in the back of the net. He has proven time and time again that he is a cold-blooded, crunch time, clutch performer for North Dakota hockey.

hall of fame gamein

Hear what the players and Coach Berry have to say about the October 27 match-up with Minnesota in Las Vegas. The game will occur at Orleans Arena.

las vegas Nick Jones

Colton Poolman

“Obviously it’s something in the back of your mind. That game is circled on our calendar, we don’t like them, they don’t like us. It’s going to be fun especially in that environment.”

“It’s such a cool thing to look forward to. All of the games are important, but it’s such a cool thing to look forward to. We played in MSG my freshman year and now in Vegas, it’s such a cool experience to do that. To play against a great team like Minnesota, it’s going to be a fun weekend.”

Peter Thome

Rhett Gardner “Those games are fun. I remember playing at MSG my sophomore year and the year before we were at the Frozen Four and I remember going into that game at MSG thinking it was a Frozen Four game. Those are always huge games to be a part of and playing at new venues and especially playing against Minnesota will be awesome.”

“It’s the same game. I try not to make anything of who we’re playing or where we’re playing. It’s cliché, but try to approach things the same way and not let a big game get to your head. Then you’re just going to overthink things and you’ll probably make more mistakes. I think having an even-keeled approach to every game, big or small. Obviously, there are no small games, but just approaching it the same way and playing the same way.”

Ryan Anderson “The game is played on the same ice sheet, same everything. You just have to take the approach that it’s just another game.”

Coach Brad Berry “I think it’s something we have created over the last few years of having that student-athlete and fan experience. You know, the destination game where you’re going into a big environment, an NHL environment. We played Boston College in New York and now we’re facing one of our storied rivals of the past in Minnesota, so there’s a lot of storylines going into it. The big thing for us is making sure we don’t skip to that game at the start of the season.”

en es Th et P w B e Th e P e t e w ip Pi e e pe en s s T Be t The trio of North Dakota goaltenders have forged a deep bond with one another.

FIGHTING HAWKS MAGAZINE • NOVEMBER 2018

#1 peter thome

• 2015: Graduated from Lake Park High School • 2015-16: Played for NAHL’s Aberdeen Red Wings. Had a .929 saver percentage • 2016: A sixth round draft pick of the Columbus Blue Jackets • 2016-17: Played for three USHL teams (Waterloo Blackhawks, Chicago Steel and Omaha Lancers). Finished with a combined .891 save percentage. • 2017-18: Freshman season at UND. Started 11 games and appeared in 12 and was named NCHC Goaltender of the Week twice.

#35 ryan anderson • 2014: Graduated from Roseau High School in Roseau, Minnesota. • 2014-15: Played for the NAHL’s Minnesota Wilderness. Had a 2.38 goals against average and a .890 save percentage. • 2015-16: Walked on at UND and made the team his freshman season. Received UND’s Tom Hoghaug Memorial Scholarship, given annually to the “freshman who demonstrates initiative, character and a sense of responsibility”. Member of NCAA Championship team. • 2016-17: Earned second straight NCHC Academic All-Conference Team Selection. • 2017-18: Earned his third straight selection to the NCHC Academic AllConference Team and was also named an NCHC Distinguished ScholarAthlete.

#31 adam scheel • 2017: Graduated from Ann Arbor Pioneer High School in Ann Arbor, Michigan. • 2017-18: Played for the BCHL’s Pentitcon Vees. Won a league-leading 29 games and had a 2.08 goals against average.

One mainstay rings true throughout the history of North Dakota hockey and that is the goaltender position. From Ed Belfour to Zane McIntyre to Aaron Dell to Cam Johnson, the pipes have been well protected for UND. As 2018-19 progresses, the current goaltender position will be ironed out. However, regardless of who earns the net on a nightly basis, each of UND's three goaltenders have became close with one another. They teach and learn from each other, making for a greater finished product on the ice. Sophomore Peter Thome, senior Ryan Anderson and freshman Adam Scheel are all competitors. Each one of them wants to be on the ice and in the net. Because of this, practices become very fun on a daily basis. "It creates a fun environment in practice for sure. Everyday is a competition, but at the end of the day, we’re all goalies and we are the only ones that know what it’s like to go through a season," said Thome. "We’re the only ones that understand what the goalie goes through. It’s definitely competitive, but

it’s definitely really fun and supportive atmosphere."

too and that makes it all the better."

Anderson, who walked on with the program in 2015, sees hard work as the commonality between the three. "All three of us are good goaltenders," he said. "We come in everyday and work our asses off and obviously we have goalie practice, just the three of us and that creates fun competition for us. I think that just pushes all of us to get better."

What is advantageous for the grouping is the things they can learn from one another. Anderson may have seen something the other two did not and vice versa. It helps that all have tremendous experience in the net, whether that be for UND or in their junior careers. Thome, a draft pick of the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2016, spoke to the benefits of learning from Anderson and Scheel.

Scheel, a true freshman from Lakewood, Ohio, agrees with the sentiments of the other two goaltenders. "All three of us are competitors, but we like to compete and have fun," he said. "We are also a pretty close group

FIGHTING HAWKS MAGAZINE • NOVEMBER 2018

"It’s huge. Everyone has their own individual strengths and weaknesses and area we need to improve," he said. "You can definitely take pieces from each other’s game and apply them to your

own. We try and get better doing that." For Anderson, it's getting to watch the other guys in practice that proves beneficial for him. "We watch each other in practice all the time," he said. "When we’re not in the net, we’re watching the other guy, getting things from them. We all do things a little differently and sometimes it’s all three of us versus the rest of the team and we get ganged up on, but we stay tight. It’s a lot of fun." For Scheel, the newcomer of the three, he knows he can only learn from Thome and Anderson and sees it as a key to improvement as his UND career continues. "Especially being new this year, these guys have been around the block, I think I can learn a lot from both of them," Scheel said. "Try and see how they deal with stuff and go from there." Leadership has been a constant quality needed for strong goaltenders. For all three, they seem to sway towards a certain leadership style. They all feel there is a quiet quality to most goaltenders. "All three of us are pretty quiet overall. We’re just silent leaders and

confident coming into the rink on game day," said Anderson. "We want the other guys to feed off of us, being the cool, calm and collected ones back there. Hopefully they do the same." "Definitely on game days I know if I am playing, I don’t really say much," said Thome. "I’m more of a quiet leader, but sometimes I don’t shut up in practice, but come game time, I’m more quiet and just trying to exude a confidence that hopefully the boys can feed off." Scheel sums goaltender leadership in a relatively simple fashion. "At our position, I don’t think much needs to be said. We try to build confidence for the team and we have everyone’s backs," he said. All three goaltenders saw action in the team's exhibition against Manitoba. Thome started the game and made only three saves. Scheel only needed to make one save before Anderson entered the game. While Anderson surrendered two goals, which pushed the game into overtime, many of the defensemen will admit to not giving Anderson

enough help late in the game. Ultimately, the Fighting Hawks won that contest in overtime 3-2, Anderson had two saves. Manitoba only managed to get nine shots on goal throughout the course of the game. Thome and Scheel split games in the opening weekend. Scheel started the home opener while Thome started the season opener. The duo made a combined 31 saves and surrendered three goals to the Beavers. Thome started the first game against Minnesota State Mankato the following weekend. After surrendering four goals, Scheel played the remainder of the series. The freshman made 28 saves over the course of the weekend against the Mavericks. Regardless of who is in net, the North Dakota goaltenders are no slouches. They take each opportunity as a moment of learning and a chance to prove their worth to the team. In turn, they look to become another name on a heralded list of North Dakota hockey goaltenders.

und hockey So Far This Season... game

result

goals

october 6

3-2 OT Win

Grant Mismash, Dixon Bowen, Rhett Gardner

vs Manitoba (exhibition)

october 12 AT Bemidji State (Regular Season Opener)

october 13 VS Bemidji State (Home Opener)

october 19 VS Minnesota State Mankato

october 20 VS Minnesota State Mankato

key play

Rhett Gardner’s overtime goal sealed the victory for UND.

key stat

Fighting Hawks outshot Manitoba 55 to 9

Gabe Bast (1)

Bemidji’s Owen Sillinger netted the game-winning goal seven minutes into the third period.

Despite losing, UND had 11 more shots on goal compared to Bemidji State.

Grant Mismash (1)

Charlie Combs of Bemidji State knotted the game at one goal a piece 15 minutes into the final frame.

Freshman Adam Scheel started in net and made 15 saves in his first collegiate start.

7-4 Loss

Colin Adams (1), Zach Yon (1), Matt Kiersted (1), Ludvig Hoff (1)

Mankato’s Max Coatta scored a power play goal in the first period to tie the game. The Mavericks took the lead early in the second and never relinquished that lead.

Jordan Kawaguchi assisted on two of UND’s four goals.

4-3 Win

Grant Mismash (2), Cole Smith (1), Gabe Bast (2), Cole Smith (2)

Cole Smith scored an unassisted goal in the third period to give the Fighting Hawks the 4-3 lead.

Adam Scheel led the way in net, stopping 20 shots from a veteran Mavericks team.

2-1 Loss

1-1 OT Tie

FIGHTING HAWKS MAGAZINE • NOVEMBER 2018

schedule OCT 27

NOV 30

JAN 18

MAR 1

(SAT) 9:07 PM MINNESOTA

(FRI) 7:07 PM AT MINNESOTA DULUTH

(FRI) 7:07 PM AT OMAHA

(FRI) 9:00 PM AT COLORADO COLLEGE

U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame Game - Las Vegas, NV

NOV 2 (FRI) 7:37 PM VS WISCONSIN

Ralph Engelstad Arena

NOV 3 (SAT) 7:07 PM VS WISCONSIN

Ralph Engelstad Arena

Duluth, MN

DEC 1

Omaha, NE

JAN 19 (SAT) 7:07 PM AT OMAHA

MAR 2

Duluth, MN

JAN 25

Colorado Springs, CO

DEC 7

(FRI) 7:37 PM VS ST. CLOUD STATE

(SAT) 7:07 PM AT MINNESOTA DULUTH

(FRI) 7:37 PM VS DENVER Ralph Engelstad Arena

DEC 8

Omaha, NE

Ralph Engelstad Arena

JAN 26

(SAT) 7:07 PM VS DENVER

(SAT) 7:07 PM VS ST. CLOUD STATE

Oxford, OH

DEC 29

FEB 1

NOV 10

(SAT) 7:07 PM VS U.S. UNDER-18 TEAM (EXH.)

(FRI) TBA AT DENVER

NOV 9 (FRI) 6:35 PM AT MIAMI

(SAT) 6:05 PM AT MIAMI Oxford, OH

NOV 16 (FRI) 7:37 PM VS WESTERN MICHIGAN Ralph Engelstad Arena

NOV 17 (SAT) 7:07 PM VS WESTERN MICHIGAN Ralph Engelstad Arena

NOV 23 (FRI) 7:37 PM VS ALASKA ANCHORAGE Subway Holiday Classic Ralph Engelstad Arena

NOV 24 (SAT) 7:07 PM VS ALASKA ANCHORAGE Subway Holiday Classic Ralph Engelstad Arena

Colorado Springs, CO

Ralph Engelstad Arena

JAN 4 (FRI) 6:35 PM AT CANISIUS

Ralph Engelstad Arena

Denver, CO

FEB 2 (SAT) TBA AT DENVER Denver, CO

Buffalo, NY

FEB 15

JAN 5

(FRI) 5:30 PM AT WESTERN MICHIGAN

(SAT) 6:35 PM AT CANISIUS

Kalamazoo, MI

Buffalo, NY

FEB 16

JAN 11

(SAT) 6:00 PM AT WESTERN MICHIGAN

(FRI) 7:37 PM VS COLORADO COLLEGE

Kalamazoo, MI

Ralph Engelstad Arena

FEB 22

JAN 12

(FRI) 7:37 PM VS MINNESOTA DULUTH

(SAT) 7:07 PM VS COLORADO COLLEGE Ralph Engelstad Arena

(SAT) 7:00 PM AT COLORADO COLLEGE

MAR 8 (FRI) 7:37 PM VS OMAHA Ralph Engelstad Arena

MAR 9 (SAT) 7:07 PM VS OMAHA Ralph Engelstad Arena Senior Night

NCHC QUARTERFINALS MAR 15-MAR 17 TBD

NCHC FROZEN FACEOFF MAR 22-MAR 23 SAINT PAUL, MN

NCAA REGIONALS MAR 29-MAR 31 TBD

NCAA FROZEN FOUR APR 11-APR 13 BUFFALO, NY

Ralph Engelstad Arena

FEB 23 (SAT) 7:07 PM VS MINNESOTA DULUTH Ralph Engelstad Arena

Hawkademy banquet photo from last academic year 2017-18

Leaders Of The

n o i t a r e n e G t s ne Hawkademy allows UND studentathletes the chance to build their leadership skills alongside teammates and fellow athletes. Its goal? To create quality leaders on and off the field. BY Nolan Schmidt

FIGHTING HAWKS MAGAZINE â&#x20AC;¢ NOVEMBER 2018

Last year Hawkademy partnered with the Community Violence Intervention Center (CVIC) of Grand Forks and created and donated blankets to families that have been affected by violence.

hen Amanda Hajdu came to the University of North Dakota in 2009, one of her goals for the athletic department was to create a leadership program. The current Associate Athletics Director for StudentAthlete Support Services was keen on the idea of offering a leadership academy to serve as an extra-curricular for UND’s student-athletes. Given the amount of time that went into being a collegiate athlete and a full-time student, Hajdu found that UND’s student-athletes were looking for ways to involve themselves in campus life. Due to a lack of resources and staff, the idea was only a dream for the first five years of Hajdu’s time with UND athletics. However, in 2014, that changed. “We would always say, ‘maybe next year or maybe next year’ and then we sat in here one day in 2014 and we just said ‘let’s do it’,” Hajdu said. “We’re going to keep talking about it, so let’s just do it and get it started.” That was the beginnings of what would become Hawkademy, a leadership academy designed for UND studentathletes to assist in their leadership skills as well as personal and professional growth. While the mission has remained

the same, Hawkademy’s structure has fluctuated greatly in its four-year existence. Originally known as just the “leadership academy”, the program’s inaugural year in 2015 saw 20 to 30 athletes participate. Hajdu says that this group of studentathletes were a good litmus test for where the program would go in the future. The curriculum was purchased from an outside source while Hajdu and others looked to the program’s impact for future studentathletes. That is where Tyler Burmeister comes in. Burmeister, who is the Coordinator for Student-Athlete Development, formed what would become the core curriculum for the newly re-named Hawkademy. A student-athlete at the sophomore level or higher is allowed to join Hawkademy. The goal is to have student-athletes be involved in the academy for their sophomore, junior and senior years. Due to this, there are three tiers that studentathletes go through, each correlating with their year in school. The tiers and the corresponding skills and teaching lessons are as follows: 1 - Emerging Leaders (Sophomore): Student-athletes discover their own personal leadership style and learn how to communicate with others. 2 - Rising Leaders (Junior): Application

Hawkademy 2018-19 informational meeting. From this year’s Emerging Leaders cohort. In the photo the group is ranking their core values.

of their personal leadership style in various situations, Student-athletes also participate in effective communication exercises and properly dealing with conflict based on their leadership style. 3 - Soaring Leaders (Senior): Focuses heavily on the student-athletes career after graduation. Learning to apply leadership lessons and how to sell yourself in the professional world. Hawkademy works with UND’s Career Services Center to help student-athletes apply their leadership style to the real world. Hawkademy works with four different leadership styles using the DISC assessment. Those styles are dominance, influence, steadiness and conscientiousness. With differences in leadership styles across the studentathletes, Burmeister is left to sift through it all. “With our sophomore group we do a lot of self-assessments,” Burmeister said. “Those are the guiding tool to finding themselves. A lot of those assessments sort of talk about the differences in other people as well. The big focus is not only finding themselves but others as well. That transitions to dealing with conflict.” One of the most important aspects of Hawkademy is how diverse the population is. The student-athletes who join not only play different sports, but they also come from different walks of life. For Burmeister, that only helps the studentathletes effectively communicate with their teammates, and eventually, peers

in their career field. “We definitely want that diversity factor in Hawkademy,” he said. “We want them to figure out their ‘why’, but in order to do that they have to communicate with others. We want it to be an open dialogue and help them understand how other people may tick.” The most vital aspect within Hawkademy’s structure is the importance put upon student-athletes finding a career after graduation. While some UND athletes move into professional athletics, a lion’s share of athletes will look to find a career in their chosen major field. Hawkademy has continually taken steps forward in helping senior student-athletes move into the professional world. “One of the big things we created last year was a mentorship program. Everybody from our senior group will get matched with someone in a career field they are interested in,” Burmeister said. “It’s usually a former alumnus in the professional sphere. We create that dialogue and allow them to ask those questions. Now they are getting some real-world experience from someone who is working in a field they want.” This dialogue is a initial informational interview with the mentor. Athletes will then follow-up with that professional once a month, or more if they choose. In turn, it almost serves as an internship for the student-athlete, giving them a chance to get their feet wet and see what professional life looks like. While several

FIGHTING HAWKS MAGAZINE • NOVEMBER 2018

Hawkademy graduates have moved to graduate school, Burmeister and Hajdu hope that these mentorships lead to employment opportunities in the future. As for the future of Hawkademy, both Burmeister and Hajdu see growth. “I want to see continued numbers, obviously,” Burmeister said. “I think this program is always going to adapt because the athletes will change, there will not be a set in stone way we do this program. Their interests will change and the society around them will change too.” For Hajdu, who formulated the idea when she first started with UND athletics, it is about keeping the Hawkademy group tight, even after graduation. “A big thing will be to create that feeling of being an alum of Hawkademy,” she said. “Every time alumni come back or whatever, there will always be this sub-group of people who went through Hawkademy together.” Regardless of what the future holds for Hawkademy, it has proven to be a unique avenue for student-athletes. Not only are they afforded the opportunity to cultivate leadership skills and grow personally and professionally, but they create relationships as well. Relationships with other UND student-athletes that may play a different sport or come from a different background than them. That fact alone will go a long way as UND student-athletes phase-out of college life and into the professional world.

fueling the state of north dakota

our north dakota

teams

PHOTOS BY Russell Hons Photography

Hitting The Get prepared for the hoops season with these womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s and menâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s basketball previews

the schedule

Starred games are considered to be marquee games by Fighting Hawks Magazine.

NOV 6

DEC 4

DEC 21

NOV 11

DEC 7

DEC 30

NOV 14

DEC 9

JAN 2

NOV 21

DEC 12

JAN 5

NOV 27

DEC 19

JAN 9

NOV 28

DEC 20

JAN 13

Syracuse (Syracuse, NY) 2 p.m. Valparaiso (Valparaiso, IN) 1 p.m. Illinois State (Normal, IL) 7 p.m. Penn State (University Park, PA) 1 p.m. Rhode Island (Kingston, RI) 6 p.m. Massachusetts (Amherst, MA) 4 p.m.

the players

Northern Iowa (Cedar Falls, IA) 7 p.m. Milwaukee (Grand Forks, ND) 11:30 a.m. Iowa State (Ames, IA) 12 p.m. Mayville State (Grand Forks, ND) 7 p.m.

Stetson - Hatter Classic (DeLand, FL) 12 p.m. W. Michigan - Hatter Classic (DeLand, FL) 2 p.m.

San Francisco - Hatter Classic (DeLand, FL) 12 p.m. Purdue Fort Wayne (Grand Forks, ND) 1 p.m. Oral Roberts (Tulsa, OK) 7 p.m. Denver (Denver, CO) 8 p.m. Omaha (Grand Forks, ND) 7 p.m. Western Illinois (Grand Forks, ND) 2 p.m.

The Fighting Hawks return 10 players from the 2017-18 team. They will also welcome five incoming freshman and one transfer. Perhaps most important of all, North Dakota will feature six seniors, all of which have seen extensive playing time for the Fighting Hawks.

top returners Lexi Klabo

Senior Fargo, North Dakota Klabo averaged 19 points and 9.3 rebounds per game last season. She was also efficient from the field, shooting an impressive 51 percent overall. Klabo was named to the All-Big Sky First Team at the end of 2017-18. She has not only cemented herself as the key contributor for UND, but is also one of the more dominant post players in all of womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s college basketball.

Jill Morton

Senior Edina, Minnesota Morton was one of the most reliable offensive and defensive players for the Fighting Hawks last season. She shot a solid 39 percent from the field while also scorching the net from beyond the arc 33 percent of the time. This led to her scoring in double figures 14 times in 2017-18 and she ended the season averaging over 10 points per game. She also led the team with 31 total steals and was one of two players to start all 30 games for UND.

FIGHTING HAWKS MAGAZINE â&#x20AC;˘ NOVEMBER 2018

Melissa Dailey

Senior Portland, Oregon The senior comes off a season where she led the Fighting Hawks in total assists and three-pointers made. She also made 35 percent of the three-point shots she attempted. While she scored in double figures 11 times last year, she averaged just under nine points per game. That mark was still fourth best on the roster.

JAN 18

FEB 9

JAN 20

FEB 16

JAN 24

FEB 23

FEB 1

FEB 28

FEB 3

MAR 2

FEB 7

MAR 9-MAR 12

South Dakota State (Grand Forks, ND) 7 p.m. North Dakota State (Fargo, ND) 1 p.m. South Dakota (Grand Forks, ND) 7 p.m. Western Illinois (Macomb, IL) 7 p.m. Omaha (Omaha, NE) 2:30 p.m.

North Dakota State (Grand Forks, ND) 7 p.m.

South Dakota State (Brookings, SD) 2 p.m. Oral Roberts (Grand Forks, ND) 2 p.m. Denver (Grand Forks, ND) 11 a.m. Purdue Fort Wayne (Fort Wayne, IN) 4 p.m. South Dakota (Vermillion, SD) 1 p.m.

Summit League Tournament (Sioux Falls, SD)

Preseason Recognition

The Fighting Hawks were picked to finish sixth in their inaugural Summit League preseason poll. Lexi Klabo was named to the Preseason All-Summit League First Team.

Bailey Strand

Senior Fergus Falls, Minnesota Strand has been regarded for her ability to shoot the three-point shot. She netted 34 triples in 2017-18 en route to a season where she averaged roughly five points per game. The numbers may not jump off the page entirely, but Strand should see an expanded role coming into this season.

Faith Dooley

Senior Wheatland, North Dakota Perhaps one of the greatest female athletes in UND history, Dooley concluded an unreal volleyball career last season. She joined the basketball team at midseason, using her final year of eligibility playing basketball. Only playing in 22 games, Dooley blocked 17 shots, which was second best on the team. Considering she has the career record for blocks on the volleyball court, it’s not too far-fetched to believe that Dooley will play a vital defensive role in 2018-19.

The Coach

Travis Brewster is heading into his seventh season as head coach at North Dakota and his 16th season with the program. With a career mark of 101-86, Brewster has won Big Sky Coach of the Year honors twice (2014, 2017). Brewster led the Fighting Hawks to an NCAA Tournament bid in 2014 after a 22-10 record. In 2016-17, UND received a Women’s NIT bid after going 20-11 on the season. In his tenure, Brewster has led the Fighting Hawks to 20 or more wins twice and has had four of his six seasons coached result in an above .500 record.

Brewster By The Year 2017-18 - 12-18 (5-13) 2016-17 - 20-11 (15-3) - Women’s NIT 2015-16 - 19-14 (13-5) - Women’s Basketball Invitational 2014-15 - 17-15 (9-9) - Women’s Basketball Invitational 2013-14 - 22-10 (15-5) - NCAA Tournament Berth 2012-13 - 11-18 (6-14) Six Season Totals: 101-86 (6349 in conference)

the players

The Fighting Hawks return eight players from the 2017-18 team. They will also welcome five incoming freshman While they only feature two seniors throughout their roster, North Dakota will have a bevy of juniors and sophomores to rely upon.

top returners Conner Avants

Senior Edmond, Oklahoma Avants provides a needed post presence in a physical Summit League gauntlet. Averaging 11 points and six rebounds a game last season, the Oklahoma native will need to see an uptick in his scoring and rebounding this season. With notorious post players across the Summit League, Avants will need to be rock solid.

Cortez Seales

Senior Eldridge, Iowa Seales returns as one of the top players for the Fighting Hawks this season. With his offensive efficiency and leadership skills, Seales will need to be at the forefront if North Dakota hopes to be successful. He comes off a season where he averaged nine points per game on 44 percent shooting from the field.

notable newcomers Kienan Walter

Junior Vancouver, Washington In a shifting basketball landscape, Walter fits in nicely as what is referred to as a stretch-four position. His ability to expand the floor with size and shooting ability leaves the paint open for Conner Avants to work down low. Walters was the leading reserve for Brian Jones last season, averaging nearly five points per game. He was efficient as well, shooting 46 percent from the field and 36 percent from long range.

Aanen Moody

Redshirt Freshman Dickinson, North Dakota The former Mr. Basketball winner in North Dakota sat out last season as a redshirt. Now, with more muscle put on, he looks to become an electrifying offensive presence for UND.

FIGHTING HAWKS MAGAZINE â&#x20AC;˘ NOVEMBER 2018

Flilip Rebraca Sophomore Sombor, Serbia

Davids Atelbauers Freshman Ogre,Latvia

Marko Coudreau Freshman Marseille, France

the schedule

Starred games are considered to be marquee games by Fighting Hawks Magazine.

NOV 6

FEB 3

NOV 10

FEB 6

Northland College (Grand Forks, ND) 7 p.m. Milwaukee (Milwaukee, WI) 6 p.m.

NOV 14

Kentucky - Ohio River Valley Showcase (Lexington, KY) 8 p.m.

NOV 17

Omaha (Omaha, NE) 12 p.m.

North Dakota State (Grand Forks, ND) 7 p.m.

FEB 9

South Dakota State (Brookings, SD) 4:15 p.m.

Minnesota Morris - Ohio River Valley Showcase (Grand Forks, ND) 3 p.m.

FEB 16

NOV 20

FEB 23

Concordia University (NE) - Ohio River Valley Showcase (Grand Forks, ND) 7 p.m.

NOV 24

Utah Valley (Orem, UT) TBA

Oral Roberts (Grand Forks, ND) 7 p.m. Denver (Grand Forks, ND) 3 p.m.

FEB 28

Purdue Fort Wayne (Fort Wayne, IN) 7:30 p.m.

NOV 27

MAR 2

DEC 1

MAR 9-MAR 12

Montana State (Bozeman, MT) 8 p.m. Idaho (Grand Forks, ND) 3 p.m.

DEC 5

South Dakota (Vermillion, SD) 3:30 p.m.

Summit League Tournament (Sioux Falls, SD)

UT Rio Grande Valley (Edinburg, TX) 7 p.m.

DEC 9

Milwaukee (Grand Forks, ND) 3 p.m.

DEC 14

Mayville State (Grand Forks, ND) 7 p.m.

DEC 18

Marquette (Milwaukee, WI) 8 p.m.

DEC 22

Northern Iowa (Cedar Falls, IA) TBA

DEC 28

Purdue Fort Wayne (Grand Forks, ND) 7 p.m.

Preseason Recognition

The Fighting Hawks were picked to finish seventh in their inaugural Summit League preseason poll.

Avants poured in 11.6 points and six rebounds per game in 2017-18.

The Coach

Brian Jones is ready to embark on what will be his 13th season as head coach of North Dakota men’s basketball. Jones was named Big Sky Coach of the Year in 2016-17 after a 22-10 record and an NCAA Tournament berth, the program’s first at the Division I level. Jones was the coach that guided the team from Division II to Division I in 2008 and has seen seven seasons of at least a .500 record or better. This included a Big Sky championship in 2016-17 and two Great West championships in 2010-11 and 2011-12.

Jones By The Year 2006-07 - 11-17 (3-10) 2007-08 - 15-15 (2-10)

JAN 3

2008-09 - 16-12 (0-0)

JAN 5

2010-11 - 19-15 (8-4) - Great West Champions

JAN 10

2011-12 - 17-15 (6-4) - Great West Champions

JAN 12

2012-13 - 16-17 (12-8)

Oral Roberts (Tulsa, OK) 7 p.m. Denver (Denver, CO) 2 p.m. Omaha (Grand Forks, ND) 7 p.m. Western Illinois (Grand Forks, ND) 2 p.m.

JAN 16

2009-10 - 8-23 (5-7)

2013-14 - 17-17 (12-8)

South Dakota State (Grand Forks, ND) 7 p.m.

2014-15 - 8-22 (4-12)

JAN 19

2016-17 - 22-10 (14-4) - Big Sky Champions, NCAA Tournament Bid

North Dakota State (Fargo, ND) 2 p.m.

JAN 23

South Dakota (Grand Forks, ND) 7 p.m.

JAN 31

Western Illinois (Macomb, IL) TBA

2015-16 - 17-16 (10-8)

2017-18 - 12-20 (6-11) 12 Season Totals: 178-199 (8286 in conference)

The

run After 34 years of service to North Dakota athletics, head cross country coach Dick Clay is set to retire at season’s end. 50

BY Nolan Schmidt PHOTO BY J. Alan Paul Photography

FIGHTING HAWKS MAGAZINE • NOVEMBER 2018

o say that Dick Clay has seen it all is cliché. It may also be redundant to say that Clay is one of the most legendary figures in UND athletics. While you have surely heard that statement before, it is by no means an exaggeration. This 2018-19 cross country and track season will mark 34 for years at the school for Clay. In that span, he has seen the school change levels of competition, adjust which conference they were a part of and revamped the UND brand. Through it all, Dick Clay has remained loyal to the university that took a chance on a coach who had only two years experience. The reason? For Clay, it’s the student-athletes over everything else. It goes beyond winning for Dick Clay, it transcends any accolades he has accrued at North Dakota. His one goal over the last 34 years has been to shape young people into exemplary humans. We sat in Clay’s office in the Hyslop Sports Center and talked. Around us were several trophies, framed running jerseys and photos from the team’s gone by. At the center of all the memorabilia was perhaps the most beloved coach to set foot on North Dakota’s campus. Surely, Dick Clay has to have some sort of special affinity for the University of North Dakota, right? Otherwise, why would one spend 34 years teaching kids how to run? However, it is far more than running for Dick Clay, but he began speaking about the student-athletes

he’s been able to coach. “When you start thinking about how you’ve been somewhere for so long. For me, number one, the opportunity to work with the type of student-athletes that we get here is a whole different ball game compared to other places,” Clay said. “A lot of places you have to kind of search out the good students and here in the Upper Midwest, where we get them out of North Dakota, Minnesota, that’s our primary area, and you run into very few high school kids that aren’t good students. I think that is part of it, getting to work with that type of student-athlete. I’m fortunate enough to get some really good student-athletes to work with. I think that was a big part of it.” Clay then explained how good he has had it over the course of his three decades in Grand Forks. Again, he immediately points to the university and not himself. “UND is a really easy school to recruit to. From the academic standpoint, it’s really easy to recruit to, it’s really easy to sell this university because it is such a strong academic university aside from the athletics,” he said. “If you’re a track or cross country athlete, that’s what you’re looking for. The first consideration is where they can get a degree and how they can use it for the rest of their life. Good people across campus that I’ve had the opportunity to work with. To be able to work with the

people on the academic end of things was important, so not just athletics, but faculty to. That in the long run, all comes together and you just say ‘why not stay here?’.” He then briefly referenced being approached with offers to leave UND. While it may seem tantalizing, Clay points to what he would think of when he was offered to leave for somewhere else. “You get an opportunity to go somewhere else, but you end up saying ‘I really like this group I have now at UND’.” So why retire? Clay has loved every single group of student-athletes that have come into the cross country and track program. Like he said, why leave when you love the group you have now and the groups to come? “There just becomes a point in your life where you need to make a decision. I guess this was the right time for me. By announcing early too, it gives us that opportunity to get the next person in place to hopefully have a coach hired at the end of the track season,” he said. “That way that person can be on board relatively quickly, even as I’m finishing up my last month. That’s a big part of why I announced this now. It’s only fair to recruits too, saving this till the end of the season is unfair to them.” While that seems like a logical decision for Clay, it goes far deeper. It showcases his commitment to the university. Rather than leave or retire at the end of the season,

which many coaches do, he announced before the season began. Rather than leaving the athletic department to scramble for his replacement, he did what was fair. Now, the school can search for his replacement (a tough task indeed) and not rush a decision.

community and alums. I look back on all of that, it’s not just one person, it’s your team.”

I could not get an answer out of Dick Clay that did not revolve around the studentathletes. When asked about his individual accolades as a coach which include winning the North Central Conference Cross Country Coach of the Year four times, Clay attributes it to his athletes.

However, that’s not Dick Clay, it never has been. He has devoted his life to the University of North Dakota and the cross country program. In a collegiate landscape where coaches and administration jump ship often (or when things go awry), Clay’s commitment and selfless behavior is a marvel in its own right. It is truly remarkable to see a coach with that level of care and love for his team.

“It doesn’t happen in a bubble. Without the studentathletes, without them making the commitment they made, none of those accolades would have happened,” he said. “I don’t look at it as a me thing, they are the people that gave me the opportunity. They did the work, and I just got the vans and drove them to where we needed to be. Without the student-athletes making the commitment that they did, I never would have gotten those awards. Those are team accolades, not individual accolades by any means. I didn’t go out and run 25 400s on the track, they did. They did what they did to get better and put the team in a situation to get those awards. I wouldn’t be given the opportunity to be successful without the support of the community and the alumni who are so loyal. I don’t have a job and there is no athletic department without the student-athletes and the support from the

That is as true of a statement as any, but at some point, I wanted to just say “Coach, I know you’re a selfless guy, more selfless than I will ever be. But can’t you brag a bit?”

34 years has certainly brought Dick Clay plenty of fond memories. Along with that, he has seen the university and the athletic department change before his very eyes. From Division II to Division I. From the North Central Conference to the Great West to the Big Sky and now to the Summit League. He even saw the school change its entire image, all in his tenure. So, if he had to pick, what would that fondest memory be? “I don’t think there’s any one single thing. From a team standpoint, I think after a couple of years where you can become recognized at the conference level,” he said. “We used to be a team that would walk into a conference or national meet and people would wonder who North Dakota was. The

FIGHTING HAWKS MAGAZINE • NOVEMBER 2018

Without the studentathletes, without them making the commitment they made, none of those accolades would have happened. team’s that were willing to make that sacrifice and commitment, after about two or three years of being at a national meet and performing well, I’d sit down and people would be saying we are one of the team’s people are going after. To be able to do that from where you started is the best.” Take the above quote as the closest Dick Clay will ever come to bragging about himself or his team. Regardless of his past successes, what many may not realize is the fact that

Clay still has a season to coach. Within the season is a move to a new conference, one Clay is incredibly excited about. As retirement approaches, it may be easy for Clay and his team to lose focus on the task at hand. It is not surprising to find that Clay is locked in for his final run as head coach. “We want to do the best we can like we do every year. Whatever level you’re at, teams or individuals, you want to improve and get better. Hopefully, by the end of the year, you see a lot of new improvement,” he said. “As a team, going into the Summit League, we’re back to where we can set some more realistic team goals. The Big Sky and the distances were just ridiculous and so now we’re back where we can compete with teams that you’re familiar with. You look at our schedule, NDSU, SDSU and USD have identical schedules as ours. I don’t think we’ll approach it any differently.” However, Clay has had a plan in place for when his retirement day came. It’s not shocking to learn that his plan is for the betterment of the university, team and athletic department. “One thing I always wanted to do, when I got to the point of wanting to retire, I wanted to leave something for the next person,” he said. “I think we got a really good group here now so when that next coach comes in, they’ll have a good group of people with good character, talented, willing to work hard and leaving with that fact is important. I wanted

to leave something there for the next person. I think we got that.” Perhaps the lone question remaining for Dick Clay is what he plans to do after his time is done at UND. While he does not have an answer, what he offered me left the door open for a multitude of possibilities. “I don’t know. I’ll be in Grand Forks for the time being and I really haven’t thought about it. I’ll just see what happens. To be able to have a little bit more flexibility in life, I guess I’ll come to that bridge when I get there,” he said. “There are certain things I want to do and hopefully I am healthy enough to get to do some of those things. Everyone who has ever retired and could have retired earlier says you should go earlier. I don’t feel that.” Clay feels that way because he sees coaching as a profession in a league of its own. “It’s so unique coaching because if you’re working at a bank for example, and not trying to diss anyone in banking, but in a lot of professions you don’t have that same day to day contact with the same group of 30 people every day,” he said. “That’s where I think in a profession in any sport, you develop those relationships with student-athletes. The four or five years they’re here, you’re kind of the one that they see every day, for the most part. That one time a day where you see that same person and that coach sees you, that’s a different kind of relationship that develops. That’s probably the hardest thing when coaches leave or

retire and it’ll be no different with me.” At this point, Clay had to pause to catch his breath. His voice began to tremble slightly, no longer speaking in full stream of consciousness statements, he paused frequently. This is certainly not the first time he has thought about what it will be like after he’s done coaching, but it’s clear that it has not come full circle for him quite yet. Because of that, he was visibly emotional while speaking. “Not having that contact, that day to day contact with the student-athletes that’s where this year will hopefully get me used to that,” he said. “It is a different perspective when you are in any profession with that day to day contact with an age group. It’s all new to these kids, and I think you’re that one person, a coach, that these kids can go to. Sometimes they go to you before they tell their parents something.” Now Clay was on the verge of tears. It’s understandable, given what he has gone through with countless student-athletes over a 34year career. He concluded our chat, tears welling up in his eyes, with a statement that is the summation of Dick Clay, his teams and his life’s work. “Over the years, what a great group of people I’ve had. I get emotional sometimes, but they’ve just been really good people. Really good studentathletes.”

Dick Clay’s Tenure At UND 34 years as women’s cross country coach Nine years as men’s cross country coach 2000 NCAA DII Indoor Track and Field Coach of the Year 2000 NCAA North Central Region Indoor Track and Field Coach of the Year 1991, 1994 & 1999 NCAA North Central Region Cross Country Coach of the Year 1988 & 2007 NCC Outdoor Track and Field Coach of the Year 2000 NCC Indoor Track and Field Coach of the Year 1992, 1994, 2001 & 2006 NCC Cross Country Coach of the Year 1978, 1979 &1980 Graduate of St. Cloud State where he qualified for the Division II cross country championships Head coach at Central Missouri State for two seasons before coming to UND.

en the e s s a h e n n h Tom Wy c a o c ecades is d n r n u te fo d is a h e H rastically in d e g n a h Forks. c d n a r G in program t r the spo surrounding

he game of tennis has brought Tom Wynne tremendous highs and lows. Wynne has been involved in or around UND and Grand Forks tennis for his entire life. A native of Grand Forks, Wynne played at UND before becoming an assistant coach and then head coach. He has held that title of head coach since 1986. While UND tennis has seen tumultuous times in Wynne’s playing and coaching tenure, he remains loyal to the sport and the university. So much so that he does not foresee stopping anytime soon and he believes he will be involved with UND tennis even after he retires. “I can see myself involved in UND tennis even after the day I retire. They are always going to need advice or someone who can raise some money or whatever it might be,” Wynne said. “If I happen to move away and I’m around other players, I’ll say there is a good tennis program at UND.” However, that day of retirement seems to be relatively distant from Wynne as we sit and talk in the UND tennis club room at Choice Health & Fitness in south Grand Forks. The team room, decked out in UND gear, logos and old photos, is a testament to the work Wynne has put into this program. Back when he played for UND and well into his coaching career, the university did not have a facility like this. Now, they practice and hold matches exclusively at Choice.

“I remember we used to get into a station wagon and drive ourselves to the matches,” he said of his playing days. “We paid for our own uniforms at that time. So things have changed quite a bit.” Wynne was no slouch on the tennis court either. He enjoyed a wildly successful career at North Dakota from 1975 to 1979. In that span, he won the North Central Conference’s singles championship once (1976), was NCC singles runner-up twice (1975, 1977) and qualified for the NCAA tournament in 1977 as well. Perhaps the greatest accomplishment for Wynne as a player was leading UND to an NCC conference championship in 1979. That was North Dakota’s first conference championship in 42 years. Wynne went on to play professionally in France before coming back to Grand Forks as an assistant coach for the tennis team. It was in 1986 where Tom Wynne was given the reigns to the UND tennis program. He held that position until 1990, when some untimely news came down the wire. Tennis was being discontinued at the University of North Dakota. Wynne, who was a part-time coach at the time, was distraught by the decision back in 1990. “At the time, it was a very small part of my job. It wasn’t like I was hitting the panic button or anything like that. For me, I didn’t like the concept of an athletic team getting dropped,” he said. “Like SDSU dropped their tennis program last year and I don’t like seeing it. Ever since then, we are just trying to get to the point where we have a product that they don’t want

FIGHTING HAWKS MAGAZINE • NOVEMBER 2018

BY Nolan Schmidt PHOTO BY Hillary Ehlen

to drop. But I remember it wasn’t a happy day for us. “ Obviously, tennis was reinstated, but not until the fall of 1998. Though it was only women’s tennis that was brought back, Wynne resumed coaching the team. This was still some 10 plus years before the school made the leap to Division I competition. However, Wynne was elated to see UND tennis back on campus. “I was excited about it. I wanted to see UND tennis again,” he said. North Dakota enjoyed some tremendous success after being brought back as well. Wynne led the team to conference championships in 2003, 2004 and 2008. The team also made NCAA postseason appearances in the final seven years of competition at the Division II level. That is when UND and the tennis program embarked on their leap to Division I competition. For Wynne, it meant turning a part-time job into a full-time one. It also meant that he needed to be consistently concerned with the players he was bringing in. Lastly, it meant bringing back men’s tennis too. According to Wynne, when the Fighting Hawks looked to join the Big Sky in 2012, the conference required their member schools to feature both men’s and women’s tennis. Because of this, Wynne was once again head coach of the men’s and women’s programs “To be honest with you, when we were Division II, 90 percent of our recruiting was just who showed up at the door. Everybody would be from within a 200mile radius of Grand Forks too,” he said. “As we came into Division I, it became apparent that there wasn’t enough local talent to even do well. So we had to expand our horizons, obviously. As you go on, you learn about different agents and recruiters and academies, so you get to know recruits through that. A lot of kids advertise on YouTube, so we go through that too. If you hang out long enough, you get to know other coaches and they show a kid who might be good for our team. We’ve done everything as far as recruiting goes. It will only get better from here on in.”

Part of that recruiting tactic requires tennis coaches to explore student-athletes overseas. Much of collegiate tennis teams are made up of products from different countries. North Dakota is no different, sporting student-athletes from eight different countries across both the men’s and women’s tennis teams this season. Wynne has not found it challenging to bring international athletes in. He has found it difficult to acclimate some of his international students to Grand Forks and the United States. “I don’t really have any secrets to getting someone acclimated. It’s been my knowledge with the team that the kids that are international are a lot smarter than the kids we have in America. I don’t know if their education system is better or what, but we had four internationals last year that got 4.0 GPAs,” he said. “We had a kid from Belarus last year that wasn’t very good in English and I started thinking ‘if I went to Russia and try to actually go to college, it’d be really hard’. We have a girl on our team from Japan this year and they do have a TOEFL test that tests your comprehension, but she said she didn’t speak a lick of English when she came to the United States. I think she’s doing fine now though. We have a girl from Zimbabwe who had never seen snow in her life and I’m sure we have other kids where that’s something new for them. It’s definitely an eye-opener when they wake up October 6 and there’s snow on the ground. The hardest part is to get them here. But we practice in 70-degree weather every day, we try to sell the university and tell them about the facilities and how we play a tough schedule. UND treats them right so there’s a lot of good things to tell them. We sell them that they’ll be in the lineup and they’ll play.” As Wynne alluded to, his tennis teams feature some of the most intelligent student-athletes on campus. The tennis coaching staff finds it imperative that athletics be at the forefront of a studentathlete’s world. So much so that Wynne will hold players out of matches if their academics are not up to their standards. Wynne believes the UND athletic department holds academics in high esteem, which he reaps the benefits of as a coach.

FIGHTING HAWKS MAGAZINE • NOVEMBER 2018

“Most of the kids who play tennis take their academics seriously. Even when we were a Division II program, it wasn’t too much of a concern because everybody knew they weren’t going to be playing at Wimbledon. They knew they better do well in their studies and since we’ve added scholarships and gone to the Division I era, the players are a substantial investment and they’ve been given scholarships valued at $40,000,” he said. “They can’t have them just not be eligible, so they run lots of programs from study halls to having evaluations done halfway through the semester to also getting tutors and everything else. They obviously do have the concept of a student-athlete correct. I as a coach get updates on all that sort of stuff too. If a kid isn’t doing what he’s supposed to be doing in the classroom, we let them know and try to do what we can and most of them can turn it around. We’ll even take them out of tennis matches if we have to.” Looking at his present situation with the UND tennis teams, Wynne remains excited. Tennis at UND has been given tremendous support by the athletic department since moving to Division I. This has provided Wynne with more scholarships, a beautiful facility to practice and play in and opportunities at the highest level of collegiate tennis. All of these things were a far cry for Wynne and his teams when he was playing and in the early days of his coaching tenure. “We’re not fully funded yet, but we are at the point where we can scare some people,” he said. “What’s been my goal is when I do choose to pull the plug, we have somewhat of a tradition and everything is going in the right direction. A lot of times programs are dropped because they haven’t got any fans or alumni support. Those are all important and we do have people who come out to watch our tennis matches now.” That day is still a ways away for Tom Wynne. His lifetime of service to the sport of tennis and UND is remarkable as it is. However, in speaking with him, you’ll quickly find out that he is not done yet, not by a long shot.

W WHERE ARE THEY NOW?

By Nolan Schmidt Feature Photo By Hillary Ehlen

HOW WAS THAT 2001 TEAM SO DOMINANT?

Former North Dakota offensive lineman and 2001 national champion Mac Schneider continues his political career with a campaign for United States Congress this year. We sat down with him to reminisce and discuss his political career.

It was a special team. I played offense, but I got to give credit to the defense. Across the board and two-deep, those guys were just ferocious. Guys like Travis O’Neel, Eric Schmidt and Mike O’Neil, those guys were just unstoppable. Unfortunately for us who played offense, we had to practice against them. The defense was really critical to that national championship. And offensively having leaders like Kelby Klosterman, Jeb, those guys are pretty easy to block for, they make you look pretty good. More than that, just a good group of guys who cared about each other, were involved in the community and really took being a good person as seriously as they did being a good football player. It’s a real lifetime honor to be a part of a group of guys like that.

How did being named a captain your senior season help you as you moved into professional life? I think understanding team dynamics, understanding that people have different personalities, but you have to work together to accomplish a goal. That’s been very helpful, whether working in the state legislature or running a law office, you accept people for who they are and try to work together as best as possible in a way that leverages their strengths. In life, you re going to win some and lose some, but not letting anything get you too high or too low, keep things even keel.

Your freshman season, you played under coach Roger Thomas, he recruited you to UND too. The rest of your career was with Coach Lennon. What was that transition like? If I had to describe both Coach Thomas and Coach Lennon in one word it would be integrity. These were coaches that demanded a lot out of you, but they also demanded that you be a good person, be involved in the community. So the coaching styles were similar in that way. Neither of them were screamers, but you absolutely wanted to give your all and play at your best because they were both such leaders and people of integrity. They got the best out of their players by motivating them in a positive way, you wanted to perform.

OBVIOUSLY, UND AND NDSU DO NOT PLAY FOR THE NICKEL TROPHY ANYMORE. WHAT WAS IT LIKE PLAYING IN THOSE GAMES, ESPECIALLY SINCE YOU PLAYED IN SOME OF THE LAST NICKEL TROPHY GAMES? Things have changed, the nickname is different, we don’t play for the Nickel anymore, we’re temporarily in different conferences and at a different level of competition. The memories are still very vivid for me and my teammates. Going down to the Fargodome and playing the Bison my senior year and Fargo is my hometown, to hear 19,000 people yelling at the top of their lungs, the only thing I can compare it to is dunking down into a hot tub with the jets on. Those memories are a lot of fun. Things change, but no one can take those away. It’s part of the tradition, there will be a new chapter in the rivalry, but I feel very fortunate to have played a small part in the old rivalry.

TALK ABOUT THAT 2001 PLAYOFF RUN. YOU GUYS BEAT SOME PREMIER DIVISION II TALENT IN UC DAVIS, PITT STATE AND GRAND VALLEY STATE, HOW DID YOU DO IT? That UC Davis game really sticks out. J.T. O’Sullivan, who played quarterback for UC Davis and went on to have a pretty good career in the NFL, he came in with world-leading stats and was one of the best quarterbacks in Division II that year. Our defense essentially shut them out, I think we had a purposeful safety at the end of the game. That really is a very memorable experience, not only individually, but as a team too. Moving onto the championship game and the fans deserve a lot of credit. Those home games at the Alerus were big and we fed off their energy. It was a definite home field advantage.

WHAT WERE YOUR MEMORIES FROM THAT CHAMPIONSHIP IN FLORENCE, ALABAMA? It was very vivid. To this day, I can remember the celebration on the field and the plane ride back. It was just a real, lifetime memory that you hold pretty closely. At the same time, this is not something we want to keep to ourselves. We want the University of North Dakota to go and win another championship in football. I was proud to see them win the Big Sky in 2016 and there are big things on the horizon. That’s the fun thing as an alum, it’s not about what you did back then, it’s about carrying on a tradition that continues to grow to this day.

COULD YOU HAVE EVER SEEN UND MOVING TO DIVISION I? There was always talk about that, but it wasn’t something we as players focused on. It sure is exciting to see them make the leap and have successes like winning a conference

FIGHTING HAWKS MAGAZINE • NOVEMBER 2018

championship and hopefully that’s the first step in winning a national championship. It’s going to be exciting to see them in the Missouri Valley though. It’s like an NCC re-do.

WHAT WAS YOUR FORAY INTO POLITICS? I come from a family where a lot of us were involved in public service. My uncle John was in the legislature, my cousin Jasper later held a seat and now my mom represents that district in the legislature. Having been around public service and political campaigns it is something I was definitely interested in. The intensity and competition is similar to football and it’s enjoyable for that reason. I have always felt that it is very worthwhile to get together with someone who you might not agree with on every issue, but on any one given issue, you can find common ground and advance things and create a positive change. It’s a real honor to be a part of that process and it’s worth the work.

TALK ABOUT SOME OF THE REWARDS OF BEING A POLITICIAN. It’s really when you look back and think that people have breathed easier because of a change you made. In the legislature, creating a student loan consolidation program that’s been taken to new levels by the Bank of North Dakota. It’s allowed North Dakotans to save tens of millions of dollars in interest rates, that’s a mortgage for a lot of young families. It’s a real satisfying feeling. The wins and the losses melt away after awhile, but being able to make a change that helps people

breathe a little easier is really rewarding.

WHAT MOTIVATED YOU TO GET INTO THE NATIONAL RACE? WHAT DROVE YOU TO THE UNITED STATES HOUSE CAMPAIGN? I feel very honored to do it. Even a year ago, I didn’t think I’d have the chance to do it, but things just aligned business wise and family wise that allowed me to do it. I think what our country needs are more people who are willing to work with the other side, even if you might disagree on other issues. That’s the approach I try to bring and if you have the opportunity to compete to represent North Dakota in Congress, you have to jump at the chance. I have enjoyed every day on the campaign trail since then. It has been intense and exciting, and I’ve learned so much.

WIN OR LOSE ON NOVEMBER 6, WHAT ARE SOME THINGS YOU LEARNED FROM THIS BIG CAMPAIGN? What I’ve learned is that even if you’re a candidate, it’s not all about you. It’s about giving people a credible choice to go one direction or another. That is something that I’ll really take with me. To be one of two people competing for this important position, it’s a real honor. Whatever the people decide, they are the ones that decide. I am extraordinarily thankful for the support of my family, I’ve got a great day job that I love. We’re just going to keep working hard and if I get the job, I’ll do my best for North Dakotans.

COMMUNITY COMMITTED TO

Lithia’s General Managers in Grand Forks have come together and made a commitment to giving back to the University of North Dakota and the community.

our men, four different backgrounds. Together they have made a commitment to the community in which they live and operate their businesses in. The group from the Lithia chain of car dealerships have teamed up to give back to the university that has provided so much for Grand Forks. It all started with Roger Johnson, who moved to Grand Forks from his home state of Oklahoma to revive a struggling Lithia Ford Lincoln dealership. “When I first came here seven years ago, these stores were struggling. Everyone was huddled around the TV on Saturday and I thought we worked on Saturdays,” Johnson said. “But everyone said ‘yeah, but the Sioux are playing’. And I’m like ‘who in the heck are the Sioux?’. That’s kind of how I got involved with UND and finding out that we had to win over the community and winning over the community is getting involved in UND and all the schools. We do quite a bit with the community. As they help us, we help them.” Tony Telken started at Lithia shortly after Roger took the helm of the Ford Lincoln

BY Nolan Schmidt PHOTO BY J. Alan Paul Photography

FIGHTING HAWKS MAGAZINE • NOVEMBER 2018

Meet The Guys Donnie Raybourn General Manager, Lithia Toyota of Grand Forks Originally from Kansas City, Missouri (Emphasis on the Missouri side) Greg Creager General Manager, Lithia Chrysler Jeep Dodge of Grand Forks Originally from Oklahoma Tony Telken Service Director, Lithia Ford Lincoln of Grand Forks Originally from Jamestown, North Dakota Roger Johnson General Manager, Lithia Ford Lincoln of Grand Forks Originally from Oklahoma

WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF BEING A

DYANSTY CLUB MEMBER? One reserved Dynasty underground parking space at the Ralph Engelstad Arena.

Exclusive title sponsor for Champions Club Golf Tour, including two complimentary teams at each stop.

Three leadership sessions with UND head coaches of your choice.

Two complimentary “Best Seats in the House” for football, men’s hockey, men’s and women’s basketball season tickets.

Lithia logo printed on football parking passes, in Champions Club brochure map, and on parking banners.

Three named Scholarships and invitation to the Champions Builders Reception.

Your business’ ad in 3 issues of the Alumni Review (1 full page color ad per issue) reaching over 92,000 alumni and friends.

Lithia logo included in the 2019-20 Champions Club Membership Guide. Lithia logo embroidered/decals on “Best Seats in the House” in the REA and Alerus Center (2 seats each). Lithia logo on the Champions Club website.

Two tables at the 2019 Champions Ball which include 16 guests and 4 studentathletes. 64

Three reserved parking signs/spots in the Diamond parking area at the REA & Alerus Center.

15% discount at the Sioux Shop.

FIGHTING HAWKS MAGAZINE • NOVEMBER 2018

branch. Telken, a graduate of UND, also saw the opportunity to give back to the university. For him, the decision was made easier by the fact that he was already an alumnus. “I think the university makes the town go around. Especially the hockey program, the football program is coming on,” he said. “Everybody revolves around the university, especially at sports time. What’s a better way to support the community and university than sending three student-athletes to school every year? It’s an awesome opportunity.” Greg, who was born and raised in Oklahoma and had spent time in Texas. He also worked for a different Lithia store in the past. He says that helping the community is one of the things Lithia tries to do across all their stores. “One thing Lithia does, even though we are a large company, we got 186 stores across the USA. We’re in communities all over that are like Grand Forks,” he said. “The kind of community that fits that size, demographics and one thing that we try to do as a company is get involved in the community and help support the communities that support us. With UND being the heartbeat of this community, there is not a better opportunity for us to try and get in and get involved and help them.” The generosity between the four individuals grew exponentially as time wore on, so much so that Champions Club created a new level just for the folks at Lithia. The Dynasty Level Membership is a $75,000 per year contribution to Champions Club. Previously, Lithia had donated enough to account for two scholarships for UND studentathletes. Now, they are able to do three scholarships at the Dynasty Level. “I just think as the athletes are competitive in everything they do, we’re competitive

in everything we do,” Telken said. “So if we get a chance to do something first and we can make it happen, that’s awesome. Roger had the idea that we could step our game up a bit from the Legend Level to the Dynasty Level and we got the newer GMs on board, awesome.” “We talked and decided that donating three scholarships, neither one of us hesitated,” Johnson added. “We all said ‘yes, let’s do it’. When we give back to the community, it’s because they give back to us.” The Dynasty Level also comes with a level of benefits unseen by other levels of Champions Club. You can find those benefits on the left. Obviously, none of these men are originally from Grand Forks. In fact, three of them grew up outside of North Dakota. So why give so much back to the University of North Dakota? What is so special about Grand Forks to these four men? The answer is one that rings true across the entire state. “When I came up here seven years ago, the weather just about destroyed me,” said Johnson. “I didn’t come from this part of the world, but it’s the people. I have not met people like the ones here, everybody is just the friendliest people I’ve met. That’s what won me over and I’ll stay here until I retire.” Both Greg and Donnie agree wholeheartedly with Roger’s assessment. “100 percent, first-class people,” said Raybourn. “I haven’t been here very long, but day one they make you feel like you’re home,” said Creager. For Tony, who is a native of North Dakota, it was his passion for the university that glued him to this community. “The

university is what kept me here. There’s plenty going on at the university,” he said. With this variance in backgrounds and hometowns, how do these guys come together for the betterment of their stores and the community? One could argue that hard-headedness would prevail with four different men, from four different walks of life. However, they work together in seamless unison, all for their community at large. “The three of us all do a great job of embracing Lithia’s core values,” said Creager. “First, earn customers for life, taking ownership, having fun and then constantly improving. Those are the four core values of Lithia and the three of us embrace it and kind of eat it, breathe it and sleep it on a daily basis. “ “The employees are first. They are treated the same way if they are from my store or Roger’s or Greg’s,” said Raybourn. “If they have a customer that wants a car and they have a relationship with that customer, they can sell any car on the campus. That is good for a lot of customers. They don’t want to go to another dealership. They might be at another store, but they want a Ford, so they come down here and get a Ford. There are interchanging parts between us and that’s because we want to put our employees and customers first.” Just like the Fighting Hawks on the field, court or ice, the team at Lithia of Grand Forks have worked together to succeed. They have propelled their stores forward and have reciprocated it back into the community. For four guys who never grew up in Grand Forks, it takes a lot of generosity and kind-heartedness to donate what they have to the University of North Dakota. Forget about how many cars they have sold, that alone is beyond commendable.