It’s a wonder the celebration didn’t jerk a
seismographic needle in Grand Forks last April when
the University of North Dakota’s top four hockey
players decided to return for their junior seasons.
Heck, much of the state went nuts after the four decided they wanted to return for a run at the NCAA championship rather than turn pro.
“That was big news,” said Curt Miller, bar manager of Joe Black’s Bar & Grill, a raucous college hangout in Grand Forks. “UND hockey is our version of pro sports. Most everybody around here refers to players by just their first names. It’s like they have a personal connection.”
Ready to take on Boston College today in a Frozen Four semifinal are the fab four of Taylor, Joe, Ryan and T.J.
For those who aren’t Fighting Sioux fans, that’s defensemen Taylor Chorney and Joe Finley, winger Ryan Duncan and center T.J. Oshie.
“Those four guys are pretty special individuals,” North Dakota coach Dave Hakstol said during Wednesday’s news conference at the Pepsi Center. “It’s really gratifying to know that the program is important to the individual players. Sometimes in this day and age, that seems harder to come by.”
Fighting Sioux hockey is big news in North Dakota, a wind-swept land known more for producing wheat, barley and basketball coaches (Phil Jackson, Lute Olson, Dale Brown) than high-profile athletes (Roger Maris, Darin Erstad).
About 640,000 people reside in North Dakota, but the Fighting Sioux average 11,709 fans per home game, or 303 more than the listed seating capacity.
“There’s nothing bigger in the state than Fighting Sioux hockey,” said Josh Morton, director of the school’s alumni association. “It’s something for North Dakotans to take pride in because it competes on the national stage.”
The school has season-ticket holders from as far away as Williston, which is a 340-mile drive from Grand Forks, mostly on two-lane roads. Watching the Fighting Sioux reach the Frozen Four on a regular basis helps warm the brutal winters.
That’s why the news of their star players’ return was so significant. It was not unlike Florida’s top four players deciding a few years ago to return for a run at consecutive NCAA basketball championships, which they won.
Fearsome foursome
Chorney, a second-round draft choice of Edmonton’s in 2005, was named to the WCHA Final Five all-tournament team this year. Finley, an imposing, 6-foot-7, 245-
pounder, was drafted in the first round by Washington (2005). He leads the Fighting Sioux with a plus-27 and is an imposing shot-blocker. Oshie, a first-round pick of St. Louis (2005), tops the team in scoring with 45 points, including 18 goals.
Duncan, just 5-foot-6 and 159 pounds, remains undrafted and is not considered a top-flight NHL prospect despite winning the Hobey Baker Award last season. But as a collegiate player, Duncan has few equals. He ranks second on the team with 40 points.
Chorney said the quartet was watching the national championship game on television last spring when they came to a group decision.
“We all were feeling that we were unsatisfied with what we had done so far,” he said.
Namely, three trips to the Frozen Four, but no titles.
Grand Forks residents have come up to Fighting Sioux players and said they simply wanted to thank them.
“People tell us how much excitement we bring to them,” Finley said.
Fan favorites
The fandom stretches to Denver, where more than 3,600 North Dakota alumni live, according to school officials. Many will try to squeeze inside Brooklyn’s restaurant across from the Pepsi Center for a pregame Fighting Sioux rally today. All 137 seats on a charter flight from Grand Forks were sold out within hours.
While the Fighting Sioux play in Denver, their campus home, the $104 million Ralph Engelstad Arena, is hosting the 2008 men’s curling world championships.
But the big news for Grand Forks residents is that part of the facility has been transformed into the 2,000-seat Broken Broom Lounge, where everybody can gather today to watch the telecast of the Frozen Four — and on Saturday, as well, if the Fighting Sioux advance to the championship game.
“Sounds like fun,” Hakstol said. “(But) there’s only one place I’d rather be — that’s here.”
Tom Kensler: 303-954-1280 or tkensler@denverpost.com
