North Dakota Isn’t ‘Overplaying It’s Hand’ in Las Vegas HOF Game

In spite of it taking place in Sin City, being the Hall of Fame game and against rival, Minnesota, the Hawks are staying focused

GRAND FORKS, N.D. — Despite the headlines and the hoopla, North Dakota hockey is making sure it doesn’t overplay its hand this Saturday in Las Vegas.

In spite of it taking place in Sin City, being the Hall of Fame game and against rival, Minnesota, the Hawks are making sure they’re staying focused on the task at hand. Head coach Brad Berry knows dimming things down in the City of Lights isn’t easy.

That’s why UND started prepping for this matchup long before the puck drops in Orleans Arena.

“It’s something that we constantly talk about, filtering things out,” Berry said. “There’s going to be a lot of family and friends, there’s going to be fans, there’s going to be the things in Vegas that you get caught up in. Well, we’re not going to get caught up in that. We’re going to make sure our group stays tight, and then once it finally comes to game time it’s drilling down on those things that we’ve prepared for, the details that we worked on. It’s not just doesn’t saying ‘turn the lights on on Saturday’ and saying ‘hey let’s focus.’ The focus has started a long time before that.”

Puck drop is set for 9:07 p.m.