KVRR At The Frozen Four WEB EXCLUSIVE: UND Fans Come Out In Full Force

The product on the ice has been spectacular, there’s no question about it.

But if there’s one thing as clear as the product has been good, it’s that North Dakota nation has showed up and showed out since the start of this Frozen Four.

You look around Tampa Bay at any corner, there are Hawk fans literally everywhere.

In the arena against Denver it was pretty much 80-20 on the ratio of Fighting Hawk to Pioneer fans, it’s not much different against Quinnipiac.

There’s a lot of Kelly green in that crowd, and sometimes the most obvious answers are the best one, and in this case, the reason why?

It’s awfully darn obvious. 

“One thing is the weather,” explains UND fan Rob Flaherty. “We’re in shorts watching hockey. Boston has its advantage, all the regions have their pros and cons, but you know Tampa is pretty special with the weather, that just makes it something to live for.”

Grand Forks native and current Florida resident Richard Schaffer explains why he’s in Tampa.

He says, “I live in Fort Myers actually, I drove up just for today, I had to work and stuff. But [my friend] said there are thousands of fan in the arena, or in this square, and he sent me a picture, and I said I got to be there. I was a season ticket holder for a lot of years, so I made sure I came up today.”

That’s not of course a surprise.

North Dakota hockey has long been known for traveling well and showing up, it doesn’t matter where the location is.

We saw that in Philadelphia, you saw it in Boston last year, and of course you’re seeing it again like you just saw in Tampa Bay.

Now there is a rather large hockey game.