GRAND FORKS — UND got the word it wanted by telegram.
In the summer of 1982, organizers of the Spengler Cup sent a short telegram to UND athletic director Carl Miller letting him know that his school’s hockey team had been invited to play in the prestigious event in Davos, Switzerland, and costs would be covered for a 25-person travel party.
Miller fought hard for the invite.
It came down to UND and Wisconsin, two schools that had played for the NCAA national championship nine months earlier. UND won it 5-2.
“Carl Miller did a heck of a job getting that invite for us,” UND coach Gino Gasparini recalled. “He went after it, and you have to admit, it was a hell of a trip.”
UND flew to Switzerland during Christmas break of the 1982-83 season and spent two weeks abroad.
UND played four games in four days at the Spengler Cup, a tournament held since 1923. UND beat Davos Verstark (Switzerland) and lost to Dukla Jihlava (Czechoslovakia), Spartak Moscow (Soviet Union) and Kölner EC (West Germany).
The players who made the trip said the experience was memorable.
“Sometimes, when you’re college age, you don’t realize how lucky you are to do these things,” forward Dean Barsness said. “When you look back and see the pictures, there were some great memories.
“It was a really cool experience to look back on. You tend to focus on the championships, but that trip in particular was pretty cool. Not a lot of people get that opportunity.”
Brian Williams, Scott Sandelin and Glen Fester hang out during UND’s 1982 Spengler Cup trip to Switzerland.
Submitted photo
Two UND juniors will get that opportunity this week.
Jake Livanavage and Abram Wiebe are part of the U.S. College Selects, an NCAA all-star team that will compete in the Spengler Cup against five professional hockey squads. The tournament will be held from Dec. 26-31.
While several former UND players competed in the Spengler Cup during their professional careers — brothers Chay and Colby Genoway are among UND’s most recent winners — no UND players have experienced the event during their college careers since the 1982 team.
“Back then, there weren’t the international travel opportunities that players have today,” Barsness said. “For most of us, that was our first time overseas.”
UND hockey players sit in a room in Davos, Switzerland, during the 1982 Spengler Cup. From left, they are Jim Archibald (sitting), Dave Tippett (standing), Dan Brennan, Randy Maxwell, Jon Casey, Jim Meuwissen, Jay Ness, Eddie Christian, Pierre Lamoureux, Dean Barsness and Glen Klotz.
Submitted photo
The local crowds were extremely welcoming to UND.
Players recalled support at the games — they suspected it was because they were underdogs as a college team playing professionals — and locals hounded players for their clothes or gear.
“It was just unreal,” UND forward Dan Brennan told the Herald in 1983. “So many fans there wanted to buy anything we had with UND’s logo on it. I sold a $4 hat for $10, a $5 Sioux shirt for $40 and a $20 UND jacket for $80.”
UND hockey players Pierre Lamoureux and Brian Williams hang out on a Swiss mountain during a trip to the 1982 Spengler Cup.
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Goalie Pierre Lamoureux recalled: “I remember we went out to a little pub afterwards — we were of age — and some guy wanted the jacket I was wearing. It wasn’t as nice as the stuff the guys get now, just a nylon jacket.”
One day, the players went on a 45-minute, horse-drawn sleigh ride up to a tiny mountain village, where they had a team dinner.
Dean Dachyshyn and Dave Tippett ride a sleigh during UND’s trip to the 1982 Spengler Cup in Switzerland.
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Some players and coaches took a gondola to the top of Jakobshorn, a mountain peak overlooking Davos. The players weren’t allowed to ski, but assistant coaches John Marks and Dean Blais did.
“I was worried I was going to lose Marks and Blais,” Gasparini said. “Those guys went to the top and skied down. They’re not skiers!”
There was, of course, hockey as well.
When UND arrived in Davos and dropped its gear at the arena, Spartak Moscow was practicing. Their coach stood on the bench with a fur hat as the players zipped through drills.
“We were pretty intimidated from the start,” Barsness said.
UND plays in the 1982 Spengler Cup in Davos, Switzerland.
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UND made the trip without leading scorer James Patrick, Rick Zombo and Gord Sherven, future NHL players who were all at the World Junior Championship in Leningrad, Soviet Union.
“We were overmatched in a lot of ways,” Gasparini said. “I think Jon Casey saw more pucks than anybody had ever seen.”
After the tournament, UND played two more exhibitions against Spartak Moscow in Kreuzlinger and Lucerne, Switzerland. UND got closer each time. It lost 8-1 in the Spengler Cup, 8-4 in Kreuzlinger and tied 3-3 in Lucerne, their final stop.
“The crowds were like soccer games,” Lamoureux said. “They have all these chants they do (through the whole game). It’s not like North America, where the fans cheer (when something happens). The fans get really, really into it.”
The Russian and UND players exchanged sticks after the game in Lucerne. Barsness said he still has his Russian stick.
UND hockey players Steve Palmiscno, Dan Brennan and Dean Barsness show off their Russian sticks they got at the 1982 Spengler Cup in an old Grand Forks Herald news clipping.
Grand Forks Herald archives
Those who made the trip in 1982 have fond memories of Davos and the Spengler Cup.
“It was a tremendous experience,” Lamoureux said. “I had never been overseas before. I grew up in Fort Saskatchewan, so the Rocky Mountains weren’t all that far away. I was familiar with big mountains. But it was spectacular.”
Gasparini said he hopes NCAA teams will get an opportunity to do it in the future.
“It’s a trip of a lifetime,” Gasparini said.
Dean Barsness stands at the top of a mountain during UND’s 1982 Spengler Cup trip to Switzerland.
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Eddie Christian and Pierre Lamoureux stand in front of a horse-drawn sleigh in Davos, Switzerland, during the 1982 Spengler Cup.
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UND hockey players gather around the net before a game in the 1982 Spengler Cup in Davos, Switzerland.
Submitted photo