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<\/a><\/p>\nLAS VEGAS \u0097 North Dakota skaters began to trickle around the center ice logo, beginning a series of stretches signifying the end of practice.<\/p>\n
Practice was business as usual for the Fighting Hawks, the only true difference on the sheet being emblemized with \u2018Frozen Four\u2019 at center ice. Ralph Englestad Arena is not the farthest cry from T-Mobile Arena when it comes to the playing surface.<\/p>\n
Jan \u0160punar, North Dakota\u2019s star goaltender, was finishing up his last shootout reps, taking shots and dekes from teammates and assistant coaches alike. Nothing that the freshman netminder hadn\u2019t seen before.<\/p>\n
Only, when he looked over his shoulder, he was met with an unfamiliar sight \u2014 Elvis, posed in between two Vegas showgirls, complete with green and red and yellow feathers alike.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s the difference between this year\u2019s Frozen Four and all the others.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt’s a little bit too much for me, I would say,\u201d \u0160punar said. \u201cI\u2019m from a smaller town in Czech Republic, you know, 800-900 year old city.\u201d<\/p>\n
In 2017, the NHL took a risk and kick-started a new era of hockey in Las Vegas. When the Golden Knights stormed all the way to the Stanley Cup Final in their inaugural season, the hockey bug was injected into the desert.<\/p>\n
Now, in 2026, college hockey will be displayed on the biggest of stages. There aren\u2019t many lights much brighter than those in Vegas.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen they first announced the Golden Knights were coming into Vegas, that was back home when I was in San Diego. I was like, \u2018I don\u2019t know how that is really going to work,\u201d Denver’s Sam Harris said. \u201cThey came in, had the great first year. It\u2019s a great city for entertainment \u2026 happy to be a part of it.\u201d<\/p>\n
The four teams arrived on Tuesday, giving them some time to explore the sights. For players like Harris, a native of sunny Southern California, the dry heat that exceeded 90 degrees was a welcome change.<\/p>\n
For others, it\u2019s been a bit of a struggle.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m a big sweater,\u201d Wisconsin forward Jack Horbach said with a chuckle. \u201cThe heat is really taking a toll on me.\u201d<\/p>\n
After all, Wisconsin in April is quite different from Vegas. As is Grand Forks, North Dakota, where the Fighting Hawks flew from on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
\u201cObviously coming to Vegas, [there\u2019s] some nice weather,\u201d said defenseman Abram Wiebe. \u201cIt was snowing earlier in the week in Grand Forks. It\u2019s nice to get out and enjoy the weather, kind of explore Vegas and everything.\u201d<\/p>\n
What does exploring Vegas look like for teams about to lay it all on the line for a national championship? Well, it\u2019s certainly not your typical trip to Sin City.<\/p>\n
Wisconsin, for one, made a team trip to the movie theater inside the Badgers\u2019 hotel. \u201cProject Hail Mary\u201d was on the screen for viewing.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe were talking about it this morning. We [rated it] 7.5,\u201d Horbach said. \u201cWe\u2019re tough graders. It was good in our books.\u201d<\/p>\n
Outside the hotel, Elvis and the rest of the showgirls have been wandering around the area, snapping photos with college hockey\u2019s biggest talents. Or, at least, they were trying to.<\/p>\n
\u201cSaw them yesterday when we got off the bus,\u201d Harris later said.<\/p>\n
Neither he nor teammate Eric Pohlkamp posed for a picture.<\/p>\n
\u201cTrying to get my tan on here, so\u2026\u201d Polhkamp said.<\/p>\n
Make no mistake, though \u2014 no hockey player is here to take a vacation. It\u2019s quite the opposite. Michigan\u2019s Josh Eernisse has been to Las Vegas before under the precipice of a relaxing vacation. He was quick to say that he \u201clike[s] these conditions a lot better.\u201d<\/p>\n
This year\u2019s Frozen Four is not a trial run for college hockey in Las Vegas \u2014 19 games have been held in Vegas (13 at T-Mobile Arena), with all of them coming since 2018 besides a lone 1995 tilt between Western Michigan and Bowling Green at UNLV\u2019s Thomas & Mack Center (UNLV has an ACHA D-I team that won the national championship in 2025). During the Golden Knights\u2019 debut season in 2017-18, so came the resurgence of college hockey in Sin City, as the Fortress Invitational was conceived in an effort to capitalize further on an ever-growing market.<\/p>\n
The Fortress Invitational \u2014 a four-team tournament inside T-Mobile Arena, home of this year\u2019s Frozen Four \u2014 was intended to be an annual tournament with different teams entering the rotation each year. The last one, though, was held in 2020 \u2014 Cornell, Army, Providence and Ohio State \u2014 and was halted by the COVID-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n
Since then, a few teams have grazed the ice in Las Vegas \u2014 it\u2019s been a post-pandemic world of one-off games in Sin City, with even fewer occurring on T-Mobile Arena ice.<\/p>\n
This weekend will change that \u2014 and so far, so good for the four participants.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s been great so far,\u201d said Denver coach David Carle. \u201cThink it\u2019s going to be a great atmosphere. They obviously know how to entertain, put events on. We\u2019re really looking forward to playing at T-Mobile. I think it\u2019s going to be a great hit for college hockey.\u201d<\/p>\n
The usual tenants of T-Mobile Arena are on the road, and arena staff were quickly tasked with the makeover for the building\u2019s first Frozen Four \u2014 in addition to the signage on the boards and NCAA championship banner, that also meant resurfacing the ice with the necessary Frozen Four logo.<\/p>\n
Whether fast or slow, players or coaches didn\u2019t seem to care about the surface.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe talked about this quite a lot of different times \u2014 they\u2019ve got an NHL guy here that knows what he\u2019s doing,\u201d said Wisconsin coach Mike Hastings. \u201cI\u2019m just going to say this: it\u2019s hard to [create a new ice surface] for any ice crew. I don\u2019t care where it\u2019s at. We\u2019ve talked about this at regionals for years \u2014 when they\u2019ve got to lay a different logo on the ice, it\u2019s a tough task.\u201d<\/p>\n
But, as Hastings said, this is an NHL building. A new one, too, that\u2019s been hosting sold-out hockey games in the desert for years. Eight years ago, the Stanley Cup \u2014 the prized possession of the NHL \u2014 was hoisted on T-Mobile ice when the Washington Capitals took down the Golden Knights.<\/p>\n
This Saturday, it will be a similar sight \u2014 only this time, it\u2019ll be the crown jewel of college hockey.<\/p>\n
\u201cGuys have just been walking around. Had a couple of nice dinners,\u201d Michigan goaltender Jack Ivankovic said of his team\u2019s time in Las Vegas. \u201cWe\u2019re just hanging at the hotel, and hopefully save the celebrating for later on.\u201d<\/p>\n
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