Texas hockey: North Dakota's history in the state
The Fighting Hawks play their first game in Texas Saturday, following decades of player connections to the Dallas Stars and Houston Aeros.
By Jonathan Reed ·
The University of North Dakota men's hockey team travels to Austin for the first time in program history on Saturday. The Fighting Hawks will face Michigan State at 7:07 p.m. in the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame Game. This event marks the 30th state where UND has played a men's hockey game.
North Dakota has maintained a long professional connection to Texas hockey. In 1999, Grand Forks Herald reporter Virg Foss covered the Stanley Cup Finals in Dallas. Six former UND players participated in that series. Forward Tony Hrkac, defenseman Craig Ludwig, goaltender Ed Belfour, and assistant coach Rick Wilson played for the Dallas Stars. Forward Dixon Ward and defenseman James Patrick played for the Buffalo Sabres.
Foss initially faced resistance from Dallas public relations staff who said no one received one-on-one interviews during the Finals. After Foss requested to speak with Wilson, the coach invited him into the locker room. Foss became the only media member allowed inside to interview the former players individually. Dallas won the Cup that year, and Belfour later brought the trophy to Grand Forks.
The state also hosted the Houston Aeros, who won the Calder Cup in the 2002-03 season. North Dakota defensemen Curtis Murphy and Travis Roche were the top two players for Houston during that championship run. The Aeros franchise left Houston in 2013. Since 2009, eight former UND players have competed for the Texas Stars in suburban Austin.
Rhett Gardner holds the record with 205 games played for the Texas Stars between 2018 and 2023. Other former players include Jordan Kawaguchi, Adam Scheel, Michael Forney, Landon Wilson, Ellis Rickwood, Brendan O'Donnell, and Mike Commodore. Rickwood currently plays for the team but will miss the Saturday game because the Stars are playing in Illinois this weekend.
Goaltender Ed Belfour is expected to attend the game in Austin. As a Hockey Hall of Fame inductee, he is scheduled to drop the ceremonial first puck. This event continues a pattern of North Dakota athletes representing the state in professional and collegiate competitions. The team recently added South Dakota to its list of states played in during March, when it competed in an NCAA regional in Sioux Falls.
