UND athletics covering student ticket costs for regional final
· Yahoo Sports
Mar. 27—SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — UND is hoping students will make the trip to Denny Sanford Premier Center for the regional final against Quinnipiac.
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The athletic department is even covering the ticket costs.
Students have until 4 p.m. Friday to claim free tickets for the NCAA regional final. UND sent an email to all students with instructions on how to claim their seats immediately after the Fighting Hawks beat Merrimack on Thursday night.
"It's important for us that the students help with the atmosphere at The Denny, to try to pack it with as many fans as we can," UND deputy athletic director Erik Martinson said. "We have the best student section in college hockey. To have the opportunity to bring them down, to work with the NCAA and The Denny to allow us to purchase tickets for the students, it was a no-brainer for us."
Denny Sanford Premier Center seats approximately 12,000 people, according to the arena's website. There were 5,114 in attendance for UND's 3-0 victory over Merrimack on Thursday night in the NCAA regional opener.
Arena officials are expecting a larger crowd for the regional final.
The students will help.
"We've had significant interest from almost immediately after sending the email until today," Martinson said. "We're excited to have our students down here for the game."
UND is set to play Quinnipiac at 6 p.m. Saturday (ESPN2). The winner will advance to the NCAA Frozen Four in Las Vegas on April 9-11.
The Fighting Hawks are hoping to earn their first trip to the Frozen Four since 2016.
It's usually a challenge to get students to NCAA regional games. They're often at faraway destinations.
The last time UND played an NCAA regional game within driving distance of Grand Forks was 2021 in Fargo. But that crowd was limited due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Prior to that, the last driving-distance regional was 2017 in Fargo.
"Students are a key component of what makes The Ralph so special," Martinson said. "Having a student section that can cheer on the hockey program is important to us."