A Blast from the Past: Remembering the Old Ralph

I was looking through a few old posts of mine and I found this one that was originally posted at the Hockey Writers.

The University of North Dakota hockey team played their games in the “old” Ralph Engelstad Arena, a 6,067-seat multi-purpose arena, from 1972-2001. During this time in UND’s storied history, the university won five of their program’s seven NCAA titles (1980, 1982, 1987, 1997 and 2000).

The “old” Ralph Engelstad Arena also hosted the 1983 Division I NCAA ice hockey championship. UND enjoyed a huge home ice advantage and compiled an impressive (.693) winning percentage at the old Ralph Engelstad Arena.

After the 2001 season, the University of North Dakota moved into their current home, the new Ralph Engelstad Arena, located at the north end of the campus. In the new building, the University of North Dakota has had great success on the ice as well winning at a (.695) clip, but the team has yet to win another NCAA title. This has been a point of contention with a lot of UND hockey fans.

When UND hockey fans reminisce about the old Ralph Engelstad Arena, words like intimidating, loud, and great atmosphere come to mind. In my opinion, the old Ralph was one of the greatest momentum-building arenas in college hockey history.

This summer, the University of North Dakota is tearing down the old Ralph Engelstad Arena to make way for a new high-performance center. This new facility is going to be a state-of-the-art indoor practice facility that features a full-sized football field and indoor track.