Cross Border Classic Brings UND and Manitoba Professional Schools Together

On February 1-2, 2019, the UND School of Law Canadian Law Student’s Society (CLSS) hosted the annual Cross-Border Classic, a hockey match up involving teams from UND’s law and medical schools, and the University of Manitoba’s law and medical schools.

“It’s a great opportunity to get the professional schools together since we are so close and there are so many Canadians that do go to UND,” said CLSS prime minister Victoria Taylor. “It’s a really fun opportunity to be able to interact with our colleagues at the other school and people we know from back home.”

The CLSS hosts the classic every year at the UND’s Ralph Engelstad Arena. “For any hockey fanatics out there, that is a really cool opportunity to actually be able to play on the main ice at the Engelstad Arena,” said Taylor.  “It’s also a lot of fun, and it gets us away from the books a little bit to clear our brains.”

The tournament is set up so each team plays one game on Friday night and two on Saturday, with the top two teams playing for the championship in the final Saturday game. After the Friday games, the teams gather together with the other schools, and players get to know each other.

“We have a social after our first game,” said CLSS vice president Stephanie Arniel. “That kind of brings out the team comradery which is really nice.  You get to know them year after year just out on the ice, and you know some people from back home attending the other schools, so that’s always fun.”

The teams are made up of students who have a range of hockey experience from professional hockey to others who are skating for the first time. The School of Law team allows any students who are interested in playing to join the team. Although the law school team lost all 3 games, the members of the team had a great time.

“This was my second year playing in the tournament, and I think this year was the most fun,” said Taylor.  “We had a really great team, which included some brand new skaters. We just came out and had a great time and made the most of it with it being our last year.”

In the championship game the University of Manitoba School of Law defeated the University of Manitoba Medical School with a final score of 6-1.

Click here to view photos from the Cross Border Classic

By: Andrew Truckenmiller