Band on the Run

The UND Pride of the North band makes the trek from Grand Forks to Las Vegas for the Frozen Four

By Walter Criswell and David Dodds

When the University of North Dakota men’s hockey team departed for the Frozen Four, so did the “soundtrack of the University.” And that meant more than just the roar of Fighting Hawks fans in the crowd.

The Pride of the North marching band helps make UND hockey what it is — loud, energetic and full of UND pride.

“We are the soundtrack and the soul of the University,” said Pride of the North director Josh Gillen.

This week, that soul is in Las Vegas. Members of the band travelled with the Fighting Hawks hockey team, boarding a plane with the team and arriving midweek for the Frozen Four to bring UND’s energy to T-Mobile Arena.

Making the Frozen Four a home game

At Ralph Engelstad Arena, the band is a constant presence. Fight songs, goal celebrations and pop tunes provide the rhythm for every UND home game.

As fans sing along to “Stand Up and Cheer” and “In Heaven There is No Beer,” the music doesn’t just underscore the action on the ice, it heightens it.

“I like the Beer Song especially, because if we’re playing it a lot, you know we’re doing well,” Gillen said.

At the Frozen Four, however, there is no home arena. Neutral-site games are designed to feel even, with neither team holding an advantage.

For Gillen and his students, it’s situations like this that define the band’s role in games.

“These events are designed to feel neutral,” he said. “My job is to do the exact opposite — to give us every advantage we can in terms of atmosphere.”

This week, their goal is simple: make T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas sound and feel like UND.

A quick trip and a long one

Getting that sound to Nevada took more than loading a few instruments into a van.

In less than a week, Janice Engen, operations director for the Pride of the North band, coordinated flights, lodging and transportation for 40 members of the band selected by Gillen to play in Las Vegas.

With help from Deputy Athletics Director Erik Martinson and hockey coach Dane Jackson, she secured spots for the band on the team’s flight — the first time in more than a decade the band has traveled this way to a major tournament.

Gillen credited Engen, a longtime UND hockey fan who also oversees cheer and mascot programs, with making it all possible.

“This wouldn’t be happening if Janice didn’t organize all of this,” he said.

While the band traveled by air, the instruments made their own journey on the road.

Graduate student and teaching assistant Matt Fowler and Music Department staff member David Varriano drove a van packed with equipment from Grand Forks to Las Vegas on a more than 26-hour road trip.

Each instrument comes with its own case, all of them irregularly shaped and bigger than one might expect. Still, Gillen and Fowler managed to get the van packed in about 15 minutes.

“It’s this big floating puzzle piece that you hope falls in place,” Gillen said.

The drive came with its own challenges. A stop in Provo, Utah, led to unexpected fuel issues. Despite the hiccup, the pair arrived on midday on Wednesday with the instruments.

“There was a little bit of a panic there for a minute, but we got it all worked out,” Variano said.

Fowler, who will play cymbals during the games, said hockey wasn’t part of his upbringing — but his experience coaching Pride of the North’s drumline and attending games has transcended sport.

“There’s a nice sense of community, at the games,” he said. “I like being in the crowd, screaming my butt off and cheering with everyone else.”

First year, new perspective

For Gillen, who joined UND last August, the trip marks a milestone in his first year leading the Pride of the North. Raised in the South, he arrived in Grand Forks with little exposure to hockey.

“I had never been to a hockey game in my life, and now it’s become one of my favorite things in the world,” he said.

Over the course of the year, that introduction has grown into a deeper appreciation for both the sport and his students.

“I feel like I’m with my people, and there’s no better feeling than that,” he said.

The Frozen Four trip is also a personal first. After years of working at other universities, Gillen’s first year at UND is the first time he’s attended a national tournament with one of his bands.

“This is a dream come true,” Gillen said. “Anytime we were taking a team to a national tournament, there was always someone higher up who would get to go. So this is just an amazing experience and I plan to use every ounce of steam that I have to create some atmosphere.”

A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity

For the students, the trip to Las Vegas is a rare chance to perform on one of college hockey’s biggest stages.

“This is going to be the absolute trip of a lifetime for them,” Gillen said. “The students are excited, but they know this is a business trip.”

Ireland Watterud, a junior flutist in the Pride of the North, is among those making the trip.

A lifelong hockey fan, she remembers watching UND compete for a national championship when she was 11 years old. Now, she’s helping create the atmosphere around the team at the Frozen Four.

“Music adds such an energy,” Watterud said. “It fires up the team and the crowd.”

As band explores Las Vegas, attending events at the Las Vegas Sphere and preparing to play at Thursday night’s game, many students  share Watterud’s enthusiasm.

Junior percussionist John Vandeberg, for example, said the trip represents a sense of belonging he’s felt since coming to UND.

“As soon as you start going to UND, you join a much bigger family,” Vandeberg said. “It’s not just a hockey family or a football family — it’s a family of everybody who has ever gone to this school.”

And, as generations of fans sing along to “Stand Up and Cheer” at a packed T-Mobile Arena, the family might start to feel a little bigger.

To get a taste of the Pride of the North band, check out a recording of their 2025 halftime performance below.