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Message: <blockquote data-quote="MuskyManiac" data-source="post: 234482" data-attributes="member: 381">[ATTACH]29145[/ATTACH]Jim Archibald was introduced before Friday night’s UND-Wisconsin game.He energetically skated a couple of laps in full uniform and pads, gesturing to the roaring Ralph Engelstad Arena crowd.At the end of his laps, he signaled to the current UND team that he was going to skate down the blue line and give them fist bumps.He did that.And in typical Archibald style, those fist bumps were rather aggressive.Archibald, the former UND captain and all-time leader in penalty minutes, then stood on the blue line with the team during the national anthem.“Those fist bumps were pretty hard,” UND senior Rhett Gardner said. “I was standing beside him on the blue line. I said, ‘Do you think you can go first shift?’ He was chomping at the bit. He would have loved to be out there.”After the anthem, he skated one more lap in the zone and waved to the crowd. Then, he skated off the ice.Before he left, he had a quick message for UND coach Brad Berry.He told Berry that his team better get off to a good start, or Berry’s going to hear from him.“That’s the beauty of him,” Berry said. “That’s why he was successful and that’s why the teams he played on were successful.”Yes, more than 30 years have passed since Archibald played at UND, but he still displayed the same fire and passion that became synonymous with his playing career.And apparently, it rubbed off on UND on Friday night.The Fighting Hawks came out and scored just 3 minutes, 29 seconds into the game and easily handled Wisconsin 5-0.After the game, the players talked about seeing Archibald skate one final shift -- the start of a new tradition where former players will be introduced during starting lineups and stand on the blue line with the current team during the national anthem.Freshman defenseman Jacob Bernard-Docker, who scored his first-career goal against the Badgers, said: ““That really set the tone for our game there.”Gardner, who had his first-career hat trick Friday night, said he loved seeing Archibald, who is from Saskatchewan like Gardner.“That was special,” Gardner said. “We talked with him before. You can tell that guy bleeds green and he’s a true Sioux. We were honored to have him here.“He’s a Sask guy. He’s from Craik, which is 45 minutes from where I’m from. I always knew about him. He played junior in Moose Jaw. Brad showed us the big Wisconsin brawl a couple days ago, so we got some history on him. He’s an entertaining guy and very energetic.”Freshman goalie Adam Scheel had his first-career shutout Friday, stopping all 24 shots against the Badgers.“I thought that was really cool,” Scheel said of Archibald’s introduction. “That just shows the culture of North Dakota hockey, always honoring our past. We take a lot of pride in guys who played before us and made the way for this program.”Some of Archibald’s former teammates were in the building, too.Minnesota Duluth head coach Scott Sandelin, the best man in Archibald’s wedding and a teammate of his for three seasons, was in The Ralph to scout players for the World Junior Championship.And Berry, who watched the pregame event from the bench, played two seasons with Archibald during college.“I absolutely loved it,” Berry said. “I was fortunate enough to play with him at North Dakota. He was a captain. I learned a lot from him not only about individual things, how to grow up and be a man, but how to be a North Dakota player and the attributes you have to have. For him to skate a couple of laps and get one more shift in, it brought back old memories.“And I know, for sure, that he was chomping at the bit to play a shift or two in the game. It’s great to have him back and honor him.”</blockquote>

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