MSU-Northern hockey finally set to launch this fall

In 2019, Montana State University-Northern announced they would be launching a club hockey program that could give area fans more of what they wanted. However, the launch of the program that was set for 2020 was delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic. After the delay, MSU-N hockey will finally hit the ice this fall as the school starts the new program.

MSU-N athletic director Christian Oberquell and MSU-N chancellor Greg Kegel thought it was time for collegiate hockey to come to Havre as the sport has been expanding in the western United States. They reached out to Montana Tech chancellor Les P. Cook for advice on starting the program.

The MSU-N hockey program will be a club sport so it will not get money from the college. After talking with Cook, Oberquell learned that it can be a self-sustaining program that can raise funds to keep itself going.

“It’s up and coming in the western half of the United States. It’s pretty big in North Dakota right now but Montana, Idaho, Washington, it’s getting really big in our neck of the woods and it also gives these kids a chance to play,” Oberquell said. “Our location close to the Canadian border will hopefully bring in good players that can get us started on the right path where we’re going to be competitive. We know we’re not going to win a national title right away but we just want to be competitive.”

Oberquell hopes that the hockey program can begin practicing for the season once the ice is laid down in the Havre Ice Dome. He also hopes for the U.S./Canadian border to be open by then so players from Canada can come down to play for the program.

The inaugural season is set to start with a pair of games on Oct. 22 and 23. The Lights are scheduled to play the University of Montana, Montana State University and the University of Providence in their inaugural season. The Lights are still looking to fill up the rest of their schedule as they hope to play against some geographically close teams from North Dakota and maybe some schools in Utah.

Heading into their inaugural season, MSU-N tasked Wacy Arndt with leading the launch as he will be the program’s first head coach. Arndt’s life has revolved around hockey from the age of 2 all the way up through high school. After his playing career was over, he continued to stay involved as he has coached everything from 10U to AAA hockey. With the chance to spearhead a collegiate program, he is excited to make a name for himself.

“It’s a pretty exciting opportunity. There’s not many people that get an opportunity such as this,” Arndt said. “Feel pretty blessed to be given it. A tremendous amount of support from the group that I’ve got working with me up here.”

Arndt was hired after the MSU-N hockey board of seven members reviewed about 10 applicants for the position and interviewed five of them. Out of all the applicants, Arndt’s resume stood out to them to make him the choice to lead the young program.

“He is very well incorporated in the youth hockey program within the state of Montana. He does do some all-star coaching so that really stuck out to us and all of his references were great,” Oberquell said.

Arndt’s connections are what the MSU-N hockey program hopes will help them recruit players. Oberquell hopes Arndt can use these connections to recruit players from the eastern part of Montana and pull them away from North Dakota schools. Arndt also has connections in Canada, North Dakota and Wyoming that he can use to find talent. However, Arndt has been trying to expand his reach by going from Minneapolis to St. Louis to Denver to find talent.

Once Arndt has a team together, he will then be tasked with making them competitive. He described his approach to coaching as simple but knows that he will need to get the best out of his players to yield results.

“I’m very bare bones. I don’t pull any punches. I believe in a simple plan executed well versus a perfect plan poorly executed,” Arndt said. “It’s hard work, score by committee and a full-on team effort to get the job done every day.”

Oberquell hopes the program can maintain a roster of 20 to 25 players on a steady basis. Arndt hopes that the program can eventually build itself into a team competing for national titles. But for now, he just hopes his team can be competitive out of the gate and satisfy Havre hockey fans.

“I just want to put on a competitive environment for the fans of Havre. I want to give kids an opportunity to play hockey at that next level, and I want to give them an opportunity to showcase their skills,” Arndt said. “Just give them an environment that they can succeed in and make Havre proud. Jump right into the rich history that Havre has for quality university athletics.”