The past two weekends the University of Minnesota Duluth (UMD) men’s hockey team has faced off against top 15 team in the nation in then No. 12 (now No. 7) Cornell and the No. 6 Minnesota Gophers. This week they’re up against another top ranked team.

Friday the 18th ranked Bulldogs open National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) play hosting number four the University of North Dakota. It’s the former home of now UMD junior defender Luke Bast.

“Honestly just excited. I think it’s a great opportunity for our group. Obviously, they’re a good hockey club coming in here. I think we’ll be ready for that,” Bast said. “I knew in my heart that I wanted to be in the same conference, and I was fortunate enough that UMD was a spot that I was able to attend.”

So far he’s already scored two goals for the Bulldogs.

UMD enters the weekend with a 3-3-3 record to the Fighting Hawks’ 5-2-1. Puck drop Friday is 7:07 p.m. at AMSOIL Arena. Their series finale is Saturday at 6 p.m. in Duluth.