GRAND FORKS — E.J. Emery had plenty of reasons to be nervous Friday night.

It was his introduction to one of college hockey’s greatest rivalries, with the Minnesota Gophers on the opposite bench and a wound-up crowd of more than 11,600 roaring fans inside Ralph Engelstad Arena.

Somewhere in that crowd were Emery’s parents, grandmother and aunt, who had traveled from the Vancouver, British Columbia area, to Grand Forks for this series.

His family, unable to make it to every UND home series, had debated prior to the season about which games they could attend in person.

They couldn’t have made a better choice.

In his 33rd game at UND, and with the Fighting Hawks trailing 2-1 11 minutes into the first period after surrendering what could have been a deflating short-handed goal to Minnesot

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