GRAND FORKS, N.D. -- As a student who took a course in Music Appreciation at St. Olaf College more than 60 years ago, songs I like stick in my head, forever, apparently.
 
UND's hockey opponent this weekend, Boston University, triggered a song that sets the tone for me for attending this weekend's series at the marvelous Ralph Engelstad Arena.
 
The song was "It Had To Be You,'' sung by Frank Sinatra.
 
Get it?  "It had to be you'' translates in mind as "It had to BU,'' or Boston University.
 
OK, maybe the mind twists and turns in unusual ways as one ages, and I have no defense for that.
 
What I am dead certain about is that this series pits two highly-ranked teams nationally, BU checking in at No. 3, UND just a few spots below that. So on paper, it figures to play out as a can't-miss series, which no doubt will factor into the PairWise Rankings later in the season. So though the series doesn't count in league standings for either team, it is still a BIG series.
 
I have a flashback to a game between the two teams more than 25 years ago, at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee, Wis.
 
It was there where the two teams met in the NCAA title game after UND knocked off league rival Colorado College in the NCAA semifinals and BU stunned top-ranked Michigan. That set up the final between the Terriers of BU and the Fighting Sioux of North Dakota U., under the guidance of Dean Blais chasing his first national title.
 
I was sitting next to the Herald's Ryan Bakken on press row as BU jumped to a 2-0 lead after one period.
 
I recall Bakken asking me what i thought of UND's chances. I said if the Sioux got their legs moving and cranked up the tempo, they would be just fine.
 
Little did I know how prophetic that statement would be. UND outshot the Terriers 16-10 in the second period, picked up two goals apiece from Matt Henderson and Dave Hoogsteen and skated out of the period with a 5-3 lead. That was enough to help UND claim its first national title since the famed Hrkac Circus of 10 years earlier, in 1986-87.
 
One memory that remains for me from that game was Henderson being named the Most Outstanding Player with his two goals and one assist. Not bad for a kid from White Bear Lake, Minn., who originally came to UND as an invited walk-on without a scholarship waiting.
 
That was a UND team which, after clinching the regular-season WCHA title, got pounded by Denver 6-3 and 5-0 on the final weekend in Denver. Then UND won seven in a row, beating Michigan Tech in Grand Forks, then Colorado College and Minnesota in the WCHA Final Five in St. Paul. UND then won the West Regional in Grand Rapids, Mich, before beating Colorado College and Boston University -- "It had to BU'' -- in Milwaukee for all the marbles.
 
So here we are again, two college hockey powerhouses yearly, jockeying for poll position in the national rankings in as big of a series as one can have with no league title or post-season trophy on the line.
 
What adds even more to this weekend is the return of one of the greatest players in UND history returning to make One More Shift around Engelstad Arena.
 
He is the only player in school history to finish his career with triple digits in goals AND assists. He had 110 goals, 109 assists in his time at UND from 1988-92. As prolific and consistent of a scorer he was at UND, he never earned higher than All-WCHA Second Team honors. Go figure.
 
One final story about Dixon Ward. In 1999, the Buffalo Sabres and the Dallas Stars met for the Stanley Cup championship. Ward, and another former Sioux great, James Patrick, played for Buffalo. Ed Belfour, Craig Ludwig and Tony Hrkac played for Dallas, and former UND player and coach Rick Wilson was the head assistant coach with Dallas.
 
The Herald sent me to Dallas to cover the Stanley Cup, and in particular, those six people with UND ties.
 
I brought along a bunch of copies of a special section we did in the Herald featuring those six, including photos of their hockey cards. I gave all six a copy of the paper.
 
I gave Dixon his copy in the Buffalo dressing room after their practice before the game. He held up a copy of the paper about his head, and yelled to his teammates, "Grand Forks Herald, best college hockey coverage in the country.''
 
So you can see why I have always been a Dixon Ward fan. I have a hockey card issued by Subway from his days at UND and plan to give it to him this weekend.
 
So with Dixon Ward here, for this weekend, it just "had to BU,'' right?
 
Virg Foss is in his 55th season of writing about UND hockey, the first 35 years for the Grand Forks Herald newspaper, the last 20 years for UND Athletic Communications, including the recent seasons as a columnist, sharing his views on the history of the program and thoughts on the progress of this year's team. He can be reached at virgfoss@yahoo.com.