Matteo Costantini returns to the Ralph as a Bronco

Grand Forks, ND --- After what has been almost a year, Matteo Costantini will suit up in the Ralph this weekend. There’s a twist though, he will be wearing brown and gold this time around.

Matteo Costantini played his freshman and sophomore seasons at UND, where he tallied 24 points across 60 games for the kelly green and white. He was named to the NCHC All-Rookie team in the spring of 2022, other notable UND players to do so are Nick Schmaltz, Brock Boeser, Shane Pinto, Jake Sanderson, Riese Gaber and most recently Jackson Blake.

Matteo Costantini shared his thoughts on the conference matchup this weekend “It's been a lot of fun, it's been a great experience so far and it's awesome being back in Grand Forks,” he said. “I'm super excited, I think it's a great opportunity for our team this weekend to show what we have and obviously North Dakota is a great team.”

His decision to leave Nodak wasn’t an easy one, but it may have been just the thing he needed. “The reason why I came to Western was because I really believed in what Coach Pat Ferschweiler had to say from an individual standpoint and the culture he was trying to build around the team this year and that's something I wanted to be a part of.”

Matteo has had lots of success in his 30 appearances for Western Michigan this season, scoring 7 goals and 17 assists for 24 points; A large upgrade from Matteo’s 3 point campaign for UND last season. Costantini’s 24 points is a career high, he had 21 points his freshman year for the Fighting Hawks. “I think the character in the locker room has helped me transition to the new team a lot easier, the guys are great and the transition was pretty seamless.”

The St. Catharines, Ontario native has found himself on the Bronco’s 2nd line most of this year, centering seniors Chad Hillebrand and Sam Colangelo. “I'm playing with two great linemates, those guys definitely make it pretty easy for me out there to kind of just get them the puck and have trust that they're always going to be doing the right things.”

Kalamazoo, MI is 866 miles away, a 12-hour drive from Grand Forks, but Matteo has noticed the similarities between both schools “I think it's similar where we both have really passionate fans, obviously there is rich history in both programs,” Costantini said. “UND is a program that has a lot of tradition and history, I think the Broncos are very similar and they're starting to develop more of that as well.”

The 3,667 capacity Lawson Arena “The Lawson” has been the home of Broncos hockey since the program’s beginning in 1974. The retro and small rink feel keeps the sound in, and loudly. “They (the fans) are right on top of you, it's a smaller rink but it gets really loud,” Constantini continued. “The Ralph is a huge beautiful arena and kind of more of a pro like atmosphere, obviously it still gets rowdy in the Ralph Engelstad Arena but it’s a different kind of loud.”

Western Michigan arrived in Grand Forks Thursday morning, Constantini has been very diligent with his time since he landed. “My parents are in town, and I went and saw my old apartment which was cool, also saw some of the old teammates too and have been catching up with them a little bit as well.”

Despite the nice homecoming feeling, Matteo has his sights set on the puck drop Friday night, “I've just been kind of focusing on Friday night's game.” Matteo went on “It's going to be a little weird, but I think it's also going to be fun playing the old teammates and seeing some faces that you’ve worked so hard with and you've went to battle with for two years, so it'll be it'll be nice to get on the same ice with those guys again.”

This will be the first time Costantini has played the Fighting Hawks since he entered the transfer portal last spring. The NCHC schedule this year kept UND from travelling to Kalamazoo, something that happens every 3 years.

“I've enjoyed both experiences so far and I'm really fortunate to be able to do both and experience both sides of this weekend’s matchup.”

Puck drop on Friday night is at 7:07pm on CBS Sports Network and Home of Economy Radio Network

Saturday's game will start at 6:07pm on Midco Sports and the Home of Economy Radio Network