The Estevan Bruins saw a familiar face in the UND Fighting Hawks lineup the weekend of January 27. The Bruins travelled to Grand Forks to watch the Fighting Hawks take on the number four-ranked Denver Pioneers in a pair of overtime losses for the Hawks, and former Bruin Josh Rieger took to the ice in both contests. 

Rieger has been hitting his stride at UND, and hitting plenty of other things besides. Although he was held pointless on the weekend, he brought the sellout crowds at Ralph Engelstad Arena out of their seats with a couple of big open ice hits, including one in Friday night's game that earned him a roar of approval from over 11,000 green-clad fans.

"One of the goals here is to get better every day," said Rieger, "and I feel like that's what I've been doing." 

Rieger has spent time both at forward and on defense for UND, following in the footsteps of another freshman defenseman who had to earn his time on the blue line: Tucker Poolman. Poolman is one of many UND alumni in the NHL and at times the vaunted company he keeps is a little aweing to Regina's Rieger. 

"It's a little intimidating," he said. "There are a lot of good players that have played here and a lot of good players that play here now and a lot of good players that'll play here in the future. Just to be a part of this is a dream come true."

Rieger's physical play has endeared him to UND's faithful fanbase so far, but he knows he has to work on other areas of his game to move up the depth chart. In particular, he's been busy keeping the mental side of the game in focus.

"I think the biggest area of improvement has just been my hockey sense," Rieger said. "It's been a completely different system almost and learning their game and their style has been a little bit of a learning curve. I've been taking it day-by-day and trying to get used to it as I can."

Despite playing with and against future NHL players, Rieger hasn't forgotten the Estevan Bruins, with whom he spent three seasons before joining the Fighting Hawks. 

"I loved Estevan. I loved all three years, I would never say a bad word about it. The seven twenty-year-olds that graduated last year all stay in touch, we're such a tight group. Junior hockey is a great time. The people you meet and the relationships you build, it's incredible."

"I've been following the stats," he said of this year's team, "checking up when they play Weyburn, making sure they're winning."

Bruins head coach and GM Chris Lewgood gets a lot of credit from Rieger for his transition from the junior-A ranks to one step short of the pros. "He was always there for me, always helping me to get better, and he wanted me to push myself every day." Rieger said. "He helped me move on and was a big part of me coming here, and I'm very thankful for him."

In nine games this season, Rieger has two assists. He sits plus-one with just four PIMs, a far cry from his back-to-back seasons over 100 PIMs as a Bruin. He is eligible to play another three years at UND.