Friday’s first game — between No. 9 Minnesota-Duluth and No. 8 Union is about to get underway. The team from Minnesota looks like the cast of villains out of a Cold War film: they’ve all dyed their hair blond. It was quite the sight when they took their helmets off for the National Anthem.

Other updates from the Arena at Harbor Yard:

-The stadium is a short, five-minute walk from the Bridgeport train station, which is served by the New York-New Haven Metro-North line.

-If you don’t feel like making the trip, or missed out on tickets, both of today’s games will be televised on ESPNU.

-The huge, twenty-something foot Bulldog that Yale puts out for The Game has made the trip to Bridgeport, where it is greeting fans as they arrive.

-Spotted next to the press box elevator: a room marked “Drug Testing” with tournament signage. Fun, fun.

-The seats here are mostly empty so far. The real crowds are expected when the Elis take the ice at 6:30 p.m.

-In his own words: head coach Keith Allain ’80 said in yesterday’s team press conference: “What’s at stake is if we don’t win [against Air Force,] we don’t play anymore. Jimmy [Martin ’11] said it perfectly. Our focus is on Air Force. That’s the only thing we can be focused on.