There is something primal about outdoor hockey. Its sort of like the natural attraction one has for a campfire. You relax and stand around the fire and enjoy the moment, its both pure and timeless. Outdoor hockey just feels so right, the cold crisp feel of the air, the mild echo of scraping skate blades, the frozen sheet with little lines of snow and the somewhat bumpy feel of the ice brings all of those memories back. Memories of playing hockey outside with friends, simple pickup games and those fun unstructured moments we wish we could have more of. Hockey Day Minnesota tries to capture the spirit of the proud heritage here in the State of Hockey. A heritage that goes back over a 100 years and is a game still enjoyed by thousands of men and women across Minnesota to this day, both young and old. Whether you were skating on a frozen pond or lake as I did growing up or spent your nights traveling to the local frozen outdoor sheet and playing the game until the lights shut off the camraderie of those you played with in those games can't be beat. It was all about the fun, no referees or complicated rules were necessary. You just kept playing as long as you could. A few years back Fox Sports Net-North started a new tradition and one that seems to be growing with each and every year. They decided to create a day where the state celebrates its hockey past. Yes, I am aware Canada did it first with Hockey Day in Canada, but we (Minnesotans) don't care about that. It doesn't matter who did it first, its simply about celebrating our state's connection to the game and we're damn proud of it.
Preparing the ice at Lake Pokegema for Hockey Day Minnesota 2013
Whether it was the first Hockey Day Minnesota back in 2007 at Baudette Bay or last year's not so great Hockey Day Minnesota which had to relocate to Minnetonka's Pagel Arena instead of Lake Minnetonka it is an opportunity to celebrate the game at its most basic levels; high school, college and of course the NHL. The event certainly would not happen without the Minnesota Wild's help, and throughout their history the Wild have been pretty savvy at playing to Minnesota's rich hockey tradition in its branding and marketing campaigns. I have to admit, I was really wondering how this event would look without a Minnesota Wild game being apart of it but luckily for the event organizers the NHL and NHLPA got its act together just in the nick of time. In fact, this year's Hockey Day Minnesota, hosted up in Grand Rapids on beautiful Lake Pokegema is promised to give fans all across the State of Hockey and beyond some true 'firsts' and 'lasts' that will make it that much more special. What am I talking about?
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A Hockey Day of 'firsts'
This Hockey Day Minnesota marks the first time the NHL season has opened the same day as this event, probably the only time that will ever happen in this events' history. For Wild fans, it will also mark the first game for the summer's prized free agents Ryan Suter and Minnesotan Zach Parise. Parise has been a player many Wild fans only dreamed would ever make his way back to Minnesota (the first time he's playing for his home state since his days with Shattuck-St.Mary's) and some feel his addition along with All Star defenseman Ryan Suter really gives the club the best chance to make the playoffs in years. It will also be the debut of tough guy and talented winemaker Zenon Konopka as well as the speedy Torrey Mitchell who is still best known to Wild fans as the guy who caused Kurtis Foster to fracture his femur a few years ago. It will also be the highly anticipated debut of another Wild player, in Finnish phenom Mikael Granlund. Granlund has been a point-per-game player for the Wild's American Hockey League affiliate in Houston, scoring 8 goals and 21 points in 21 games. Minnesota hopes to give him a shot as its 2nd line center which is an awfully big role to give to a rookie, but if he really has the skills many believe that he does he may just be that elusive 2nd line x-factor that can help raise this team to another level.
It will also be the first time Hockey Day Minnesota was hosted in the true Iron Range portion of the state. A proud hockey hotbed that has produced lots and lots of tremendous hockey talent over the years. From Jon Casey, Pat & Joe Micheletti, Mark Pavelich, Bill Baker, Alex Goligoski, John Mariucci, Mike Antonovich and of course Minnesota Hockey legend John Mayasich just to name a few.
Also Hockey Day of 'last's
For WCHA fans, this is a day they should all sort of store in their conscience for a while as its the last regular season conference match up between the University of Minnesota and the North Dakota Fighting Sioux. I don't really care that they're not officially the Fighting Sioux anymore, because they'll always be that to me. This storied rivalry has been one of the best, if not the best in the WCHA's proud history. The games are always filled to the brim with raucous fans, and the intensity of the fans is matched only by the dynamic and often very physical play on the ice. The two clubs are bitter rivals, whether that continues once the two clubs part ways for their own conferences (Minnesota to the Big 10 and North Dakota to the NCHC) and Saturday's match up really is the end of an era as the two clubs have been league foes since 1951.
Here is a summary of the 16-hours of hockey action that will be on Fox Sports Net North this Saturday.
Eagan vs. Hibbing / Chisholm (Boys Hockey) – 10:00AM
Grand Rapids vs. Benilde-St. Margaret's (Boys Hockey – 1:30PM
Minnesota vs. North Dakota – 5:00PM
Wild vs. Avalanche – 8:00PM
Hibbing vs. Grand Rapids / Greenway (Girls Hockey) – 11:00PM
Here are a small listing of pre-game summaries for each Hockey Day Minnesota match up.
Eagan vs. Hibbing / Chisholm
On a bit more subtle note, its also a first time meeting between the Hibbing / Chisholm Blue Jackets and the Eagan Wildcats which pit two coaches are old best friends in Hibbing's Mark DeCenzo and Eagan's Mike Taylor who were former coaching partners in the early 1990's in Apple Valley. This match up pits a rising AA power in Eagan against a solid Class A size opponent in Hibbing / Chisholm. Eagan has one pretty well after graduating its best class of athletes in their program's history last year, and there are signs they have some fantastic talent in its future too. Led by the tall, fast and skilled senior #27 Zach Glienke (17 goals) and the hard working blue collar-type of forward #15 Cullen Willox (13 goals) the Wildcats have a excellent 1st line that the Blue Jackets will have to at least hold in check if they want to have a chance in this game. Hibbing / Chisholm's scoring ace is senior and UMD-commit #7 Adam Johnson (14 goals) who is an elusive skater but he will find himself under a pretty speedy Eagan forecheck most of the time.
Player to Watch For: (Eagan) #16 Jesse Gabrielle – This kid is really something special. The Saskatchewan-native plays well beyond his years and was a WHL draft pick of the Brandon Wheat Kings and is just a Freshman but you'd never know it by the way he plays. He has speed, great instincts and a wicked release. Trust me, this kid is going to be something really special by the time he's a senior if he sticks around and continues to play prep hockey. He has 9 goals already playing on the 2nd line for the Wildcats.
Grand Rapids vs. Benilde-St. Margaret's
This game will be a battle between the unstoppable force (Benilde's offense) versus the immovable object (Grand Rapids' defense). The Twin Cities' based private school boasts one of the state's premier scoring lines in Badgers' recruit #12 Grant Besse (25 goals), junior # 8 Spencer Naas (18 goals) set up men #27 Dan Labosky (29 assists) and #23 T.J. Moore (15 assists). The Red Knights love just pouring on the offense and blowing away opponents while Grand Rapids likes to slow the game down and then scoring timely goals. The Thunderhawks are led by Golden Gophers recruit in senior #22 Jake Bischoff as well as fellow defenseman #9 David Horsmann and #17 Curtis Simonson. They will do their best to give #35 Hunter Shepard (2.01GAA, .927%SP), Grand Rapids excellent goalie all the help they can because they know Benilde-St. Margaret's can put you in a hole real quick. Grand Rapids' scoring will be led by big bodied forward #8 Avery Peterson (15 goals).
Player to Watch For: (Benilde-St. Margaret's) #12 Grant Besse – This kid is no stranger to the big stage and last year he turned the Class AA State Championship game into his own personal showcase with a 5-goal performance that was perhaps the best single-game effort in tournament history. Expect Besse to want to put on another 'show' against the host school Grand Rapids.
Minnesota vs. North Dakota
After a rocky start, North Dakota is on a roll as of late, going 6-1-1 over their last 8 games. The Fighting Sioux always get themselves primed to face the Gophers and Minnesota can expect North Dakota to be as physical as they can as they attempt to stop one of the best offensive teams in the nation in the Golden Gophers. North Dakota is led by seniors Corban Knight (10 goals, 31 points) and former Shattuck-St. Mary's star Danny Kristo (13 goals, 30 points) but after that they are a team that scores by committee. Meanwhile Minnesota brings a more well-rounded attack that is led by junior Nick Bjugstad (12 goals, 22 points) and sophomore Kyle Rau (12 goals, 26 points) who has been lighting the lamp with more frequency lately. The Golden Gophers may or may not have leading scorer and Wild prospect Erik Haula at their disposal who is still nursing a hand injury he suffered in a game against Boston College. Junior goaltender Clarke Saunders will likely shoulder the load between the pipes for North Dakota while freshman stand out Adam Wilcox is the undisputed choice for Minnesota. By the way hockey fans, no matter what do whatever you can to really enjoy this game because apart from possibly meeting each other in the NCAA tournament this will be the last time these clubs are scheduled to face one another for the next 3 years! How sad is that?
Player to Watch For: (Minnesota) #29 Nate Schmidt – I tried to tell the Wild to draft this guy for two seasons before he arrived with the Golden Gophers after being a stud for St. Cloud Cathedral and the Fargo Force in the USHL. Schmidt is one of the most sought after undrafted players in college hockey and he plays very well at both ends of the ice but his knack for making big offensive plays in key moments is what makes him a must watch every shift the defenseman takes.
Wild vs. Avalanche
Its the season opener and the home opener all wrapped into one on Hockey Day Minnesota, for Wild fans it will likely be collective sigh of relief. Even though yours truly will be serving the 1st game of his 10-game boycott of the club, fans will get their first glance of a host of newcomers to the Wild roster. They will see just how well Mikko Koivu and Dany Heatley mesh with Zach Parise, or how much of an impact Ryan Suter has on the team's blueline with surprising cohort Jared Spurgeon. Spurgon coincidentally looked fantastic at the team's pre-season inter-squad scrimmage on Wednesday night tallying two goals and a helper. One player who also impressed was 18-year old rookie Mathew Dumba who got rave reviews from teammates and most importantly the Wild coaching staff. Dumba looked surprisingly strong and more than able to handle the speed and strength of NHL-calibre play and so far he's still with the big club. Whether that is a long-term stint or whether he gets sent back to junior in Red Deer (since he cannot play in the AHL yet) remains to be seen. Speaking of defenseman, former Bloomington Jefferson star Tom Gilbert tweaked his groin in the 1st half of the scrimmage and has been allowed to miss practice today for precautionary reasons but is expected to be in the lineup Saturday against the Avalanche. According to the Minneapolis Star Tribune's Wild beat writer Michael Russo the Wild's projected lines for Saturday's tilt are as follows…
Forwards:
Zach Parise-Mikko Koivu-Dany Heatley
Matt Cullen-Mikael Granlund-Devin Setoguchi
Cal Clutterbuck-Kyle Brodziak-Pierre-Marc Bouchard
Darroll Powe-Zenon Konopka-Torrey Mitchell
Defensive Pairings:
Ryan Suter-Jared Spurgeon
Clayton Stoner-Tom Gilbert
Justin Falk-Nate Prosser
Goaltenders:
Niklas Backstrom
Josh Harding
Another Bloomington, Minnesota-native, Colorado defenseman #6 Erik Johnson has already done his part to help give the Wild a little motivation and bulletin-board material for some comments he made to the Denver Post this week. "No doubt they got two good (new) players, but we've got a pretty good team over here too and it'd be great to go in there and spoil their hockey-day festival or whatever is going on." You can read the rest of the Denver Post article here. The Avalanche are still a young and dynamic team led by youngsters #92 Gabriel Landeskog who was just named the team's captain this summer and #9 Matt Duchene. This will be #15 P.A. Parenteau's debut with the Avalanche who are hoping he'll help add some offensive firepower to a team that struggled to score last season. However I think the Avalanche lose a lot by not having #37 Ryan O'Reilly in the lineup as he's in a holdout over his contract. O'Reilly is a great two-way player and one guy who always seemed to have the knack to provide the dagger against the Wild.
I think both teams will be amped to play one another but I expect to see a sloppy game as all NHL clubs have had so little time to get back into true game shape and execute their systems. I saw a lot of huffing and puffing on the bench last night.
Player to Watch For: #64 Mikael Granlund – If it wasn't for the team's summer signings the spotlight would be a lot more intense on this youngster. In fact, until July 4th all of the talk about the Wild improving its offense centered around this guy both literally and figuratively. Tabbed by Wild General Manager Chuck Fletcher as the team's 2nd line center its pretty obvious hopes are pretty high and it will be interesting to see how he looks in his first NHL game.
Grand Rapids / Greenway vs. Hibbing
Hockey Day Minnesota's last match up pits two regional rivals against one another in this all Iron Range battle. Hibbing currently sits with the best record amongst independent teams with an 11-8 record while Grand Rapids / Greenway; also an independent have an 8-10-1 record. Grand Rapids / Greenway is coming off a 4-2 win over Cloquet / Esko / Carlton while the Blue Jackets are coming off a 4-2 loss to Hermantown. Grand Rapids / Greenway has a tremendous top line led by #6 Jordan McLaughlin (9 goals), #28 Hannah Schmoll (11 goals), and #11 Kaya Baker (6 goals) but beyond them the scoring drops off in a big way while the Blue Jackets are a little more balanced with #26 Katie Dye (8 goals), #28 Erin Scovill (7 goals), and #7 Nicole DeBoom (8 goals). The familiarity to the two clubs have with one another should make for a pretty sprited game.
Player to Watch For: (Grand Rapids / Greenway) #6 Jordan McLaughlin – She really is the catalyst for their offense and as just a sophomore she's only going to get better.
That wraps up the previews. We will be providing post-game coverage of all of the games tomorrow so please check back to see them. So which tilt are you looking forward to the most on Hockey Day Minnesota? Share your comments in the box below and keep the hockey talk going!
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