Weekend Wrap Jan. 23-25: A Hockey Day Minnesota Chiller & the CIHA U17 Winter Classic
Iowa Wild Photo
While a large portion of the of the United States population spent most of the past weekend seeking shelter from a generational winter storm, Minnesotans braved the elements to pay homage to the sport that has earned their home the label “State of Hockey.”
The people of Minnesota didn’t just watch hockey while the rest of the nation was brought to its knees by Winter Storm Fern, though.
They watched hockey outdoors. In sub-zero temperatures.
Hockey Day Minnesota, which was such a big deal that host-town Hastings spent an entire week celebrating, went off without a hitch Jan. 24 despite extreme wind chills that made fans feel like the temperature had dropped all the way to negative 25 degrees.
Spectators were prepped for the conditions as early as Thursday, Jan. 22, when most Minnesota school districts canceled classes or moved them online for the following day because of “dangerously cold conditions.”
Hockey Day Minnesota organizers had no intentions of letting Mother Nature put a damper on one of the state’s signature events, which had taken two years to plan, however.
“Hockey Day Minnesota is on as scheduled this weekend,” organizers announced via social-media posts on various platforms Jan. 22. “This includes Friday’s Iowa Wild vs. Milwaukee Admirals game at 5 p.m. {CST}. Fans are encouraged to dress warmly with multiple layers and blankets. Heated tents and fire pits will be available throughout the complex for your comfort. We can’t wait to see you out here!”
Hockey Day Minnesota was a week-long celebration of hockey that began Jan. 17 and featured more than 25 games played on a permanent outdoor rink constructed at the United Heroes League complex a few miles east of Hastings. Games were played on the outdoor sheet throughout the week by youth teams from the Mite through Bantam age levels, junior varsity and varsity high school teams, under-20 junior teams, college teams, United States military veterans and NHL alumni.
“It’s Hockey Week Minnesota,” Kevin Gorg, who has called Hockey Day games for Minnesota’s various regional sports networks almost since the event’s inception in 2007, told Jess Myers of the Pioneer Press.
The week’s festivities culminated with what was the official Hockey Day Minnesota on Saturday, Jan. 24. That day’s slate included three varsity high school games starting at 9:30 a.m. CST and was capped off by a Hastings High School girls family skate at 7:30 p.m.
The American Hockey League Outdoor Classic, the 13th outdoor game in league history, kicked off the weekend’s festivities late on the afternoon of Jan. 23. With a temperature reading of minus-8 degrees Fahrenheit when the puck dropped at 5 p.m. CST, the contest became the coldest outdoor game ever played by NHL or AHL teams.
Zach L’Heureux scored 1:25 into overtime to lift the Milwaukee Admirals to a 3-2 victory against the Iowa Wild. Ryder Rolston and Oasiz Wiesblatt scored the other Milwaukee goals, with goaltender Matt Murray making 25 saves to earn the win.
Hunter Haight and Ryan Sandelin scored to stake the Wild to a 2-0 lead they couldn’t hold, and Iowa netminder Samuel Hlavaj made 34 saves.
Milwaukee outshot Iowa, 27-27. The Wild were 0-for-1 with the man advantage, while the Admirals finished 1-for-4 on the power play.
There also was a women’s college club hockey game between Iowa State and Minnesota-Duluth Friday morning, followed by a North American Tier 3 Hockey League junior contest pitting Granite City vs. Rochester.
Hockey Day Minnesota pushed forward with its Friday slate even though the United States Pond Hockey Championship, also played in Minnesota, canceled its Thursday welcome party and all of its Friday contests.
For Hockey Day Minnesota Saturday, Hastings took on Park in a girls’ varsity high school matchup at 9:30 a.m. Saturday, followed by the Hasting boys vs. East Ridge at 1 p.m. and Rock Ridge vs. the St. Thomas Academy boys at 4:30 p.m.
The Hastings varsity girls brought a 5-17-1 record and a No. 52 Minnesota AA ranking, according to the MYHockey Week 18 Rankings, into the morning tilt, while 38th-ranked Park was 7-14-0. Haley Siebenaler scored twice for Hastings, including the game-winning goal in the third period, as the Raiders skated to a 2-1 victory.
At 9-7-1, the Hastings boys were ranked 30th among Minnesota Class A teams while East Ridge was the No. 28 AA team with a 7-9-0 record.
East Ridge scored three times after falling behind early in an opening period that featured all four of the game’s goals. Ivan Schmitz recorded a goal and an assist for the victors in their 3-1 victory. Luke Morris and Wrex Walz also scored for East Ridge, while Carter Hanson scored the first and only goal for the home side.
Rock Ridge came into the weekend with a 10-9-1 record and ranked 26th among Minnesota AA schools, while No. 4 St. Thomas was 12-4-2. After a scoreless opening period, Rock Ridge tallied three times in the middle frame to take control of the game before cruising to a 4-1 victory.
Owen Ryan and Jacksen Crary split time in goal for the winners, with Peter Murray, Brody Cashill, Maverick McKinnon and Cole Braunshausen each scoring once. Colton Bialke has the lone Rock Ridge goal.
Initially held in 2007 on a frozen river in Baudette, Minn., Hockey Day Minnesota more recently evolved into a four-day, long-weekend event before Hastings decided to take things to an entirely different level.
The 20th anniversary of Hockey Day Minnesota was a seven-day celebration of hockey that featured multiple games per day played by teams of all levels and ages on an outdoor rink that was surrounded by a temporary hockey village.
Hockey Day Minnesota officially concluded with a National Hockey League matchup between the Minnesota Wild and Florida Panthers Saturday night at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul.
The outdoor rink at the United Heroes League complex was built to NHL specifications and included a giant video board. The rink had a larger capacity than the ones constructed at previous Hockey Day Minnesota host venues and was surrounded by heated tents where attendees could warm up, eat, drink and listen to an array of live musical acts.
Organizers expected more than 80,000 fans to have visited the venue by the conclusion of the week.
Hockey Day Minnesota was created in 2007 by the Minnesota Wild to celebrate the game that has helped Minnesota become known as the State of Hockey. The event is held in partnership with FanDuel Sports Network North, Minnesota Hockey and the local host community. All proceeds from the event go to support local hockey programs.
Previous host locations included Baudette Bay (2007, 2008), Phalen Park (2009), Hermantown (2010), Moorhead (2011), Minnetonka (2012), Grand Rapids (2013), Elk River (2014), St. Paul (2015), Duluth (2016), Stillwater (2017), St. Cloud (2018), Bemidji (2019), Minneapolis (2020), Guidant John Rose MN Oval (2021), Mankato (2022), White Bear (2023), Warroad (2024) and Shakopee (2025).
During Hockey Day Minnesota’s Saturday festivities, it was announced that Hockey Day Minnesota 2028 would be held at Central Park in Maple Grove.
“We’re incredibly excited to be selected as the host site for Hockey Day Minnesota 2028,” said Experience Maple Grove Executive Director Greg Anzelc in the announcement posted on NHL.com. “We look forward to building on our strong hockey legacy and showcasing the great City of Maple Grove, our business community and the awesome Hockey Day Minnesota venue at Central Park.”
Additional details, including the dates, matchups and the official schedule for Hockey Day Minnesota 2028 in Maple Grove will be announced at a later date. Hockey Day Minnesota 2027 will take place at the Brainerd International Raceway next January.
With the USHL’s Frosty Cup canceled, our attention turned to the Calgary International Hockey Academy’s U17 Winter Classic for the weekend of Jan. 23-25.
The CIHA tournament was held Thursday, Jan. 23, through Sunday, Jan. 25, and included some of the top U17 AAA Boys teams from Western Canada along with three US-based Tier 1 16U teams.
There were 24 participating teams grouped into six four-team pools. Round-robin pool play filled the daily schedule Jan. 23-24, with playoffs starting Saturday morning and championship contests played Sunday.
Games were played at Winsport Arenas in Calgary and Seven Chiefs Sportsplex in Priddis, Alberta.
The tournament field included six of Western Canada’s top 10 teams, according to the Week 18 MHR Rankings, and 12 of the top 20.
STAR HOCKEY Academy from Washington came into the weekend as the second-ranked 16U team in the Pacific District and 30th overall in the USA Tier 1 Boys rankings.
All games can be viewed on-demand via FLOHockey.
CIHA U17 Winter Classic Participating Teams
Pool A
#5 CIHA (4-2-0; 28GF, 19GA)
#17 Calgary Royals (2-2-0; 17GF, 13GA)
#28 St. Albert Flyers (1-3-0; 17GF, 25GA)
Coeur d’Alene Hockey Academy (0-4-0; 9GF, 16GA)
Pool B
#30 USA STAR Hockey Academy (3-2-0; 14GF, 11GA)
#62 USA LA Jr. Kings (3-2-0; 18GF, 17GA)
#13 Calgary NWCAA Flames (2-2-0; 14GF, 11GA)
#23 Fort Saskatchewan Rangers (1-3-0; 9GF, 18GA)
Pool C
#6 RHA Kelowna (5-1-0; 26GF, 18GA)
#18 Okotoks Oilers (2-2-0; 18GF, 11GA)
#25 Airdrie Avalanche (2-2-0; 21 GF, 28GA)
#37 Sherwood Park Squires (1-3-0; 15GF, 18GA)
Pool D
#9 Calgary CNHA Northstars (4-1-0; 25GF, 16GA)
#30 South East Tigers (2-2-0; 11GF, 11GA)
#8 Edmonton SSAC (1-3-0; 15GF, 21GA)
#31 Shawnigan Lake School (0-4-0; 10GF, 19GA)
Pool E
#2 Edmonton CAC (6-0-0; 34GF, 12GA)
#15 Red Deer North Star Chiefs (2-2-0; 18GF, 16GA)
#19 OHA Edmonton (2-3-0; 22GF, 23GA)
#54 Vancouver Island Royals (0-4-0; 4GF, 28GA)
Pool F
#12 South Alberta Hockey Academy (5-1-0; 29GF, 17GA)
#20 St. George’s School (2-2-0; 11GF, 9GA)
#40 Edmonton KOC Centennials (2-2-0; 11GF, 13GA)
#7 Calgary CBHA Bulls (1-3-0; 13GF, 19GA)
A Bracket Quarterfinals
South Alberta Hockey Academy 5, Calgary Royals 2
Calgary Northstars 7, Red Deer North Star Chiefs 3
A Bracket Semifinals
South Alberta Hockey Academy 8, Calgary Northstars 3
Edmonton CAC 5, LA Jr. Kings 2
A Bracket Championship Game
Edmonton CAC 4, South Alberta Hockey Academy 2
Edmonton CAC got first-period goals from Hayden Creran and Mason Kotylak to take a 2-0 lead and insurance markers from Ridley Pedersen and Kyle Welsh in the final frame to earn the gold medal by a 4-2 margin. Pedersen and Kotylak each added a pair of assists, while winning goalie Daniel Marsden stopped 37 shots.
CLICK HERE for CIHA Winter Classic schedule & results
CLICK HERE for CIHA Winter Classic standings
CLICK HERE for CIHA Winter Classic Playoff Bracket A
CLICK HERE for CIHA Winter Classic Playoff Bracket B
CLICK HERE for CIHA Winter Classic rosters and team stats
