But a Minnesota native stole his thunder once the puck dropped.

Arizona center – and another former Wild player – Nick Bjugstad, who grew up playing hockey in Blaine, Minn., scored his second career hat trick in a 6-0 shutout of the Wild.

“It felt good,” Bjugstad said. “It had been a while since I scored. That first one, it felt pretty good.

“Sometimes it just goes in for you. It was one of those nights.”

Nick Bjugstad scored 13 goals in a Wild sweater a couple of seasons ago. (MHM Photo / Rick Olson)

For the Wild, it was “one of those nights” in a completely different way as Minnesota was shut out on home ice for the second time in less than a week, dropping their fourth consecutive game to make it eight losses in the past nine games. The loss led to a players-only meeting following the game.

As of Saturday’s game, Bjugstad skated in 659 career NHL games. He has one four-point game to his name, plus five other three-point games. His one other hat trick came with the Florida Panthers on March 6, 2018, against the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Bjugstad played in 101 games with the Wild in the 2020-21 and 2021-22 seasons. He scored 13 goals and 30 points wearing his home-state sweater.

He came into Saturday’s game with only six goals this season, his last tally coming Dec. 4 against Washington. But maybe the dam was just about to burst; he recorded eight shots on goal in the Jan. 11 game against Calgary but came up empty other than a single assist.

“You want to create volume,” Bjugstad said. “I’ve been in situations where I’ve been in some droughts. I just tried to stay even-keeled through all that. You just know eventually it’s going to go in.”

When Bjugstad completed his hat trick in the second period (with an assist from another former Wild player, Jason Zucker), hockey fans tossed a few hats onto the ice for the hometown player. There wasn’t much else to cheer about for the Wild faithful, other than the “t-shirt guy” pumping up the crowd with his hype moves.

As one would expect, the hat trick was all the more special for Bjugstad because it came in a building that he referred to as “the mecca” for him as a kid.

“I don’t really know how to put it in words,” Bjugstad said. “Yeah, it’s a fun one to have, and it’s a fun one to have with this team.”

PWHL Minnesota wraps up its first homestand, gets goals from alternate captains
One Minnesota professional hockey team still sits atop the league standings. That’s despite PWHL Minnesota (3-0-0-1) suffering its first loss of the season with a 3-2 overtime defeat at the hands of PWHL New York (2-1-2-0) on Sunday.

Roseville native and alternate captain Lee Stecklein scored her first goal of the season with a point shot that made it through traffic for a 1-0 lead in the first period. Another Twin Cities native, Kelly Pannek, of Plymouth, added to the lead with her first PWHL goal. Pannek’s tally started with her taking the puck into the zone, sliding it past two colliding New York players to get her all alone with the goaltender before firing her shot for a 2-0 lead in the first intermission.

PWHL Minnesota played its first overtime game on Sunday afternoon, against PWHL New York. (MHM Photo / Heather Rule)

“That was the best first period as a whole that we’ve had in the first, now four games,” Pannek, the other alternate captain, told Bally Sports North during the first intermission.

New York pressured more in the next two periods and eventually tied the game with a pair of power-play goals from Alex Carpenter and Jessie Eldridge, who scored with 10:49 remaining in regulation.

Special teams were a huge factor in the game. Minnesota had an early 5-on-3 advantage for nearly a full two minutes. They also had another power play in the third period with the chance to regain their two-goal lead. The puck possession and offensive zone time were there, but the conversion was not.

“It’s just a little lack of finish,” said Minnesota coach Ken Klee. “We’re getting good looks.

“You get enough good looks, you’re going to score goals.”

Minnesota is 0-for-8 on the power play so far this season, standing as the only team that hasn’t cashed in on the power play.

Minnesota had a couple of prime chances to win the game in the 3-on-3 overtime, too. Taylor Heise just missed popping the puck over the goal line right in front. Then Grace Zumwinkle was hauled down on a scoring chance and was awarded a penalty shot. She couldn’t convert with 1:40 left in OT. Then 41 seconds later, the game was over when New York’s Emma Woods fired a shot that deflected high on the blocker side to beat Minnesota goaltender Maddie Rooney.

New York celebrated handing Minnesota its first loss of the season.

“They obviously came out hot,” Woods said. “But I think we just stayed in the game and battled. They’re a fast team and very skilled. We matched that tonight. It felt good to take them out of the win column for a bit.”

There’s still plenty to be excited about with PWHL Minnesota as the season is now a couple of weeks old. Minnesota has also scored first in all four of its games and has yet to allow a first-period goal this season while scoring six goals of their own in the first frame.

Minnesota still remains the only PWHL to win on home ice thus far. Minnesota leads the PWHL in points with 10; it’s three points for a regulation victory, two points for an overtime victory and one point for an overtime loss.

Minnesota opened the season in Boston before playing their last three at Xcel Energy Center. After a record-breaking crowd for a professional women’s hockey game of 13,316 for the home opener, Minnesota drew 4,707 fans for Wednesday night’s game before another solid 7,951 on Sunday afternoon, closely filling up the lower bowl.

“Every game we’ve played here, we’ve had a fantastic crowd,” said Minnesota captain Kendall Coyne Schofield. “Definitely have the best crowd in the league, that’s for sure. They showed up.”

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The very next night, the Minnesota Wild opened their season across the river at Xcel Energy Center. Fans turned the page quickly to all the hope and promise a new season offers.

“It was kind of whiplash,” said Melissa Berman. “Obviously the Twins season ended on Wednesday night, and then right the next day, the Wild opened.

“I think it was really helpful for people to have something to immediately turn our attention to.”

Berman, a dedicated Minnesota sports fan across multiple sports (she attended more than 60 regular-season Twins games in both 2022 and 2023), attended all four home Postseason Twins games. But many months before the Twins popped champagne on an American League Central Division title, Berman purchased tickets to the Wild’s season opener on Oct. 12. Because she’s always wanted to go to a sporting event on her birthday.

Brock Faber and Jonas Brodin on the ice against Florida. (MHM Photo / Rick Olson)

Luckily for her, and a lot of Minnesota fans, there was no overlap in the Twins and Wild schedule. The Twins lost games three and four to the Houston Astros in the American League Division Series on Tuesday and Wednesday, though an if-necessary Game Five was slated for Friday night. The Wild opener was sandwiched in the middle, giving fans like Berman a chance to be present at both instead of streaming a baseball game on her phone from her seat at Xcel Energy Center.

Berman went from sellout crowds of 40,000-plus in the open-air Target Field waving red Homer Hankies to a packed crowd of 18,000-plus at the X waving lighted towels in a dark arena during pregame introductions.

“The light-up towels were incredible,” Berman said. “I had never seen something like that before.”

The Wild towels had either red, green or white lights along the edges with three different settings to blink slow, fast or stay illuminated.

Saul Stensvaag, of Inver Grove Heights, also thought the towels were a nice touch. He attended the Wild game with his wife, Mary Kay, after taking in Game Three of the ALDS with his son Ken. The Stensvaags get to at least a half-dozen Wild games a season, and Saul purchased tickets to the opener earlier in the week because he just couldn’t wait for hockey season to get started.

“I’m glad that I went ahead and bought the tickets,” Stensvaag said. “I paid more than I usually do, but it was worth it.

“It’s the beginning of the season and just seeing a lot of the prospects that the Wild has, I think we’re very optimistic.”

Sure, comparing the Postseason games for the Twins and a regular-season, home opener for the Wild isn’t exactly apples to apples. But there were still a lot of similarities and crossover. Stensvaag thought both crowds at Target Field and Xcel Energy Center were fantastic.

Former Twins players Joe Mauer, Justin Morneau and former Twins manager Ron Gardenhire wave to the crowd during the Wild game Oct. 12. (MHM Photo / Heather Rule)

“The Wild have an advantage at the X because it’s an easier place to do really impressive stuff like with the lighted towels… the laser show and the video,” Stensvaag said.

Even some of the crowd interaction was the same. Bon Jovi’s “Livin On A Prayer” blared over the Target Field sound system Wednesday, while the same song was featured on the Crowd Karaoke videoboard segment at the X.

While the Target Field videoboard captured Wild players attending the Postseason baseball games as fans – Kirill Kaprizov and Matt Boldy were each featured to end the popular Celebrity Look-Alike segment in between innings – some familiar former Twins attended the Wild game Thursday. In-arena and TV cameras showed former players Joe Mauer, Justin Morneau and their former manager Ron Gardenhire watching hockey together in a suite.

On the ice against Stanley Cup finalist Florida Panthers, Wild rookie defenseman, playing in only his ninth NHL game (third in the regular season), Brock Faber gave the crowd something to cheer about when his first-period blast from the point made it through traffic for his first NHL goal and point.

His goal came about 24 hours after young phenom Royce Lewis hit a home run for a 1-0 Twins lead. Youngster Edouard Julien also homered in the game. For the Wild, 22-year-old Marco Rossi scored a pretty goal that was negated due to an off-side call, and 25-year-old Filip Gustavsson was spectacular with a 41-save shutout. It’s all the young talent on both rosters that keeps fans optimistic for the future.

 “It’s just really encouraging to see these young players on both the Twins and the Wild rise up to their leadership positions and come through in big moments for their teams,” Berman said. “And it makes me hopeful that both teams are going to have a lot of success for the future as these players continue to develop.”

Brock Faber and Matt Boldy embrace after Faber’s first NHL goal. (MHM Photo / Rick Olson)

Faber, a Maple Grove native, also attended a couple of Twins games in the past couple of weeks with his teammates, including game two of the Wild Card series against the Toronto Blue Jays. Being at Target Field for a game the Twins eventually won 2-0 to advance in the postseason for the first time since 2002 was a great environment, Faber said.

A little more than a week later, Faber was playing in front a crowd that was still just as loud and engaged for a season opener to get hockey season started.

The Wild defeated the Panthers 2-0, the same score the Twins used to beat the Blue Jays in Game Two last week.

“It was super cool. It felt like a playoff environment,” Faber said. “Fans were loud, the towels were out. It was everything you could ever imagine. Just glad we could come out of here with a win.”  

The Wild already started out this season better than the last, which came with a 0-3 start. As the summer and baseball chapters close for another year, the autumn (and winter is coming soon) and hockey book is just starting. The optimism for a new season is there. Berman encourages fans to attend in-person to soak in the atmosphere. Stensvaag will return to the X again soon, too.

“I just love being there,” Stensvaag said. “Win or lose.”  

To see additional photos from the Wild vs. Panthers game on Oct. 12, 2023, click here.

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Former Gopher’s goal not enough as Wild inch closer to playoff spot

SAINT PAUL – Florida forward Nick Bjugstad’s return home was a good one for him on the scoresheet.

The Blaine, Minn. native and University of Minnesota alum, wearing a white and red sweater draped in his familiar No. 27, scored his 19^th goal of the season midway through the game. It wasn’t the prettiest. Skating down the ice, the 6’6” second year pro got a shot off from below the face-off circle through Wild goaltender Devan Dubnyk and into the net.

“It’s fun to play in front of your family and friends, and to be able to get a goal like that is pretty cool,” said Bjugstad, who played with 150 of his closest family and friends in the Xcel Energy crowd.

Thursday wasn’t a success for him in the standings, however. Instead, the home team got two much-needed points.

Bjugstad’s goal was the only one Minnesota gave up Thursday. The Wild, coming off an overtime road loss to Winnipeg that broke a six game winning streak, held onto a 2-1 lead against the Panthers in the third period to remain hot with its fifth win in six home games.

“Great to have found a way to win a game like that. The game was everything that we had expected it to be,” said Minnesota head coach Mike Yeo about his team, playing for the third time in four nights.

Minnesota got goals from Jason Pominville and Zach Parise while Dubnyk made 26 saves Thursday. Eight of those came in the third period when the Panthers had a four minute double minor and spent the game’s final 79 seconds on the power play.

Pominville got the Wild on the scoreboard 4:12 into the game with his third goal in as many games and 12^th on the season. Mikko Koivu, who had two assists Thursday, found Pominville open on the back door behind Florida goaltender Roberto Luongo. Although the puck was deflected off Pominville’s skate, the referees ruled it was not a distinct kicking motion.

“His game has been really good coming out of the All-Star break,” Yeo said about Pominville, who nearly had a second goal in the third period when he hit the post. “He’s been creating a lot of scoring chances, getting a lot of zone time in the offensive zone and just been real solid about that.”

Parise made it 2-0 Minnesota in the second period. With Dave Bolland in the penalty box for cross-checking Mathew Dumba in the offensive zone, Parise needed a second effort to tap the Thomas Vanek rebound into the net with 14:08 remaining in the middle frame before Bjugstad’s goal cut the Wild’s lead in half three minutes later.

“That was a good shot. Sometimes you get beat there and even though you’re leaning off or you’re cheating as the shot is taken, you know you’re in trouble,” said Dubnyk. “I don’t usually say that I wish I was a few inches taller, but I wish I was a few inches taller there. It was surprising, but great shot. That’s the kind that you tip your cap to and move on.”

Growth or not, the 6’6” Dubnyk stopped late opportunities from Sean Bergenheim, Bjugstad and Jonathan Huberdeau to keep it at a one-goal game .

Just as important was Minnesota’s penalty kill, which went 5 for 5. The Panthers received a four minute power play 3:54 into the third period when Ryan Suter was called for high sticking. Florida was only able to get two shots from the blue line before Aleksander Barkov negated the rest of the advantage with an offensive zone penalty.

With Luongo on the bench in the final minute and Florida having a 6-on-4 advantage, Dubnyk did not allow any second chances.

“That’s big on the penalty kill. You want to eat it up when you can,” he said. “Not just that, but obviously guys get tired working the puck around our end. It just makes everybody feel a little bit better when you don’t have chaos in front of the net so I was fortunate to be in a good spot tonight.”

Minnesota, now with points in each of its last nine games, is two points behind Calgary for the final wild card spot.

Florida, meanwhile, is in a similar position in the Eastern Conference. Memories aside, the Panthers and Nick Bjugstad leave the “State of Hockey” trailing Boston by four points. As nice as the goal was, it wasn’t the souvenir Bjugstad wanted to take back from St. Paul to his new home.

“It would have been better with a win, obviously,” he said. “Either way, it’s fun to play in this building, but it would have been better with a win.”

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