This is the 18th Hockey Day Minnesota, and it makes you wonder what it took those who make such decisions so long before going to the northernmost reaches of the state to select Warroad as the host. The town population is about 1,800, which is only a percentage of those inside Warroad Gardens, the perfect indoor arena that fills up for every home game of the Warroad Warriors.

The town also boasts some of the greatest iconic players of Minnesota’s long hockey history, and is half of the state’s most intense hockey rivalry. The other half is Roseau, which is about 20 miles to the west of Warroad. Travel five miles east to find Baudette, another small town that would rather boast about its walleye fishing than its hockey. 

Warroad, located on the southwesternmost tip of Lake Of The Woods, a huge, sprawling lake that stretches into Canada and houses various resorts and cabins and countless of the delectable-eating walleyes, would never shrug off its fishing heritage, but it also would never let it intrude on its love of hockey.

If you go back in the annals of state hockey, you find legendary names such as Max Oshie, the Marvin family, brothers Gordon, Roger and Billy Christian, Henry Boucha, Alan Hangsleben, Gopher All-America Larry Olimb, and on up to the modern era, when T.J. Oshie of the Washington Capitals and Brock Nelson of the New York Islanders carry the torch for Warroad’s current presence in the NHL.

The Marvin family owns Marvin Windows, the largest employer in the area and the builder of classic windows and doors for home building. Cal Marvin, meanwhile, managed the Warroad Lakers, a senior men’s team that lured outstanding ex-college stars to Warroad to work, make a living and play for an amateur team that was the only American senior team to win Canadian amateur senior championships.

The Christian Brothers ran the Christian Brothers Hockey Stick factory, which once filled the stockrooms of all the top area Division I colleges. They played at North Dakota, and the three brothers all played together on the National and Olympic teams including the 1960 gold-medal U.S. Olympic team that beat the Russians and won Gold at Squaw Valley, Calif.

So, the subtle highlight of Hockey Day Minnesota, with games televised by Bally Sports North, is that there are great high school games. That includes the 4:30 p.m. Saturday-afternoon battle between the Warroad and Roseau boys’ teams. But at 8 p.m. Friday, there will be a Warroad-Roseau alumni game — which could be a classic, depending on who can round up more alumni.

Otherwise, an almost constant flow of strong high school games, a men’s college game with Concordia College-Moorhead facing St. Olaf, a high-ranking Wayzata-Moorhead boys’ high school game, plus high school girls’ varsity and JV games will run throughout the days on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. The climax is supposed to be the Saturday night game with Anaheim facing the Wild at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul. 

UMD women’s team in midst of tough stretch
All of that doesn’t mean the college hockey teams entering both the men’s and women’s stretch drives are relaxing for the weekend. Hardly.

“Every weekend feels like playoff hockey,” said Maura Crowell, coach of the Minnesota-Duluth women’s hockey team. “I’m lucky to have 20 players who can play at such a high level.”

The Bulldogs are in the midst of a tough couple of weekends. They traveled to Ohio State to face the No. 1 Buckeyes and lost 3-0 and 1-0. That means for the month of January, the Bulldogs lost 2-1 and tied 2-2 at No. 8 Quinnipiac, then swept Bemidji State with a pair of shutouts before suffering the two shutout losses at No. 1 Ohio State. Instead of a rest, the Bulldogs are back home at AMSOIL Arena to take on No. 2 Wisconsin.

“I’m happy with how we’re playing, especially last Saturday night, when we lost 1-0,” Crowell said. “I thought Saturday night was one of the best games of the year. Ohio State is No. 1 — by far, in my opinion right now — and we’re No. 7. I’ll take that for now.”

Crowell’s optimism has infested her players, who seem to have shrugged off the obvious fact that you don’t win many when you get shut out for a whole weekend.

“We played one of our best games Saturday at Ohio State,” said Bulldogs senior forward Clara Van Wieren. “It was good to see us implementing all the things our coaches have been telling us.

“Yes, I’d love to get into a high-scoring game, but the WCHA is so tough, and there are such good goalies that it’s hard to score.”

UMD’s women are 10-8 in the WCHA, fifth behind Ohio State (17-1), Wisconsin (14-4), Minnesota (12-5-1) and St. Cloud State (10-7-1), and being pursued by the rest of the league, Minnesota State-Mankato (4-14), Bemidji State (2-16) and St. Thomas (2-16). The Bulldogs are buoyed by the fact that after losing 3-0 at Wisconsin on Dec. 1, they upset the Badgers 3-2 the next night, but that second game has also probably caused Wisconsin coach Mark Johnson to circle this weekend’s dates.

College men’s hockey teams with their own Hockey Days this weekend
UMD’s men also return home this weekend after a weird series at Western Michigan. The Bulldogs broke open a tight 2-1 game Friday by scoring five third-period goals for a 6-3 win in a rare outburst, with all four lines contributing for a team that has had trouble getting any goals. The Bulldogs lost 5-2 the following night.

In the NCHC men’s race, St. Cloud State (7-2-3) is tied with North Dakota (7-4-1) for first place, with Denver (8-3-1) third. St. Cloud State is home against seventh-place Omaha this weekend, while a major showdown series has Denver at North Dakota. Minnesota-Duluth, sixth with a 4-7-1 record, is home against eighth-place Miami.

“They’re a big, heavy team,” UMD coach Scott Sandelin said of Miami. “When we played in their building, we were ready one night, and not ready enough the other. They’re a good hockey team, and we’ve got to approach them that way. They’re behind us, and we want to keep them there.”

Minnesota teams stand 1-2-3 atop the CCHA, with upstart St. Thomas first at 10-6, followed by Bemidji State (8-7-1), and Mankato (8-5-1). With a light slate this weekend, Mankato is at home against Northern Michigan with a chance to rise.

Minnesota has struggled to move into contention in the Big Ten, and this weekend may be the Gophers’ turning point. Standing third with a 7-4-3 record, the Gophers play at second-place Michigan State (10-2-2) for two games, while first-place Wisconsin (10-2) plays at fifth-place Michigan (4-6-1).

Not all of Minnesota’s teams are celebrating Hockey Day Minnesota, but they might as well be.

The post Warroad Is Focus For HDM appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.

Ryan Carter (No. 22) and fellow former Maverick David Backes await the ceremonial puck drop from current Minnesota State coach Mike Hastings prior to the Hockey Day Minnesota 2022 MSU alumni game. (David Faulkner / SPX Sports)

For the last three years, the longtime NHLer has been knee-deep in Hockey Day Minnesota festivities. With the event in Mankato in 2022, the former Minnesota State Maverick was one of the stars of the weekend, serving as a pseudo-ambassador, playing in the alumni game, broadcasting for Bally Sports North and generally running around like a chicken with his head cut off.

Things didn’t get much easier for him in 2023, with Hockey Day shifting north to his hometown, where the former White Bear Lake Bear is once again one of the starring attractions. 

Because the COVID-19 pandemic delayed Mankato’s day in the spotlight by 12 months, Carter has been essentially living and breathing Hockey Day for the last three years. 

Good thing he doesn’t have any connections in Warroad for 2024 … right?

“Time to take a Hockey Day breath,” Carter said with a chuckle.

The two Hockey Day experiences have been very different but equally satisfying for the affable Carter, who hasn’t turned down a single photo or interview request. 

Former Bears Ryan Carter (L) and Jon Anderson help Bally Sports North’s Marney Gellner reveal White Bear Lake as the 2023 Hockey Day Minnesota site on the ice in Mankato at the conclusion of HDM 2022.

“Last year, that was college alumni, people who supported the program, and lots of people close to the guys you played with,” Carter said. “So I knew a fair amount of people involved with running it [in Mankato].

“Here with this one though … top to bottom, I think I might know every face that comes through this place. It’s good this has finally come to White Bear. We’ve taken a lot of pride in this and I think we can all see why now with how it has turned out.”

Amazingly, Hockey Day Minnesota, celebrating its 17th annual event in 2023, had never ventured to White Bear Lake, which boasts one of the finest traditions in the State of Hockey. 

That’s certainly been the view of many in the community, including former alumni of the White Bear Lake Area High School program, which had so many former players take part in the alumni game, it had to create four teams just to get everybody involved.

“If you were to ask most people, they’d probably say, ‘White Bear hasn’t had it yet,'” Carter said. “It has created a lot of pride in our community, and as much as the other sports have had success, I might be biased, but this is a hockey town. To have the big marquee hockey event here in town is great.”

The last couple of years have provided Carter with a much different look at Hockey Day, who played on the unofficial hockey holiday as a member of the Wild at the tail end of his pro career.

But those Hockey Day experiences were very different, even as a native Minnesotan who was well aware of what this day means to so many.

“You’re kind of in your own world, concentrating on your own game, right?” Carter said. “Then you come out onside and you realize just how big of a deal this is, how big of a production it is and just how many people work so hard to make sure this event goes smoothly. It’s a big deal for these communities.”

Ryan Carter and fellow Bally Sports North personality Audra Martin talk Hockey Day Minnesota from the HDM 2023 Town Square at Polar Lakes Park in White Bear Township.

While Carter’s seemingly non-stop duties the last couple of Hockey Days have resulted in some long days and nights, he said he’ll do everything he can to try and soak in every last minute he can with his friends and family in White Bear Lake.

“I’d like to get things to slow down,” Carter said, “and just get a chance to talk to people and live a little bit more in the moment.

“Last year was such a scramble, trying to be everywhere, every minute. This year, I’ve tried to build in some time to just take it all in, chill and just hang out. It’s been great to catch up with so many people.”

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Featured Image Caption: Unlike his freshman season, the spotlight will be on Stephon Williams right from the start. (Photo: Minnesota State University Athletics)

The 2012-2013 hockey season was the year of change for Minnesota State hockey. After replacing former Maverick’s head coach, Troy Jutting with an ambitious new lead, Mike Hastings, Minnesota State took the WCHA by surprise. Going from an unranked team at the start of the season to the No. 11 team in the nation by the season finale was proof enough that Minnesota State was once again, a team to be reckoned with. The Mavericks finished the season with an overall record of 24-14-3 and a conference record of 16-11-6.While such improvement over a short period of time warrants a lot of excitement for the 2013-2014 season, the Mavericks will have to work hard for another successful season after losing key players like Eriah Hayes (SJS), Tyler Elbrecht, Evan Mosey, and most recently, due to injury, Zach Lehrke. Lehrke made an appearance in every game last season and tallied up an impressive 25 points, the fourth highest on the team.This season the Mavericks are going to be looking at fresh talent to pick up where the team left off. Probably the most exciting recruit in the WCHA , Zach Stepan, a fourth-round pick for Nashville, is going to play a key role in keeping Minnesota State’s fire lit. Stepan was committed to Ohio State but after a coaching change he made the switch to Mankato. And so far, so good for the Mavericks and freshman Stepan after he was voted the preseason rookie of the year in both WCHA polls released on September 25^th. Stepan also tallied up his first collegiate goal in the Mavericks most recent win at their exhibition game against Lethbridge, which Minnesota State won 7-1.

Based on conversations with a few of the players on Media Day, it seems the upper classmen are just as excited about the new recruits as the fans should be. Some might have been more excited than others, however. “The freshmen are looking really good, too good almost,” junior Chase Grant said with a laugh. “I feel like I need to worry about my spot on the team.”

Grant is just one of the returning talents that Minnesota State fans can look forward to cheering on once again. One of the most notable returnees is sophomore Stephon Williams. Joining the team last year as a true freshman, Williams won the WCHA Rookie of the Year and WCHA Goaltender of Year honors beating out big names like Adam Wilcox from the University of Minnesota and Ryan Faragher from St. Cloud state. He finished out the season with a conference save percentage of .923 as well as leading the league in shutouts with three

And it wouldn’t be a conversation about the Mavericks without mentioning junior forward, Matt Leitner. Leitner has led the squad in points his past two seasons as well as leading the nation in power play points last season with 28. Only one other sophomore in the country scored more points than Leitner did last year and that was Johnny Gaudreau of Boston College with 51. Leitner tallied up 47 over the course of the season, making him tied for eighth in the nation. The Mavericks, once again, are expecting big things from the California native.

At the commencement of this season, Minnesota State is ranked No. 11 in the nation in the USCHO poll and first in both preseason WCHA polls. Coming up on Saturday Minnesota State will kick off the season against No. 14 Providence, Rhode Island. Last year when the two teams met at the Verizon Wireless Center, Minnesota State bested the Friars in an OT win and a shut out win. It’s going to be an energized weekend for the Mankato team and its fans as we see which Mavericks are going to stand up and stand out in 2013-2014.

Minnesota State Mavericks

2012-13 Final Ranking: No. 11 (USCHO) / No. 12 (USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine)

2012-13 overall record: 24-14-3

2012-13 WCHA record: 16-11-6

2012-13 Conference Finish: T- Fourth (Denver and Wisconsin)

2012-13 Postseason Finish: Lost 4-0 to Miami in NCAA Midwest Regional

2013-14 predicted finish: First (WCHA Poll)

Tough Skates to Fill: Eriah Hayes F, Evan Mosey D, Tyler Elbrecht D, Eli Zuck F, F Zach Lehrke

Impact Returnees: Johnny McInnis (C) F, Matt Leitner F, Stephon Williams G, J.P Lafontaine F, Teddy Blueger F, Zach Palmquist D, Dillon Margonari F, Chase Grant F

Key Additions: F Zach Stepan, F Mike Huntebrinker, D Carter Foguth, D Casey Nelson

Why the Maverickswill exceed expectations: With plenty of returning talent and exciting new recruits, such as Zach Stepan, SU has good reason to be a hopeful No. 1 in the conference. Led by an ambitious Mike Hastings, the Mavericks and returning WCHA Goalie of the year and Rookie of the Year, Stephon Williams, Minnesota State can look forward to dominating the new WCHA conference.

Why the Mavericks will fall short of expectations: The Mavericks are going to be facing teams out of their comfort zone. Without the old WCHA teams, MSU will need to be careful about underestimating their competition. Power plays will also be a huge area of focus for the Mavericks after losing Eriah Hayes, who led the nation in power play goals last season as well as Tyler Elbrecht who was key to Minnesota States defense.

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