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Members of the University of Minnesota men’s hockey team played shinny on one of the ten pond hockey rinks set up adjacent to the NHL rink. (MHM Photo / Rick Olson)

“It’s such a wonderful atmosphere,” Wild coach Dean Evason said after the team’s fifth-consecutive loss. “Obviously, you want to leave with a good feeling but there are so many great things that have happened here the last couple of days.”

The coldest game in NHL history went on without a hitch, complete with multiple pond hockey games, a lumberjack demonstration, simulated ice fishing and a four-song first-intermission concert by country music star, Thomas Rhett. Nearly 40,000 people braved the frigid temps 

“I was looking over my shoulder for a polar bear, that’s how cold it was out there,” Wild assistant captain Marcus Foligno said.  “To see the fans stacked to the top, bracing the cold, that’s why we have the best fans, I believe. You could hear them and the cheer when we scored, too, was kind of an echo and it was a great feeling to play in this game.”

The Blues, who bussed to Target Field and entered the stadium adorned in beach wear, may have had a psychological edge early on in a game which saw the temp at -5.7 degrees Fahrenheit at puck drop and plummet from there. 

“You do suck a little wind out there,” Foligno said. “It’s tough to breathe that deep cold air but, I mean, you’re so caught up in the thrill of the game that it was a really fun atmosphere.”

St. Louis forward Jordan Kyrou watches his shot elude Wild goaltender Cam Talbot’s glove for his second goal of the game in the second period of Minnesota’s 6-4 Winter Classic loss to the Blues at Target Field. (MHM Photo / Rick Olson)

The game itself was primarily a 60-minute slog of a contest dominated by the Blues, a faster, more rugged squad for much of the night. Jordan Kyrou’s four-point (2-2–4) second period helped turn a 1-1 game into a 6-2 St. Louis lead after two periods and should have brought an end to Wild starting goaltender Cam Talbot’s rough night even if he hadn’t left the game due to a lower-body injury.

Wild coach Dean Evason doesn’t see it that way, however.

“We wouldn’t have taken him out of that game,” Evason said. “He’s a battler, he’s a competitive guy, we don’t take him out of that game because he’s still going to give us a chance to come back.”

Goals by Ryan Hartman and Kevin Fiala and some too-little-too-late inspired play in the final period, after Kaapo Kahkonen was pulled for an extra attacker with more than eight minutes remaining in regulation, made it semi-interesting. The question is, where was that effort for two lackluster periods in a game with so much riding on it in terms of both playoff positioning and national perception?

“It’s embarrassing, I think, the first two periods,” Wild forward Mats Zuccarello said. “You have 40,000 people coming, freezing their asses off and we’re playing like that. … There’s no excuses. It’s cold, it’s cold for both teams, the ice is bouncy for both teams, they just outplayed us for 40 minutes.

“It’s unfortunate it happened on a great night like this when a lot of people leave their house in this cold to support us and we give them a performance like that.”

Deer “roamed” Lake Winter Classic as people fished and made s’mores over a fire pit throughout the game. (MHM Photo / Rick Olson)

Kirill Kaprizov came to play, potting Minnesota’s first goal just 25 seconds after Blues forward David Perron opened the scoring and chipped in two assists. But that goal, redirected off the stick of Blues defenseman Niko Mikkola, and Rem Pitlick’s shot that ramped up a stick before bouncing off the back of a completely unaware Blues goalie Jordan Binnington, was all Minnesota could muster for 40 minutes. 

“They got to their game quicker than we got to ours and we didn’t get to ours, obviously, until the end,” Evason said. “We talked to the group about our sense of urgency has to be way quicker than the last 10 minutes of a hockey game when we’re pulling goalies. 

“They advanced and then they used their skill to score goals once they got in there.” 

That’s troubling, even with Joel Eriksson Ek, Jared Spurgeon and Jonas Brodin all sidelined. The same group somehow mustered 18 of its 33 total shots in the final period to finish with a flurry but it was still mostly a no-show performance. Opinions varied on the impact of the 11-day break between games leading up to the Winter Classic with Evason allowing for the fact his team was rusty.

“Hockey players need to play hockey, not practice hockey. We practiced well, got our touches and all that kind of stuff but, you know, you’ve got that rhythm of a season … and, unfortunately, now we’ve got another four days before we get going again.

“The situation is exactly what it is and we’ve got to find a way to correct our game here real quickly.”

Zuccarello, on the other hand, refused to let himself and his teammates off the hook.

“It doesn’t matter, it’s a big game for us. We lost four in a row, we’ve got to come out with some push and urgency and we didn’t do it. I don’t care when we last played, that is not acceptable for us as a team. I think we all know it.”

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Sophomore forward Nick Bjugstad carries the puck up ice on frozen Baudette Bay in the second-annual Hockey Day Minnesota on Feb. 9, 2008. (Photo Courtesy of Vintage Minnesota Hockey)

“We looked outside, and it just looked cold,” Bjugstad said. “We opened the door and we were looking at each other like, ‘there’s no way we’re playing, are we?’” Bjugstad said. “I think I was looking at it more (as a) city boy. The Roseau, northern boys, they’re a little tougher when it comes to that.”

The game went on, despite the sub-zero temps, and Roseau won 1-0 in overtime. Bjugstad compared playing in the frigid weather to continuing to play when you’re a bit injured.

“You kind of forget about it while you’re on the ice,” Bjugstad said. “The cold time is when you’re sitting on the bench.”

Saturday’s Winter Classic at Target Field didn’t see the thermometer rise above zero, with a puck-drop temperature of -5.7 degrees. So there was plenty of time for Bjugstad and his Minnesota Wild teammates to sit on the bench and chill a while. Not only was there the bitter cold to contend with, but the 6-4 Wild loss to the St. Louis Blues left the home team with a bitter feeling, having dropped their fifth-straight game.

Bjugstad recorded a hit and assisted on Rem Pitlick’s goal late in the second period in Bjugstad’s 10:25 on the ice.

Coming into Saturday, Wild defenseman Matt Dumba was the only Wild player on the ice for both the Winter Classic and the 2016 Stadium Series the Wild played on the University of Minnesota campus at the Gophers football stadium. The makeup of the team personnel may have changed quite a bit the past few seasons, but it’s Bjugstad who has the most experience playing in these type of special outdoor hockey games at various levels, from high school to the NHL.

“I guess I have the experience,” Bjugstad said. “I love playing outside. I still go out on the lake and play shinny with the neighbors.”

Junior forward Nick Bjugstad prepares to face off with a Wisconsin Badger in the 2013 Hockey City Classic at Soldier Field in Chicago on Feb. 17, 2103. (Photo Courtesy of Vintage Minnesota Hockey)

As a junior with the Gophers, Bjugstad played in the Hockey City Classic in February 2013 at Soldier Field. The Gophers lost 3-2 to Wisconsin, but Bjugstad and former Wild player Erik Haula assisted on Minnesota’s second goal.

The Gophers game was the second of a college doubleheader. The warmer weather with sun beaming down onto the ice made the ice conditions a bit trickier for Bjugstad and his Gophers teammates for the second game. It resulted in bouncing pucks that were unpredictable and made it tough to pass more than 10 feet, Bjugstad said.

“That was a different experience in that the ice was tough to play on, just because of the weather,” Bjugstad said. “It was such a warm and sunny day.”

Though Saturday was his first Winter Classic experience, Bjugstad played in an NHL Stadium Series game with the Penguins on Feb. 23, 2019. Pittsburgh lost in overtime 4-3 to host Philadelphia at Lincoln Financial Field. So while Bjugstad has played in outdoor games in high school, college and now two in the NHL, he’s own personal record in those games dropped to 0-4 with Saturday’s loss to the Blues.  

Each game was also different in terms of the elements for outdoor hockey. Baudette Bay offered sub-zero temperatures, Chicago was in the 30s and it wasn’t too chilly playing in Philly, but the precipitation was a mix of rain and sleet, which fogged up players’ visors, Bjugstad said.

Saturday’s Winter Classic was a chance to showcase the state of hockey on a national level. Playing outdoor hockey in cold temperatures is where many players have their roots in the sport, including Bjugstad.

As a kid, he skated and shot pucks on a rink behind his house that his neighbor put together. When he wanted to play in a group setting, he ventured to Happy Acres, a three-rink outdoor facility in Blaine complete with an outdoor Zamboni, so the ice was always good, Bjugstad said. Getting to watch the high schoolers play there, or even join them, was “the coolest part” as a kid, he added.

“I grew up since I was 3 (years old) on the outdoor ice,” Bjugstad said. “It’s free in the fact that you can do whatever you want, there’s no coaches. You can kind of play a game or you can just become… creative and have fun from that aspect.

“I don’t think I’d be where I was without outdoor hockey. It’s a big part of my upbringing and skill development.”

The tradition of outdoor hockey continues for Bjugstad even now. His current neighbors put together a 100-yard rink on the lake they live on. Bjugstad said he still enjoys getting out on the open ice, in the cold air with no boards.

Alex Goligoski (MHM Photo / Rick Olson)

Goligoski returns home
Had the Winter Classic in Minnesota happened a year ago as planned before the pandemic shutdown, Wild defenseman Alex Goligoski wouldn’t have played the big game in his home state since he signed with the Wild prior to the current season. As a kid, he skated on ponds and rinks in his native Grand Rapids, particularly on the rink at Southwest Elementary School two blocks from his house. He went to that rink “pretty much every night in the winter,” Goligoski said.

Growing up in northern Minnesota in Grand Rapids, Goligoski should be a hearty veteran of embracing the cold to play hockey, right?

“Maybe I was. I don’t know, I’ve been living in Dallas and Arizona for the past 10 years. So I think I’m a little soft now,” said Goligoski, who played with Pittsburgh, Dallas and Arizona since his NHL debut in the 2007-08 NHL season before signing with the Wild ahead of this season.

Goligoski played in the 2011 Winter Classic with Pittsburgh at Heinz Field, a game that was warm enough to see rain fall. The Washington Capitals won that game 3-1. Goligoski recorded a shot on goal in about 20 minutes of ice time.

Wild head coach Dean Evason and assistant coach Bob Woods were part of that 2011 Winter Classic as well, on the Washington coaching staff. Evason recalled the festive atmosphere around that game, the anticipation and how exciting it was to have all the families involved as well.

“It’s completely different from any other game,” Evason said after Wild practice earlier in the week. “Having said that, do we conduct ourselves any differently of how we play the game? No. We want to be very consistent of how we play the game as the Minnesota Wild. But let’s embrace the difference. Let’s embrace the excitement.”

Unfortunately for the Wild, they didn’t seem to have a desired consistency on the ice.

“It’s hard to reflect now, obviously, but I think once we look back on it, it’ll be an exciting experience,” Evason said after the game. “Just ended a little bit bitter, that’s all.”

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“The Blues were our first real rival,” former North Stars defenseman Tom Reid said.

Reid will be in the home radio booth on Saturday at Target Field to serve as analyst for the Wild-Blues game in the Minnesota Wild’s first-ever appearance in the Winter Classic. While there isn’t much animosity between the Wild and Blues, this matchup is a nod to the history that dates to Minnesota’s first NHL entrant.

Minnesota’s Joel Eriksson Ek and Jared Spurgeon tangle with Blues forwards Vladimir Tarasenko (91) and Ryan O’Reilly (90) in a Feb. 24, 2019 game at Xcel Energy Center won 2-1 by the Wild in on Ryan Donato’s overtime winner. (MHM Photo / Jeff Wegge)

The Wild already faced the Blackhawks in an outdoor game in February 2016 that was part of the Stadium Series at TCF Bank Stadium on the University of Minnesota campus. The NHL considered a few potential opponents for the Wild before deciding on the 2019 Stanley Cup champion Blues.

“I thought it was a no-brainer,” to pick the Blues for this game, former North Stars defenseman and general manager Lou Nanne said. “You have to remember, (the Wild) did play Chicago in an outdoor game and Chicago has played so many outdoor games. That nullified them. St. Louis hasn’t had as many, and the Blues have been our natural rival for so long. It’s building up now (with the Wild), and older fans still remember that rivalry with the North Stars.”

The Wild and Blues have been in the Central Division together every season but one since 2013, when the NHL realigned divisions. The exception came last season when Minnesota and St. Louis were both in the West Division as part of a one season shift caused by the pandemic. The Wild and Blues have met twice in the playoffs. The Wild won in six games in the first round in 2015 before being swept by the Blackhawks, and St. Louis knocked out the Wild in five games in the opening round in 2017.

While the Blues were well established by the time the Wild entered the NHL in 2000, St. Louis and the North Stars both came into the league in 1967 as part of the six-team expansion that doubled the number of teams in the league to 12. Both were in the West Division, which housed all the new clubs and provided a clear path to the Stanley Cup Finals for the first few years.

Long before Minnesota Wild forward Marcus ‘Moose’ Foligno arrived at Xcel Energy Center, Elmer ‘Moose’ Vasko played for the inaugural Minnesota North Stars. Vasko (No. 4) is shown here introducing St. Louis Blues RW Jimmy Roberts to his elbow in Minnesota’s second ever home game at Met Center, won 3-2 by the North Stars. The late Bill Masterton (19) and Minnesota goaltender Gary Bauman (1) are also shown. (Photo courtesy of Vintage Minnesota Hockey)

The Blues-North Stars rivalry was immediate as the teams met in the playoffs four of their first five seasons. Minnesota, which played to a 2-2 tie against the host Blues in its first-ever game on Oct. 11, 1967, lost to St. Louis in seven games in the 1968 semifinals (second round) after eliminating the Kings in the first round. Four of the games went into overtime, including the deciding one. Ron Schock’s goal 2:50 into the second overtime at St. Louis Arena gave the Blues a 2-1 victory.

After the North Stars missed the playoffs in their second season, they lost to the Blues in six games in the first round in 1970; beat the Blues in six games the following spring before losing to Montreal; and then lost to the Blues in seven in the opening round in 1972. That series featured five one-goal games and another 2-1 overtime loss in Game 7 at Met Center.

It was the last one that Nanne best remembers. Kevin O’Shea’s 35-foot shot beat North Stars goalie Cesar Maniago at 10 minutes, 7 seconds of OT.

“That’s the one that stands out because we were a better team than them that year,” Nanne said. “We had more points (86 to 67) and they just grinded it out. … I’ll never forget it because the arena just went quiet and then it was over.

The Blues’ earlier playoff success enabled them to reach the Stanley Cup Finals in 1968, ’69 and ’70. They were swept by Montreal twice and Boston the final time. Reid was traded to the North Stars from the Blackhawks in February 1969, so he was around for three of the four series. He recalls how differently the rosters of the two teams were constructed.

“When expansion came about, the Blues went after more (veteran) players because they wanted to be in the playoffs right away,” Reid said. “They had guys like Glenn Hall (who was 36) and Al Arbour (who was 35) and all of these older guys, where Minnesota had a much younger team. It was not a situation where it was even on experience, but there was a great rivalry over the years.”

What’s interesting is that while North Stars fans hated the Blackhawks, and vice versa, they also saw plenty of the Blues in the playoffs during the ’80s and into the ’90s. All three were in the Norris Division in a time where the playoff matchups remained within the division until the conference finals. While Minnesota and Chicago met six times from 1981 through 1991, the Blues and North Stars met five times. The North Stars were 2-4 in the series against the Hawks and 3-2 against St. Louis. The North Stars ousted both teams during their surprising run to the 1991 Stanley Cup Finals.

“I think it was,” a really good rivalry, said former North Stars defenseman Brad Maxwell, who played for Minnesota from 1977 until December 1984 and then for 17 games in the 1986-87 season. “St. Louis had so many good players, and had a lot of players who had been in the Western Hockey League. I played against those guys in juniors. The games were intense. We didn’t have really big brawls  or one guy you hated like Secord. But it was really good hockey. Intense and physical.”

While the Minnesota/St. Louis hockey rivalry may not be remembered for the vitriol of others, there have been moments like this exchange between Blues forward, and Minnesota native, David Backes and the Wild’s Charlie Coyle in am April 20, 2015 playoff clash at Xcel Energy Center, won 3-0 by Minnesota. (MHM Photo / Jeff Wegge)

One of the most intense games came in Game 7 of the Norris Division Finals in 1984 at Met Center. This time the North Stars came out on top. Mark Reeds silenced the crowd when he scored with 5:54 left in the third period to give St. Louis the lead, but Willi Plett tied it 15 seconds later with a 75-foot blast that beat goalie Mike Liut and the North Stars won when Steve Payne scored six minutes into overtime.

“That was huge,” said Nanne, who was North Stars GM by that time. “It was a tough series and tough rivalry. We had come off of some pretty good years. … It took a long time to get that win back (against St. Louis). It seemed like the Chicago rivalry was taking over, but when we played St. Louis it was like old times getting back at one another.”

Maxwell said he would have embraced the opportunity to play in an outdoor game with the North Stars. Maxwell and many of his former teammates, along with some alumni from the Wild, faced the Blackhawks alumni back in 2016 in a game that was part of the lead up to the Stadium Series.

As much fun as that Stadium Series game might have been, the Winter Classic is much bigger. The idea for an NHL outdoor game began in 2008 with the New Year’s Day game between Pittsburgh and Buffalo at the Bills’ Ralph Wilson Stadium. Delayed a season by the pandemic, the Wild and Blues will start in the evening (in order to avoid issues with the sun) and will be the first televised as part of the new NHL TV package with TNT.

“I would have liked to have played in one,” Maxwell said. “Outdoor games fit into wherever you are having them. If you’re playing in Florida, there’s going to be palm trees. If you’re playing in Minnesota, there are going to be snow flurries and 30-degree weather. It’s great.”

And the opponent can make it even better.

“St. Louis has been a Cup winner in the last few years and has marquee names that are attractive,” Nanne said. “Kirill Kaprizov (of the Wild) and Vladimir Tarasenko (of the Blues) are two big names. When they announced the Wild was getting this game, I didn’t think there was any other team they would play. It’s a very good matchup and an attractive one for fans. I think the NHL was very wise in picking them.”

Program gallery courtesy of Vintage Minnesota Hockey

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Nine months after that game, Craig Leipold took over as owner of the Wild from Bob Naegele Jr. Leipold spent many years expressing his desire to play host to a Winter Classic. 

About to drop the puck on the 2016 Stadium Series game between the Wild and the Chicago Blackhawks at the then TCF Bank Stadium (MHM Photo / Jeff Wegge)

NHL commissioner Gary Bettman met Leipold halfway when he awarded the Wild a game as part of the Stadium Series that was played on Feb. 21, 2016 at TCF Bank Stadium on the University of Minnesota campus.

The Wild beat the Chicago Blackhawks, 6-1, before an announced crowd of 50,426 on a 35-degree day in an event that drew rave reviews. But it wasn’t what Leipold really wanted. 

That finally will come Saturday as the Wild gets to join the Winter Classic mix by playing the St. Louis Blues at Target Field in downtown Minneapolis. The Twins ballpark will be the seventh baseball stadium in which a Winter Classic will be played. Six football stadiums, including three college football venues, have housed the game.

There were many who expected Leipold and the Wild would get their Winter Classic wish after Zach Parise and Ryan Suter signed matching 13-year, $98 million free agent contracts on July 4, 2012. That would have happened if this game had been played as scheduled on Jan. 1, 2021 but the pandemic caused it to be moved back and Parise and Suter were bought out of their contracts last summer. 

The Wild’s marquee attraction now is dynamic winger Kirill Kaprizov, who already has established himself as the most talented player in franchise history.

“Craig always wanted the Winter Classic,” Bettman told reporters last September in announcing this game would be played in 2022. “Even though we did (the Stadium Series game in 2016), he wanted to save this place for the Winter Classic. I thought we’d placate him for a few years with the Stadium Series game, but I remember him saying to me at that game, ‘This is great, I love it, we’re having a great time, but when am I getting the Winter Classic?’

“He has been relentless, and I mean that in the best possible way, because he is so passionate about this team and about this community, and he’s so competitive. This is what he always envisioned and wanted, and he wasn’t going to give up until he got it.”

Leipold deserves credit for his persistence. He also deserves credit for knowing the Winter Classic is the NHL’s only real marquee event played outdoors. Everything else, at least in the U.S., is a knockoff. The Winter Classic wasn’t the NHL’s first outdoor game — that came in November 2003 when the Oilers played the Canadiens in the Heritage Classic before 57,176 at Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton.

NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman at a Target Field press conference in September discussing Wild owner Craig Leipold’s persistence in landing a Winter Classic for Minnesota.

But the Winter Classic connected with an audience that wasn’t just hockey fans. It connected with sports fans who were looking for something different and also served as a perfect made-for-television event. Playing hockey in a baseball or football stadium doesn’t provide a lot of great views, but sitting on the couch and watching the snow fly, with a bunch of professional athletes trying to stay warm but still having a great time as they relive their childhoods, takes everyone back to a simpler time.

While there is a nostalgic element to watching the Winter Classic, there also was the NHL’s greed factor in realizing it had stumbled on something that could prove to be a money-making hit. 

Thus, the Stadium Series was born in 2014 with a game held in Dodger Stadium, two played at Yankee Stadium and another at Soldier Field. The Detroit Red Wings played host to the Toronto Maple Leafs at Michigan Stadium in the Winter Classic, and the Canucks played the Senators at BC Place in the Heritage Classic to bring the total of games played in stadiums to six that season.

Talk about diluting the product.

The NHL hasn’t played multiple Stadium Series games since 2016 — the Nashville Predators will play host to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Feb. 26 at Nissan Stadium — although they did play a pair of games last February on the south shore of Lake Tahoe with no fans in attendance.

That was just the latest sign the NHL wants to experiment with holding games at different venues in an attempt to attract viewers. ESPN and TNT, which have replaced NBC as the league’s television partner(s), are likely to continue to push for unique settings in which to showcase the sport.

The most important thing the NHL must remember is what made the Winter Classic special and its marquee event of the regular season. That is the fact it was the only NHL game played outdoors in the U.S. for the first five years it was held.

There is a reason Leipold wanted the Winter Classic and didn’t see the Stadium Series game as a true replacement. Only the Winter Classic is considered truly special. It’s up to Bettman and his associates to make sure they keep it that way.

Preparations for the Winter Classic in progress at Target Field on Monday, Dec. 27, 2021. (MHM Photo / Rick Olson)

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Hockey Day Minnesota-Mankato 2022 spokesperson and Co-Chair, Michelle Schooff,  is happy to announce the partnership with Minnesota Hockey Magazine, saying, 

“We look forward to the vibrant, informative program Minnesota Hockey Magazine will create for our community in an environmentally friendly digital format, aiding our effort to conduct the greenest Hockey Day Minnesota in the event’s history.  Minnesota Hockey Magazine has proven, repeatedly, to be an industry leader with its talented staff of writers and photographers working to produce exceptional content, consistently showcasing communities hosting Hockey Day Minnesota with its quality programs.  We believe they will do an outstanding job exhibiting the participating teams and the rich history and success of the Mankato hockey community!”

As in past years, the MHM team will be on the ground in Mankato covering both the action on the rink and the events surrounding it. From that, a follow-up issue will be produced combining the features of the program with stories and photos from the festivities in Minnesota’s “Key City” and much more.

Check out these links to previous HDM programs, the follow-up issues and the State Tourney Guides.  All can be found in the Digital Magazine menu above under Past Issues.

• HDM Minneapolis Program
• HDM Bemidji Program
• HDM Minneapolis Follow-up Issue
• HDM Bemidji Follow-up Issue
• State Tourney Guide 2020
• State Tourney Guide 2019        

In addition, plans are in place to produce an MHM Podcast hosted by Bally Sports North analyst Kevin Gorg and Minnesota Wild Digital Content Coordinator, Dan Meyers. 

A late December launch is scheduled.  More details to follow.

Dan Meyers & Kevin Gorg during a recent Wild Rink Report

This is a great time to consider reserving an ad position for the HDM follow-up issue and the 2022 Boys High School State Tourney Guide.

Please join us this year as an advertiser/sponsor for these popular issues.

• These magazines will be printed in 4 color gloss and also be digital issues.
• You will be seen: We will market our print magazine by exposing our content through social media with Twitter, Facebook and our e-Edition. 

Details can be found in the recent update to the 2022 MHM Media Kit.  Just click =>> HERE.

We look forward to hearing from you.

Scott Tiffany
President & Founder, MHM

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As Minnesota Wild Owner & Governor Craig Leipold acknowledged, however, the climate will be vastly different when they all reconvene in The State of Hockey on Jan. 1 to watch the Wild host the St Louis Blues  in the 13th NHL Winter Classic. 

“What we’re going to remember on Jan. 1 is that we sat out here in the hot sun with sunglasses on and now it’s probably going to be zero degrees,” Leipold said. “It’ll be surreal.”

The game will be the 33rd NHL regular-season outdoor game, and the first of three NHL regular-season outdoor games scheduled for the 2021-22 season, which will all be televised on TNT, Sportsnet and TVA Sports. The game’s 6:00 p.m. scheduled start time guarantees the sun will not be a factor as it has often been in previous outdoor games.

Leipold was joined on Target Field’s playing surface by newly-anointed Wild alternate captains Matt Dumba and Marcus Foligno, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman, Wild President & Alternate Governor Matt Majka, Wild General Manager Bill Guerin, St. Louis Blues Owner & Governor Tom Stillman, St. Louis President & Alternate Governor Chris Zimmerman, Minnesota Twins Owner and Executive Chair Jim Pohlad, Twins President & CEO Dave St. Peter, Discover Chief Marketing Officer Kate Manfred, NHLPA Special Assistant to the Executive Director Mathieu Schneider, and TNT play-by-play announcer Kenny Albert.

Bettman opened his remarks referring to Target Field as “magnificent.”

“When I think ahead three months to New Year’s Day, I have no doubt that we will transform this magnificent stadium into something that will not be recognizable for baseball, but certainly will be for hockey,” Bettman said.

By the end of this season, Bettman said, the league will have played outdoor games in 20 states or provinces and the District of Columbia but added, “No place will have and has a more passionate connection to outdoor hockey than the state of Minnesota.”

The Winter Classic will be Minnesota’s second outdoor game, and second at home. The Wild hosted Chicago in a Feb. 2016 NHL Stadium Series game at what was then known as TCF Bank Stadium (now Huntington Bank Stadium). The Blues will be making their second outdoor game appearance, and second as a Winter Classic participant, having hosted the 2017 contest at Busch Stadium. St. Louis also bested the Blackhawks in its inaugural outdoor game with a 4-1 win over Chicago.

Despite the success of the Stadium Series, Bettman said Leipold always wanted to bring the Winter Classic to Target Field, a pursuit by Leiopold termed relentless by the commissioner, in the best possible way.

“I thought maybe we’d placate him for a few years with the Stadium Series game,” Bettman said. “But I remember, at that game, he said to me, ‘Okay, this is great, I love it, we’re having a great time. When am I getting the Winter Classic?’”

Dumba, who scored the game’s first goal to launch the Wild to a 6-1 win over the Blackhawks that day, said what he drew from his outdoor game experience is the need for a healthy balance of enjoying it all but also staying dialed in and focused.

“Get those two points that night and then you can, you know, have some fun with the family and friends, everyone who’s town, especially on New Year’s,” Dumba said. “I think that’s going to be the kind of thing we’re preaching, is that if we put in the work and stay dialed in then you’re going to reap the rewards from it and just be able to have that whole experience.

“I know when you win that game it’s a lot better than when you lose it. I’ve only won so I want to keep that streak going.”

Tickets to the 2022 Discover NHL Winter Classic go on sale Wednesday, Sept. 29 at 11 a.m. ET/10 a.m. CT via Ticketmaster and are available on a first-come, first-served basis, while supplies last.

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TCF Bank Stadium lands Wild’s Stadium Series game in 2016

SAINT PAUL – The date and location of the first-ever outdoor National Hockey League game in state history is no longer a mystery. NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman announced today the NHL Stadium Series game featuring the Minnesota Wild hosting the Chicago Blackhawks will take place Sun. Feb. 21, 2016 at TCF Bank Stadium on the campus of the University of Minnesota.

“It’s a great day for our fans, the State of Hockey, the community and our organization and franchise,” Minnesota Wild Chief Executive Officer Matt Majka said. “We worked at it for a long time; the league has made it clear what the expected of us to be in a game like this, we worked on that and now here we are. It’s exciting.”

The game will be the first of two Coors Light NHL Stadium Series contests in 2016 with the Colorado Avalanche entertaining the Detroit Red Wings on Feb. 27 at Coors Field where the Colorado Rockies play their home games.

Bettman also revealed the Boston Bruins will host the Montreal Canadiens in the 2016 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic on Jan. 1, 2016 at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, MA, home of the New England Patriots.

Minnesota Wild owner Craig Leipold composed a letter to Wild fans which was posted on the team’s website expressing the team’s pleasure in landing the coveted event.

“We’re thrilled that the NHL has awarded a 2016 Coors Light Stadium Series outdoor game to Minnesota. Congratulations, you deserve this chance to showcase and celebrate our favorite game in the great outdoors on a national stage. The recent Hockey Day Minnesota events all around the state showed once again how the outdoor game is in our blood.”

Leipold went on to say he is confident the team will eventually be awarded the Winter Classic, an event he has been openly campaigning for virtually since he bought the team. Majka said accepting a Stadium Series game would not stand in the way of that goal.

“That was a big point for us, actually,” Majka said. “We were assured by the league if we took this game,  and did a good job with it, that would not at all preclude us from a future Winter Classic and, hopefully, very soon.”

The NHL had a pair of venues to choose from, including Target Field, but TCF Bank’s 10,000 additional seats — and the additional revenue they bring —won the league over. According to Majka, the Wild’s input was minimal as the NHL ultimately has the final say.

“We had a difficult choice here ourselves because we have two great venues in this market that easily can host this game and these events,” Majka said. “The league worked hard on it with both venues … in the end it was a very tough choice for the NHL.”

Minnesota Athletic Director Norwood Teague said the university was aggressive in its pursuit of the event and feels the U of M offers the league the ideal venue.

“Our sightlines are very good for football and for hockey,” Teague said. “We’re a newer stadium so we have a lot of steepness to our venue, we’ve got a lot of club seating, we have some great concessions; we’re just a new stadium so it always helps with architecture and things that were put in place there.”

The University of Minnesota and TCF Bank Stadium is no stranger to hosting large-scale outdoor hockey games having hosted the 2014 Hockey City Classic on Jan. 17, 2014. The evening featured a women’s game between the Gophers and Minnesota State followed by the Minnesota men hosting Ohio State in front of 45, 021 bundled up fans.

Teague said it would be hard to believe that experience did not factor into the league’s decision.

“We’ve been down that road and we’ve had one and I know if I was in their shoes it would have made a difference with me.”

The Hockey City Classic concluded a week-long series of activities on the outdoor rink including several high school games, team practices and open skating. Majka said it’s too early to speculate on what the game’s surrounding fanfare will include but they certainly include high school games — including Hockey Day Minnesota — college games and a possible visit by the Wild’s AHL club, the Iowa Wild.

He also opened the door to the possibility of an alumni game featuring players from the North Stars and Blackhawks.

“I think our fans might want to see Secord and Ciccarelli back on the ice for a day or two.”

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