SHAKOPEE, Minn. — For four days in January 2025, Valleyfair Theme Park will be filled with screams, cheers and laughter, but it won't have anything to do with roller coasters or carnival games.
On a sunny Monday morning in July, officials from the Minnesota Wild, Bally Sports North and the local Minnesota Hockey Day organizing committee gathered on a stage inside the popular amusement park to announce eight matches for the 16 teams that will take part in the 19th HDM, which will be played over four days next winter.
“There's nothing more important to the ideals of hockey than an event like this, and all of that is true,” Wild CEO Matt Mica said. “This is a good thing for us and underscores our dedication to the continued health and growth of hockey in Minnesota.”
Jess Myers / The Link Live
The Wild will host Calgary in the final game of Hockey Day Minnesota on Saturday night, Jan. 25, at the Xcel Energy Centre in St. Paul. Before that, 16 teams will play at an outdoor rink that will be set up in the Valleyfair parking lot.
HDM games announced at Monday's press conference include:
- Wednesday, January 22 | Lakeville North vs. Rosemount (Girls), Eastview vs. Rosemount (Boys)
- Thursday, January 23 | Orono vs. Northfield (women's), Prior Lake vs. Eden Prairie (women's), Brainerd vs. Shakopee (women's).
- Friday, January 24 | Delano vs. Orono (boys), Lakeville South vs. Prior Lake (boys).
- Saturday, January 25 | Eden Prairie vs. Hibbing (boys), Minnesota Gophers vs. Bemidji State Beavers (women), Maple Grove vs. Shakopee (boys).
The college game will be a routine WCHA game with conference points on the line, but that's not a big concern for the Beavers' new coach.
“Minnesota Hockey Day is like a national holiday here and it's a chance to represent women's hockey,” said Amber Fryklund, who took over the BSU program in the spring. “It doesn't matter what the conditions are like. It's a chance to play on an outdoor stage against some great opponents and we're really fortunate to be a part of it.”
Jess Myers / The Link Live
For Beavers promising senior forward Geno Hendrickson, playing in Shakopee is a chance to relieve some of the intense FOMO he confessed to feeling last January when HDM 2024 was held in his hometown of Warroad.
“I'm really excited because I missed it last year,” she said. “It was a shame last year because I couldn't go home and see anything. So [coach] “When they announced we were going to play in Shakopee, my mouth was open with shock. This is our last year and we're going to play at Hockey Day Minnesota.”
This will be the second consecutive year against HDM for the Lakeville North girls team, which beat host Warroad last season in Saturday's featured match. Coach Buck Kochevar said the team will have 11 new players this season, so it will still be a new experience for many of the Panthers' players.
Jim Rosvold / Wild.com
Members of the 13-person local organising committee have been working on the idea for three years and Kevin Gogue, from event organisers Barry Sports North, said they were always looking for volunteers who wanted to get involved.
“Three years ago this was just an idea, but we're so proud of our community and all the great things we have here,” said Eric Radke, a local organizer who has attended the past three events to learn from their efforts. “Never before has a Hockey Day been held on such a large piece of grounds.”
Barrie officials said they plan to have 16-20 hours of live broadcast on Jan. 25. Barrie has won 20 Sports Emmy Awards for its previous HDM broadcasts, and Majka noted the Wild have won 14 games so far in HDM, with three losses and one draw, showing the local NHL team is doing its job.
Some of the high school students who were there for the announcement spent the next few hours riding roller coasters and enjoying the park, preparing for the cheers and screams that were to come in about six months.
Jess Myers covers college hockey, as well as outdoors, general sports and travel for The Rink Live and Forum Communications family of publications. She joined FCC in 2018 after 30 years covering sports as a freelancer for various publications while working full time in politics and media relations. A native of Warroad, Minnesota (America's true hockey town), Myers earned a degree in journalism/communications from the University of Minnesota-Duluth. She currently lives in the Twin Cities. Contact Jess at jrmyers@forumcomm.com or find her on Twitter at @JessRMyers. She speaks English.
