Hermantown supporters sit though temperatures in the lower single digits Saturday. Photo by Drew Herron, SportsEngine
Thousands braved single-digit temperatures Saturday to venture to Polar Lakes Park in White Bear Lake Township for the 17th annual Hockey Day Minnesota.
White Bear Lake has one of the state’s strongest and oldest hockey traditions, where the sport has been played in town since 1912, and the high school sponsored team dating back to 1927.
Festivities for the four-day event opened Thursday night, and wrapped up Sunday evening with the last of 11 games to be played on the temporary outdoor rink. The main events for boys high school hockey took place Saturday with two games. Hermantown faced Mahtomedi in showdown of teams ranked in the top five of the Class 1A coaches poll, followed by the host Bears facing Hill-Murray — their biggest rival.
Players from White Bear Lake Youth Hockey Association shovel the rink during a break in the early afternoon game between Mahtomedi and Hermantown Saturday at Polar Park in White Bear Lake Township. Photo by Drew Herron, SportsEngine
Hermantown coach Pat Andrews was coaching Bantams when the town hosted the event in 2010 and supervised his team on the shovel crew during that game. More than a decade later, he reveled in taking part of the event and marveled at its growth.
Previous locations include Baudette Bay (2007, 2008), Phalen Park (2009), Hermantown (2010), Moorhead (2011), Minnetonka (2012), Grand Rapids (2013), Elk River (2014), Saint Paul (2015), Duluth (2016), Stillwater (2017), St. Cloud (2018), Bemidji (2019), Minneapolis (2020), Guidant John Rose MN Oval (2021) and Mankato (2022).
Mahtomedi celebrates a first-period goal during Saturday's game against Hermantown. Photo by Drew Herron, SportsEngine