The Northfield High School girls hockey team will take part in the 2025 Hockey Day Minnesota event, which will be held at the Valleyfair theme park in Shakopee Jan. 22-24.
An outdoor rink will be set up on the grounds of Valleyfair and it will host 10 games over the four days. Northfield is scheduled to play Orono in a non-conference girls hockey showdown at 3:30 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 23.
This will be the first of three high school games played that day at Valleyfair as the Prior Lake girls team will play Eden Prairie in the second game and the Lakeville South boys team will play Prior Lake in the third game on Jan. 23.
The first games at Valleyfair will take place on Wednesday, Jan. 22 with the Lakeville North girls teams playing Rosemount and the Eastview boys team playing Rosemount. On Friday, Jan. 24, the Delano boys team will battle Orono followed by another boys hockey game between Lakeville South and Prior Lake.
The final day of games is set for Satursday, Jan. 25 and it will include boys hockey games between Eden Prairie and Hibbings and a match-up between Maple Grove and Shakopee. The day will also include a women’s college hockey game between Minnesota and Bemidji State. Hockey Day Minnesota will then be capped by the NHL hockey game at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul between the Minnesota Wild and the Calgary Flames during the evening of Jan. 25.
Of note, the outdoor rink at Valleyfair will be set up in one of the parking lots of the amusement park that is located in Shakopee. This marks the first time a high school team from Northfield will participate in Hockey Day Minnesota. In 2024, the St. Olaf College men’s team played Concordia-Moorhead on Hockey Day Minnesota outdoors in Warroad with the result being a 4-2 loss to the Cobbers on Jan. 27, 2024.
Hockey Day Minnesota is an event put on each year to celebrate the sport of hockey in the state. The event originated in 2007 by the Minnesota Wild along with partners like Bally Sports, Minnesota Hockey, and the local communities that serve as the host each year.
“From my understanding, when I started talking to them about this (Hockey Day Minnesota) in the spring, much of why we were invited comes down to what our program has done in recent years with our success on the ice,” said Northfield High School Activiites Director John Mahal. “I also believe this is the first Hockey Day that either team will participate in or even to play outdoors, so it is a fun opportunity.”
In 2023-24, Northfield girls hockey finished its season with a 27-3 overall record and won the Big 9 conference title. The Raiders went on to win the Section 1AA championship with a 4-3 victory over Lakeville South and finished their season with a trip to the MSHSL Class AA tournament in St. Paul.
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