Hockey Day Minnesota 2025 features 16 teams competing at Valleyfair theme park – The Rink Live

SHAKOPEE, Minn. — There will be four days of screaming, cheering and laughter at Valleyfair amusement park in January 2025, but it won't involve roller coasters and carnival games.

On a sunny Monday morning in July, officials from the Minnesota Wild, Bally Sports North and the local organizing committee for Hockey Day Minnesota gathered on a stage at the popular amusement park to announce the eight games that 16 teams will compete in during the 19th annual HDM, which will run for four days next winter.

There is nothing more important to us than events like this if we are to live up to the State of Hockey ideal, which is all true, said Wild CEO Matt Majka. It is good for us and underscores the point that we are committed to the continued health and growth of hockey in Minnesota.

The Wild host Calgary at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul for the final game of Hockey Day Minnesota on the evening of Saturday, Jan. 25. Before that, 16 teams will play on an outdoor rink that will be set up in the Valleyfair parking lot.

The HDM matches announced at Monday's press conference are:

• Wednesday January 22nd | Lakeville North vs. Rosemount (girls), Eastview vs. Rosemount (boys)
• Thursday January 23 | Orono vs. Northfield (girls), Prior Lake vs. Eden Prairie (girls), Brainerd vs. Shakopee (girls).
• 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 regular-season WCHA game with conference points on the line, but that's of lesser importance to the Beavers' new coach.

It’s a chance to represent women’s hockey on Hockey Day Minnesota, which is kind of a national holiday here, said Amber Fryklund, who took over the BSU program in the spring. “No matter what the circumstances are, it’s just a chance to play against a great opponent on that stage outside. We’re really, really happy that we got to be a part of it.”

For Geno Hendrickson, a rising senior for the Beavers, playing in Shakopee is a chance to cure some of the intense FOMO she felt last January when her hometown, Warroad, hosted HDM 2024.

I'm so excited, especially after missing out last year, she said. I didn't get to go home and see any of it last year, which was a shame, so when [coach] announced that we would be playing in Shakopee, my jaw nearly dropped. It's my senior year and I get to play in Hockey Day Minnesota.

It will be the second straight season with an HDM game for the Lakeville North girls, who defeated host Warroad in one of last season’s key Saturday games. Coach Buck Kochevar said he expects to have 11 new players on his roster this season, so it will still be a new experience for many of the Panthers.

Members of the 13-person local organising committee have been working on the concept for three years and event organiser Kevin Gorg of Bally Sports North said they are always looking for volunteers to get involved.

Three years ago this was just an idea, and we are so proud of our community and all the great things we have here, said local organizer Erik Radtke, who has traveled to three previous events to learn from their efforts. There has never been a hockey day on such a large piece of land.

Bally officials said they expect to have 4-8 hours of live programming on January 25. Bally has won 20 Emmy Awards for previous HDM broadcasts, and Majka pointed out that the Wild previously had a 14-3-1 record on HDM, showing that the local NHL team is doing its part.

Several high school students who attended the announcement spent the next few hours riding roller coasters and enjoying the park, preparing for the cheers and screams that would come in about six months.

Jess Myers covers college hockey, as well as outdoor sports, general sports, and travel for The Rink Live and the Forum Communications family of publications. He came to FCC in 2018 after three decades of freelance sports writing for various publications while working full-time in politics and media relations. Originally from Warroad, Minn. (the real Hockeytown USA), Myers holds a degree in journalism/communications from the University of Minnesota Duluth. He lives in the Twin Cities. Contact Jess via email at [email protected] or find him on Twitter at @JessRMyers. English spoken.