The NHL can really put on a show. First they started the season in London and now they've hit another home run in Buffalo. Great idea to the guys at the top.

Minnesota actually did something similar last year by having "Hockey Day Minnesota" where they had a boy's high school game played outside on Baudette Bay in northern Minnesota, followed by a University of Minnesota Golden Gopher game in Minneapolis at Mariucci Arena, followed by a home Wild game against Dallas that went to a shoot out. All 3 games/11 hours were televised by FSN for Minnesota hockey fans. Given the awesome response, this year's Hockey Day Minnesota will feature 5 games and 16 hours of "wall to wall" coverage on February 9, 2008. The day starts at 9 a.m. on Baudette Bay where former high school power houses Eveleth and Lake of the Woods take to the pond. New powerhouses St. Thomas Academy and Hill-Murray will face off at noon at the Xcel Energy Center, while Blaine and reigning State Champion Roseau will take to the Bay for the 2nd game up north. The Wild take on the Islanders at 5:00 pm in St. Paul, followed by the Gophers taking on Denver in Colorado at 8 pm. The 2nd game from up north will then be shown in it's entirety at 11 pm after the Gopher game.

BBHCMN.com reads as follows:

"The Baudette Bay Hockey Classic is more than a hockey game. It’s a special event, a festive celebration and a timeless reenactment of a game that has grown in the hearts and souls of players and fans for decades. The Classic brings the history of hockey to the present in its original form. The Baudette Bay Hockey Classic is played in commemoration of old time, “pond hockey.” Its “arena” is the Bay; and it returns to Baudette on Saturday, February 9, 2008.

There will be two games on the Bay in 2008. Lake of the Woods will host Eveleth/Gilbert in a match-up of two single-A schools steeped in rich, hockey history. A second game will be played featuring a classic north verses south, double-A match-up between Roseau and Blaine. Following these two games, Willie Walleye Park will come alive with a “Winter Carnival” atmosphere.

The games and events of the Baudette Bay Hockey Classic will once again be a major feature of “Hockey Day Minnesota”.

The concept to host an outdoor hockey game on the Baudette Bay was born through visionaries simply known as modern day, high school hockey coaches. The purpose was simple in their minds...to stage a game that would illustrate the origin of hockey to a generation of young, indoor arena players. The vision grew to include the emotional impact that this event would surely have on generations of past hockey players. The mission for February 9, 2008 is this: The Baudette Bay Hockey Classic will feature four strong, high school hockey teams in a traditional, outdoor pond hockey setting, and will link generations of players, fans, coaches and hockey enthusiasts at all levels."

So to all of you who enjoyed the NHL's outdoor game, I strongly encourage you to pick up the FSN North signal on February 9th to see how we in the State of Hockey celebrate "the coolest game on earth".

As for the Wild last night, that was almost another classic come from behind win that the Wild has been showing some proficency at as of late. San Jose had different plans and my theory about the Wild when they play playoff bound teams seems to be panning out so far.

The Wild played a great game against a great team with a great goaltender. The entire game, I just felt like the Wild would come back from the 2-0 deficit, which they did. I just never expected them to give it away 10 seconds later. A coach of mine once said that a team is most vulnerable in the first two minutes after scoring a goal. That proved true last night.

For those Wild fans who are going to put the spotlight on Skoula in an attempt to explain last night's loss, explain to me why Burns shouldn't be lumped into the same type of debate. He has scored two goals on his own goalie this year, Skoula at least hasn't done that. Don't get me wrong, I'm o.k. with bashing Martin when he deserves it, but what I can't stand is fans who excuse Burns' similar gaffs while wanting to crucify Skoula.

Now on to 2008: 23 games against Western Conference playoff bound teams. 13 games against Western Conference non-playoff bound teams. And 7 games against Eastern Conference opponents, 3 of which would be in the playoffs if they started today and 4 of which who probably won't be there at the end. Is Tampa Bay really 15th in the Eastern Conference? What happened there? Oh well, here's to the Wild proving my theory wrong because, if they don't, the Wild may NOT be playoff bound.

Happy New Year Hockey Fans! Go Wild!!!

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