Wild Game Day number 45 Wild Record (29-10-5 63 pts) Home Record (15-5-0)
Opponent: Anaheim Ducks (26-13-9 61 pts) Road Record (10-8-6)
Site: Xcel Energy Center, St. Paul, Minnesota
Time: 8:00PM CT
TV: Fox Sports North (FSN)
Last season results: 10/18 Wild 1 @ Ducks 4 10/24 Ducks 0 @ Wild 3 1/20 Wild 1 @ Ducks 3
Last result: 1/8 Wild 2 @ Ducks 1
It is "Hockey Day Minnesota" a day we celebrate the great game of hockey at every level. The celebration will of course be focused on Stillwater, and Lowell Park, where three high school games will be played in a beautiful outdoor hockey setting. Then the Gophers will play the hated rival Badgers in Madison. While St. Cloud State and Minnesota State, Mankato battle in a WCHA showdown. The day wraps up with the big guys hosting the Ducks at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul.
What a day! It all kicks off at 10AM when Thief River Falls Prowlers and Mahtomedi Zephyrs face off in a boys varsity match on the outdoor rink by the St. Croix. Next up will be Eden Prarie Eagles featuring Casey Mittelstadt, the top rated American prospect and projected 2017 1st round NHL draft pick, taking on the host Stillwater Ponies. The girls game wraps up the day in Stillwater and features the Minnetonka Skippers taking on the Stillwater Ponies.
The focus as the day wraps up will be on the 1st place Wild as they play host to the Pacific Division leading Anaheim Ducks at 8PM. The Wild and Ducks squared off two weeks back in Anaheim where the Wild came away with a 2-1 win in Bruce Boudreau's return to Anaheim.
The Ducks were missing their captain and leader Ryan Getzlaf the first meeting, but he is back tonight. Ryan Kessler who got most of the chatter from the NBC announcers will once again be front and center as he will try to wreak havoc as he usually does. Look for the Wild to be in his face all night though as this should be an interesting subplot.
It will be good to see how the Wild respond after two down performances in the first two games of the four game homestand. Yes, they did win Thursday, but it was not the kind of game they want to emulate going forward.
Look for a bounce back performance from Devan Dubnyk tonight as well. Tonight should be a good measuring stick game for the Wild as they host an Anaheim Ducks team that has gone 5-0-1 since these two met nearly two weeks ago. Over that stretch the Ducks have given up just five goals in the six games.
It is great to see the NHL got back on board with the Wild playing at home on Hockey Day Minnesota. That should be a staple of tradition as the NHL looks to take the game to new levels. Hockey is the fabric of culture in Minnesota and it needs to be recognized more by the powers that be. Enjoy the day State of Hockey faithful.
Hockey Day Minnesota a day to celebrate State of Hockey!
Let's Play Hockey!
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