Taking School Outside

You likely won't recognize the rink from this angle, but that's because this rink usually isn't sitting where you currently see it. That's the overhead view of Blakeslee Stadium on the Minnesota State University-Mankato campus where Hockey Day in Minnesota is being celebrated this year! There have been a pile of games played on this rink as the week built up this weekend where the Mavericks men's team will battle the University of St. Thomas Tommies tonight before the women take centerstage tomorrow as the Mavericks women's team will battle the Tommies women's team! Who's ready to head outdoors?

On what turned out to be a snowy night in Mankato, the USCHO second-ranked Mavericks men's hockey team downed the Tommies by a 7-1 score as the Mavericks continue to roll this season. Paced by David Silye's hat trick, the Arnprior, Ontario native scored the first two goals of the game and the final goal of the game to push his season total to five, but he'll always remember this game.

"I wouldn’t change a thing,” Minnesota State center David Silye told Dean Spiros of TwinCities Pioneer Press. "That's the way it should be playing outside. It was so special. Coming up the hill for warmups and seeing the crowd, the snowfall. It was just picture perfect. One thing coach Hastings told us was to make sure to take it all in."

Freshman Keenan Rancier, a Victoria, BC native, played part of the game between the pipes for the Mavericks, but it was Dryden McKay who started and earned the win for Minnesota State-Mankato. That win was important as it was the 98th of his NCAA career, putting him one back of Scott Clemmensen who is third all-time with 99 wins after starring with Boston College. Beyond Clemmensen sits Steve Shields, who won 111 games for Michigan, and Marty Turco, who won 124 games for Michigan.

Minnesota State-Mankato has eight games remaining before the CCHA playoffs begin, so it would appear that Shields' record may be out of reach. Clemmensen's record, though, could be broken next weekend at home as the Mavericks host the Arizona State Sun Devils in a pair of games on Friday and Saturday. As it stands, McKay is 23-4-0 on the season after the win tonight, and those numbers alone suggest how good this Mavericks team truly is.

There was no official announcement made about the game's attendance, but it seemed like the stands were packed for this game, suggesting that there may have been more than 10,000 people watching the first Hockey Day in Minnesota played on a college campus and in a football stadium. On top of that fact, this game was also the first Division-I men's game played outdoors and televised on Hockey Day in Minnesota. There were many stoppages to clear snow from the rink to allow the men to play, but it didn't seem to deter those in attendance from having a good time!

For those looking for comparisons, it felt a little like the very first Winter Classic as Pittsburgh and Buffalo battled the snow as much as each other in that game, but the overall aesthetics of the game actually felt enhanced by the snow. Seeing these players going all out in the falling snow as they battled for a win looked like a heckuva good time tonight despite the snow that made gameplay a little difficult at times.

"To be part of this was pretty special for so many people," Mavericks coach Mike Hastings told reporters. "It was a good night on the rink and an incredible event."

Seeing these players and coaches find a little joy in the game by playing outdoors makes me smile. This is the part of hockey that gets eaten up by the business of hockey where the only thing that matters is winning and making money, so hearing a comment like that from Coach Hastings makes me realize that there is still good built into the game. We just need to find it and cultivate it a little more often.

Well done to everyone in Minnesota who came together to celebrate this weekend. If you're in or near the area, head down for the women's game on Sunday and enjoy hockey the way it was played when we were kids - outdoors and in the cold where you can see your breath and the steam rising off your skin after a good shift on the ice!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!