Coldest Game On Ice

For those who may be reading this article outside of the middle of continent, the frigid temperatures being experienced across Manitoba, North Dakota, Minnesota, and other parts in the midwest are nothing short of dangerous when it comes to frostbite and hypothermia. My hope is that anyone who is outside is bundled up to the point where movement is difficult and I pray that those who are homeless can find warmth tonight because this cold snap is brutal. I'm not one to complain about the cold often, but even I have a hard time understanding why anyone would want to be out in this version of the cold voluntarily. And that brings me to tonight's AHL game between the Iowa Wild and the Milwaukee Admirals which is part of Hockey Day in Minnesota and was played outdoors in the cold.

According to the forecast, the Wild and Admirals met on the outdoor ice in temperatures that were expected to hover around -26C at game time. The game officially began at 5:08pm CT, and there were lots of players who were adjusting helmets and gloves for added layers under that equipment. Understandably, things were uncomfortably cold when the game began and the thermometer showed a -8F temperature. If you're doing your imperial-to-metric conversions, that's a -22C start! Despite the term, there was no chance that either team got a chance to warm up during warm-ups.

I didn't get to watch the game due to my involvement at the 2026 Female World Sport School Challenge, but the angle that FloHockey was given for broadcasting this game makes it seem like they're doing it from the moon. At one point, the broadcast went out as well as the cold began to affect the equipment that FloHockey uses so clearly the cold couldn't have been fun for the players despite the opportunity to participate in this game. However, the game went on and we would see goals scored!

Hunter Haight scored for Iowa in the first period before Ryan Sandelin made it a two-goal lead for the Wild at the 7:52 mark of the second period. The Admirals weren't about to let the deficit nor the cold get them down, though, as Ryder Rolston scored before the end of the middle frame to make it 2-1 after 40 minutes. Milwaukee would eventially tie the game when Oasiz Wiesblatt scored on the power-play at 7:43 of the third period, setting the stage for some potential heroics as we neared a "next goal wins" situation in the third period!

There was no hero in regulation time, but there was in extra time as this game went to overtime because these players just needed to be out in the cold longer, right? Sarcasm aside, overtime lasted all of 95 seconds as Zach L'Heureux ended it with a goal to give the Milwaukee Admirals the 3-2 overtime win over the Iowa Wild at Tradition Veterans Complex in Hastings, Minnesota in front of 4608 fans!


Aaron Sims, the radio play-by-play announcer for the Admirals, spent the entire 61:35 outdoors as he called the game from the upper level of the bleachers, so I want to give him all the credit for spending an hour outside, standing in virtually one spot all night. I don't know if Sims has any future plans of exploring one of the polar regions of the planet, but his refusal to let the cold affect his broadcast is amazing!

Officially, the Wild and Admirals are claiming that the Wild Outdoor Classic this season marks the coldest professional hockey game of all-time with that -22C temperature achieving that dubious distinction, but fans in Edmonton may disagree after they braved what was forecast as -18C temperature that came with a windchill that plunged the temperature to -30C. They didn't mention the 2003 Heritage Classic in the tweet above, but they did mention the 2023 Winter Classic where St. Louis and Minnesota met in Minneapolis on a day where the temperature dropped to -20.9C. Or -21C for simplicity.

Regardless of whether Edmonton, Minneapolis, or Hastings was coldest, any outdoor game that's played below -10C is simply just "cold". Those three cities can battle over which outdoor game was coldest, but do any of them really want that frigid distinction?

Congratulations to both the Iowa Wild and the Milwaukee Admirals on playing an entertaining game in less-than-ideal conditions, but both teams brought the heat as they scored goals, made plays, got saves, and played into overtime before a winner was found. I do want to give a big shout-out to the officials and the coaching staffs from both teams who braved the cold as well, and to the fans and broadcasters who did their best in bundling up for the uncomfortably cold night.

To the winners go the spoils, so here is your winning team!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!