The Gophers will be heading outdoors in January.
A day after speculating whether Hockey Day Minnesota 2020 would be January 18th and what it meant for the University of Minnesota, HDM announced the official date Wednesday (June 26, 2019). As part of it, the Minnesota women's hockey team will face Ohio State outdoors in WCHA action on a rink near Parade Stadium and the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden.
This will be the team's second outdoor game. Minnesota hosted Minnesota State at TCF Bank Stadium as part of an outdoor doubleheader in January 2014. (Coincidentally, the men's team played Ohio State.)
The game will be broadcast live on Fox Sports North as part of a three-day-long Hockey Day Minnesota event, leading into the Wild hosting the Dallas Stars.
Playing outdoors gives Minnesota a premier event game in the state with the Gophers sitting out the Minnesota Cup this year. There's a connection with the Buckeyes, who have gone 2-2-1 at Ridder Arena against Minnesota over the past two seasons. Five Minnesotans will return from OSU's roster. Head coach Nadine Muzerall is a Minnesota alum and longtime assistant to Brad Frost while assistant coach Milica McMillen also played for the Gophers.
For all the positives, the best display was a low-key Jedi move by Muzerall during the announcement.
Ohio State, during its last trip to Ridder Arena, debuted an all-black third jersey (see above) that was designed with help by Muzerall.
It was the only time they ended up being worn. OSU was penalized for illegal uniforms before the start of the Saturday game, which the Buckeyes ended up winning. The black numbers with a thin red outline could barely be seen on skating players. They were the bane of every stats crew's existence.
Neither team was happy with one another after the weekend. Ohio State used the opportunity to celebrate and sell the program with Muzerall telling The Athletic's Alison Lukan, "I'd prefer to be Darth Vader than Luke Skywalker any day."
This being the next time Ohio State was in the Twin Cities for an event with the Gophers, Muzerall brought it back.
She. Came. Back. And. Wore. The. Jersey.
Amazing!
If the outdoor game is as good as Muzerall's power move, the fans at Parade Stadium will be beyond entertained.
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