February
- 1. Issue 2 Volume 5 February 2012 Hockey Day Minnesota 2012 Despite weather obstacles, Hockey Day Minnesota 2012 was a HUGE success with over 16 consecutive hours of hockey-related events and programming. Three high school games, a 2-1 Minnesota Golden Gopher win over Colorado College, a 5-2 Wild win over Dallas, and an exclusive feature with Jack Jablonski all took place in celebration of the State of Hockey. The three outdoor games that were scheduled to take place in Excelsior Bay on Lake Minnetonka were moved indoors to Pagel Activity Center in Minnetonka due to warm weather. Grand Rapids boys defeated White Bear Lake 4-3, Minnetonka boys took down Duluth East 9-3 resulting in Duluths first loss of the season and the Minnetonka girls beat Hopkins 5-1. Unique to this year, the Minnesota Wild, FOX Sports North and Wells Fargo teamed up to host an all-day telethon and an online auction, raising $134,045.13 dollars for the Jack Jablonski Trust Fund set up by Wells Fargo. Volunteers spent their Hockey Day at Xcel Energy Center answering phone calls and collecting donations. Along with the all day telethon and online auction, Hockey day Minnesota 2012 was dedicated to the Jablonski Family, who expressed their thanks to everyone involved in Hockey Day Minnesota through a caring bridge post. We are overwhelmed by the response to yesterday's Hockey Day Minnesota. Thank you to each and every one of you who made a donation to the Jack Jablonski Fund and to those who donated time, talent and resources to help with the cause. The Seventh Annual Hockey Day Minnesota outdoor games are planned to take place at Pokegama Lake in Grand Rapids next year. To learn more about Jack Jablonski, visit www.jabby13.com. To donate to the Jack Jablonski Trust Fund, mail to Wells Fargo Bank, Jack Jablonski Trust Fund, PO Box 16387, St. Louis Park, MN, 55416, or go to any Wells Fargo location. 1
- 2. 2 Download the NEW MN WILD App! The Minnesota Wild partnered with AT&T to create the brand new Minnesota Wild App for the iPhone. The purpose of this App is to enhance the fan experience, delivering a variety of unique features including the opportunity to order food, watch live in- January 10th marked Matt Cullens 1000th NHL hockey game played, becoming the first stadium instant replays, a fan zone, arena guide information, Minnesotan to accomplish this in a Wild jersey. social media site links, event calendars, and access to MyWildNet. The Wild are the first team in the NHL to offer fans Cullen was honored before the January 21st game with the presentation of a silver hockey the opportunity to order food right from their seats! stick from owner Craig Leipold and General Manager Chuck Fletcher accompanied by his wife and 3 boys. Throughout the game, ex-teammates including Ray Whitney, Rod With this app, fans can now search vendors throughout the BrindAmour, Eric Staal, Teemu Selanne, Doug Weight, and many others sent their arena and even order food from their seats through the arena's congratulations to Cullen on the Jumbotron. Wi-Fi! Fans will have access to live in-stadium instant replays that weren't shown on the scoreboard and can blog and chat During this game Cullen had an assist and the team set a record of 3 goals in 59 with other Wild fans. seconds, beating the current record of 1:14 set back in March of 2001 against Chicago. For more information regarding the new app click here. The "I cannot get over how fast it's gone," Cullen said to the Star Tribune. "Unbelievable. It Minnesota Wild App is available for free at the App Store on the just makes you realize you have to enjoy it. I guess the only way to say it is that playing iphone or at www.itunes.com/appstore. hockey is the only thing I ever wanted to do," Cullen said. "To be able to do it this long? It's something I'm proud of. There have been ups and downs. It's funny, all you remember are the ups. 2
- 3. Dairy Queen Mini Mascot January 31st marked the first game where our very own Nordy received some assistance. Along side him was Mini Nordy, a new promotion sponsored by Dairy Queen. This promotion gives children ages 5-7 a chance to be Mini Nordy for a portion of a Minnesota Wild game . Mini Nordy interacts with fans on the concourse levels during pregame warm ups through the first period. During this time Mini Nordy is able to participate in any events Nordy has scheduled as well as Lets Play Hockey before puck drop. Interested in having your child participate? Register your child online here. Outdoor Practice presented by Dairy Queen A crowd formed outside the John Rose Oval in Roseville on January 22nd, as fans awaited the arrival of their Minnesota Wild. This year, the annual outdoor practice was sponsored by Dairy Queen and topped off a hockey themed weekend which started the previous day with Hockey Day Minnesota and a Wild win against Dallas. Unlike last year, the weather didnt cooperate but that didnt stop fans from coming early to claim their spots. Prior to practice, Dairy Queen held an on-ice Blizzard contest where two lucky fans were able to shoot Dairy Queen Blizzards into the net for prizes. The Wild arrived for a relaxed and fun practice, only running through a few drills. The day ended with players tossing signed pucks into the stands as well as signing autographs, posing for pictures and interacting with the crowd. Needless to say, both the players and fans left the John Rose Oval grinning from ear to ear. 3
- 4. February Charity of the Month Community Emergency Assistance Program CEAP is a community-based charity that partners with other resources to assist people in need in the Twin Cities area for the past 40 years. Mission Statement: The mission of CEAP is to stabilize individuals and families in financial distress and to maximize their ability to live independently and with dignity. Vision Statement: Individuals and families in the northern Twin Cites area will have their basic needs met with dignity and will secure the skills and resources to achieve self-sufficiency. The community will be stronger, more stable, and more cohesive as a result of CEAP's leadership and services. CEAP was founded by Brooklyn Center native, Madeleine Roche in April of 1970 in response to the growing need for human services in her hometown. With the help of other community women and local churches, they were able to bridge the gap and help those in need of assistance. Since 1971, when their first Board of Directors was elected, CEAP has called many cities home: Moving from building to building until finally being able to call Brooklyn Park its home in February of 1997. Today, CEAP services the northern Twin Cities area including, East Champlin, Brooklyn Park, Brooklyn Center, parts of Camden in Minneapolis, all of Anoka County, and Mounds View and New Brighton in western Ramsey County. CEAPs clients usually fall into the categories of low-wage February 17th Jason Aldean Feb. 22-25: MSHSL Girls Hockey families, senior citizens, persons with disabilities, persons Tournament March 1-3 MSHSL Wrestling tournament March 7-10 of color, the working poor, and immigrants and/or refugees. Growing from distributing 20,000 pounds of MSHSL Mens Hockey Tournament March 15-17 WCHA tournament food in 1971 to over 1,000,000 pounds of food a year March 24-25 NCAA Dvision 1 mens hockey West Regionals currently, CEAP has served over 22,000 clients- half of Hockey Unplugged which were children. Monday, February 21st 7-9pm Location TBD For more information regarding CEAP and how to donate click here. Click here for more information. 6
- 5. Captured Moments: Minnesota Wild Style 10 Toughest Fan Bases 1. Toronto Maple Leafs 2. Pittsburg Penguins 3. Washington Capitals 4. Ottawa Senators 5. Chicago Blackhawks 6. Vancouver Canucks 7. Minnesota Wild 8. Detroit Red Wings 9. Boston Bruins 10. Philadelphia Flyers According to columnist Matthew Fairburn these ten teams have the toughest fans in the NHL. He defines a tough fan base AS one that travels, is tough on their players and makes their arena a tough place to play. To read more of Fairburns work, click here. Quote of the Month There were fights and hits and guys blocking shots. Its an outstanding effort from our guys coming off last game, especially emotionally, it was not easy. But to see our guys respond the way they did says a lot about our group. - Coach Mike Yeo said after a much needed victory over Colorado on the 2nd. Read the full story here. 5