With the attention given to Saturday's High School Hockey Faceoff — five high school hockey games that were played outdoors at TCF Bank Stadium — the upcoming Hockey Day Minnesota seems a bit anticlimactic, at least from a preps standpoint.
But the eighth annual all-day nostalgia-palooza, recognizing the sliding of a hard rubber disc across a sheet of ice, is set for Jan. 18. Three high school games will be played outside at the Handke Pit in Elk River, all televised by Fox Sports North.
The day's schedule, which also includes college and professional games:
• 10:15 a.m.: Rochester Lourdes vs. Cloquet/Esko/Carlton
• 1 p.m.: Stillwater vs. Elk River
• 4 p.m.: Anoka girls vs. Elk River girls (tape delay telecast at 11 p.m.)
• 5 p.m.: Hockey City Classic — Ohio State vs. Minnesota, at TCF Bank Stadium
• 8 p.m.: Dallas Stars at Minnesota Wild
This is the last regularly scheduled chance this season for hockey fans to see the game played in the elements. The rest of the high school and college hockey seasons will be played indoors in climate-controlled arenas — the way the sport was meant to be played.
Here's a look at a few other high school events worth noting this week:
Tuesday
Boys' basketball: No. 3, 4A Lakeville North at No. 1, 4A Apple Valley, 7 p.m.; No. 4, 4A Champlin Park at Park Center, 7 p.m.
Girls' hockey: Lake Conference Soiree– No. 4, 2A Wayzata at No. 1, 2A Hopkins and No. 2, 2A Minnetonka vs. No. 6, 2A Edina (at Braemar). Both games at 7 p.m.
Thursday
Girls' basketball: No. 7, 4A Bloomington Kennedy at No. 1, 4A Eastview, 7 p.m.
Boys' hockey: No. 2, 2A Wayzata at No. 10, 2A Eden Prairie, 7 p.m.
Friday
Boys' basketball: No. 8, 4A Roseville at Cretin-Derham Hall, 7:15 p.m.
Girls' basketball: Minneapolis Southwest at No. 8, 3A Minneapolis Washburn, 7 p.m.
SATURday
Wrestling: Eden Prairie Invitational. Among the 10 teams competing are No. 3, 3A St. Michael-Albertville and No. 6, 3A Owatonna, the former team of Eden Prairie head coach Scot Davis, 9 a.m.
Jim Paulsen • 612-673-7737
