NEWS RELEASE

2018 NWHL ALL-STAR WEEKEND SET FOR SAINT PAUL Minnesota Wild to Serve as Hosts of the All-Star Game, Skills Challenge and Clinic at TRIA Rink on Feb. 10 & 11; Tickets are available now at NWHL.zone/tickets

January 12, 2018, , NY – The National Women’s Hockey League today announced a partnership with the NHL’s Minnesota Wild to host the 2018 NWHL All-Star Weekend on Feb. 10-11 in the Twin Cities. All events will be held at TRIA Rink, the Wild’s state-of-the-art Practice Facility in downtown Saint Paul that opened this month.

“We are excited to partner with the National Women’s Hockey League and showcase some of the best hockey players in North America at TRIA Rink in downtown Saint Paul,” said Jamie Spencer, Minnesota Wild Vice President of New Business Development. “Participation in girls’ and women’s hockey continues to grow at record levels and we look forward to creating a greater State of Hockey as hosts of All-Star Weekend.”

The NWHL Skills Challenge will take place on Saturday, Feb. 10 at 6:45 p.m. CT. The 2018 NWHL All-Star Game is on Sunday, Feb. 11 at 11:30 a.m. CT.

Tickets are available now at NWHL.zone/tickets. Skills Challenge tickets are $15, All-Star Game seats are $25 and an All-Star Weekend Package with both events is available for $35. Seating capacity for each event will be 1,200, and there will be an autograph session with the players after both events for all ticketholders.

After the NWHL’s successful 2017 All-Star Weekend in Pittsburgh with the NHL’s Penguins, the league is again taking its all-star events to a neutral site and major market – in this case, the State of Hockey.

“We are so proud to have the opportunity to present the NWHL All-Star Weekend in St. Paul,” said Commissioner Dani Rylan. “As we strive to enhance our league and promote the women’s game, our goal has been to showcase the great players of the NWHL beyond our original four markets. We’re thankful for this partnership with the Minnesota Wild, a top NHL franchise that does so much for the development of hockey across all levels and genders.”

The All-Star Game format will consist of two 25-minute halves. Each team will have 12 skaters and two . The captains of the teams will be , an champion in 2017 who played at the from 2012-2016, and goaltender Brittany Ott, an Isobel Cup champion in 2016 who was raised in Michigan.

The NWHL is also proud to announce that the hometown , the women’s team of the State of Hockey, has accepted the league’s invitation to have two players participate in the skills competition and game.

Further information on broadcasts and roster selection will be available in the coming days.

For more on the Minnesota Wild, visit wild.com and follow them on , Facebook and Instagram.

About the National Women’s Hockey League (NWHL) Established in 2015, the NWHL became the first professional women’s hockey league in North America to pay its players and share in revenue from select apparel sales. The mission of the league is to promote and develop women’s hockey, increase participation and interest in the sport at all levels, and shine a light on the role models that fill the rosters of all of its clubs. The league is made up of the Founding Four: Boston Pride (2016 Isobel Cup champions), Buffalo Beauts (2017 champions), Whale and , and will add more teams in the coming years. Prior to its third season in 2017-18, the NWHL signed a landmark contract with the Devils, who became the first NHL team to form a long-term partnership with one of its clubs (Riveters). The league also has a global broadcast agreement with Twitter. For more information, please visit NWHL.zone and follow the league on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook @NWHL

Contacts: Carly Peters, Minnesota Wild – [email protected], (651) 602-6034 Chris Botta, NWHL – [email protected]