For Immediate Release Contacts: Aaron Sickman, Minnesota Wild (651) 602-6009 Sunday, July 1, 2018 Becky Ross Mielke, FOX Sports North (612) 486-9520 Brian Bissonette, Bemidji LOC (218) 444-1127 FOX SPORTS NORTH AND THE MINNESOTA WILD ANNOUNCE DATE AND MATCH-UPS FOR 13TH ANNUAL “HOCKEY DAY MINNESOTA” Bemidji Set to Host #HDM2019 on January 19, 2019 SAINT PAUL, Minn. - FOX Sports North, in conjunction with the National Hockey League’s Minnesota Wild, Minnesota Hockey and the Bemidji Organizing Committee, announced the date and schedule for the 13th Annual Hockey Day Minnesota (HDM) presented by Wells Fargo this morning in front of the Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox statue in Bemidji. The telecast event will take place on Saturday, January 19, and includes a full day of hockey programming beginning at 9 a.m. “Bemidji is raising the bar for Hockey Day Minnesota 2019 to be another spectacular celebration for the game we love,” said Minnesota Wild President Matt Majka. “We look forward to sharing these exciting matchups and experience with hockey fans throughout the State of Hockey.” “Bemidji and our entire region are excited to host Hockey Day Minnesota 2019 and it’s been incredible to see the amount of local support we’ve received since it was announced in January,” said Brian Bissonette, Marketing Lead of the Bemidji Local Organizing Committee. “Our hockey roots run deep, from our long-established youth and high school programs through Division I programs at Bemidji State University and we can’t wait to showcase that history and all of what the first city on the Mississippi has to offer.” Representatives from the Minnesota Wild, FOX Sports North, Wells Fargo and all participating teams were in attendance to announce that Bemidji will be the first host city to make Hockey Day Minnesota into a three-day celebration. The broadcast lineup features four live games at two separate locations, three in Bemidji and one in Saint Paul. The first city on the Mississippi will serve as the backdrop for three games played on an outdoor rink constructed on Lake Bemidji’s south shore. The outdoor games will feature the first Division I men’s hockey game on the Hockey Day rink when Bemidji State faces conference rival Michigan Tech University on Friday, Jan. 18. “The bar has been raised every year for this event and we are working to make it even bigger and better,” said Bissonette. “I’m confident our city, our region, and the State of Hockey will be very proud of Hockey Day Minnesota Bemidji 2019!” “It’s remarkable to see how Hockey Day Minnesota continues to grow year after year. Bemidji has already stepped up in a big way, we’re really looking forward to seeing what new elements they bring to the big day,” said Mike Dimond, Senior Vice President and General Manager for FOX Sports North. The three-day weekend will kick-off on Thursday, Jan. 17 with a girls’ high school hockey match-up between the Bemidji Lumberjacks and Woodbury Royals. FOX Sports North will televise four of the five match-ups on Saturday, Jan. 19, beginning with boys’ high school hockey between Minnetonka Skippers and Andover Huskies. The NHL takes the spotlight during primetime in a match-up featuring the Minnesota Wild vs. Columbus Blue Jackets at Xcel Energy Center. --MORE-- HOCKEY DAY MINNESOTA 2019 GAMES DATE TIME GAME VENUE TELEVISED LIVE Thur., Jan. 17 7 p.m. Bemidji vs. Woodbury – Girls’ Lake Bemidji No Fri., Jan. 18 7 p.m. Bemidji State vs. Michigan Tech Univ. – Men’s Lake Bemidji No Sat., Jan. 19 9:30 a.m. Minnetonka vs. Andover – Boys’ Lake Bemidji Yes Sat., Jan. 19 1 p.m. Bemidji State vs. Minnesota State Mankato – Women’s Lake Bemidji Yes Sat., Jan. 19 4:30 p.m. Bemidji vs. Greenway – Boys’ Lake Bemidji Yes Sat., Jan. 19 7:30 p.m. Bemidji State vs. Michigan Tech Univ. – Men’s Sanford Center No Sat., Jan. 19 8 p.m. Minnesota Wild vs. Columbus Blue Jackets Xcel Energy Center Yes Ticket information and additional programming details for HDM 2019 will be announced at a later date. Hockey Day Minnesota was originated in 2007 by the Minnesota Wild to celebrate the game that has made Minnesota the “State of Hockey.” It is produced in partnership with FOX Sports North, Minnesota Hockey and the respective local community that serves as the host each year. Previous locations include Baudette Bay (2007, 2008), Phalen Park (2009), Hermantown (2010), Moorhead (2011), Minnetonka (2012), Grand Rapids (2013), Elk River (2014), Saint Paul (2015), Duluth (2016), Stillwater (2017) and St. Cloud (2018). For more information, visit wild.com/HockeyDay. FOX Sports North reaches more than 2 million homes throughout Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa and North and South Dakota and telecasts nearly 2,600 hours of locally produced programming per year. For more information on the Emmy Award-winning regional sports network FOXsportsnorth.com/Facebook/Twitter. 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