The 20th annual U.S. Pond Hockey Championships wraps up this weekend at Lake Nokomis in Minneapolis.

On Thursday, Tucker Hafner was sitting at a table with his team in a heated tent after winning their first game. This tournament is Hafner’s fifth time competing with work friends, who take time off to play in the event.

“Conditions are really nice compared to last year,” he said. “It’s really hard ice, so you’re able to fly around out there. There’s just a lot of cracks, which is normal on a on a lake or a pond. So pretty darn good.”

Hafner, who lives in St. Paul, hopes his team makes it to the championship round.

“My favorite thing about being a part of this is one, taking work off — that’s awesome. And then two, just hanging out with all these guys and having a beer between games and just kind of messing around,” he said.

Mason Coudron of Minneapolis has played at Lake Nokomis since 2013. He looks forward to the hockey championship to reunite with old friends from North Dakota, where he once lived.

“It’s great getting to see people I used to play with,” Coudron said. “And then the facilities usually work really well for this. We could sit out here all day. Take a couple days off of work and just have some fun.”

Scenes from the Saturday championships

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For the Minnesota Wild, getting key players healthy and back into the lineup is turning out to be just the first step in what is a longer-than-expected process of getting their groove back.

Returning to winning hockey games with the likes of Kirill Kaprizov and Jared Spurgeon in the lineup remains an elusive goal.

On Saturday, the Wild closed out Hockey Day Minnesota 2025 on a disappointing note, with some penalty-kill struggles and defensive shortcomings that eventually led to a 5-4 win by the Calgary Flames. Trailing by three late, the Wild got a pair of goals in the final 77 seconds, but their rally fell just short.

Joel Eriksson Ek, Freddie Gaudreau, Marcus Foligno and Mats Zuccarello scored for the Wild, who got 24 saves from Marc-Andre Fleury but lost for the fifth time in their past six games. While still holding the best road record in the NHL, Minnesota fell to below .500 at home (11-12-1) with the loss.

The Wild took the first penalty of the game and killed off all but three seconds of it before Calgary took a lead on a deflected puck that Fleury was powerless to stop. Prior to the goal, which came on the Flames’ fourth shot of the game, the Minnesota goalie had made a pair of his trademark sweeping glove saves, to the delight of the sellout audience.

But Minnesota had an answer before the period was half finished, as Zuccarello set up Eriksson Ek’s rising shot from the high slot that forged a 1-all tie. Kaprizov had the second assist, marking his first point since Dec. 23, after he missed a month due to a nagging lower-body ailment.

Calgary’s second power play came early in the middle period when Wild forward Jakub Lauko ran Flames defenseman Kevin Bahl into the end boards.

Originally called a five-minute major penalty, referees reduced it to a two-minute boarding call after video review. Bahl, whose head hit a stanchion behind the net as a result of the hit, left the game. Minnesota killed the penalty and, as is expected in the “frontier justice” world of the NHL, Flames winger Ryan Lomberg dropped the gloves to fight Lauko before the second period was done.

Later in the period when Wild defenseman Brock Faber lost control of a bouncing puck at the offensive blue line, it touched off an odd-man rush the other way. Fleury made a pair of big saves before Flames winger Martin Pospisil slipped a shot around the goalie, putting the visitors back in front.

Calgary scored again on the power play with 7.9 seconds left in the middle frame to give the Wild a notable third period hill to climb.

They did not climb it, with Calgary’s Clark Bishop scoring his second career goal late in the third as the Flames pulled away. The fans got a brief chance to cheer when Gaudreau scored on a late power play, but Calgary regained its three-goal advantage just 11 seconds later.

Calgary goalie Dustin Wolf finished with 20 saves for a Flames team that has now won six of its past eight games.

Saturday’s game was the 500th in a Wild uniform for Foligno, who became just the 11th player in franchise history to reach that milestone. He swatted in a loose puck with 1:17 left in the game. Zuccarello scored with Fleury on the bench and 27 seconds remaining.

Playing in his 17th game this season, Fleury also hit a NHL milestone, moving ahead of Patrick Roy into second place in career minutes played by a goalie, trailing only Martin Brodeur.

The Wild next embark on a five-game road swing which begins on Sunday in Chicago with their fourth and final meeting with the Blackhawks this season. Minnesota is 2-0-1 in the previous three meetings. They will also visit Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa and Boston on the trip before their next home game on Feb. 6 versus Carolina.

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In their quarter-century history, the Minnesota Wild have only played two outdoor games, winning a Stadium Series matchup with Chicago at the University of Minnesota in 2016 and falling to St. Louis in the 2022 Winter Classic at Target Field. For coach John Hynes and company, their official involvement in Hockey Day Minnesota is a pretty normal home game with a standard two NHL standings points on the line.

But for the coach and players who make their home in the State of Hockey, there is maybe a feeling that comes with that one special Saturday in January that lets them know this is a big deal from Baudette to Blue Earth and everywhere in between.

“It’s a special thing in the State of Hockey, and I think on days like today, you recognize that,” Hynes said following the team’s morning skate at Xcel Energy Center. “It’s on TV, you have the games at the outdoor rinks, all of the rivalry games and all those things. It’s certainly exciting how it brings a buzz to the day.”

Wild captain Jared Spurgeon is originally from Edmonton, but as a Minnesota youth hockey dad now, he feels the excitement around an annual event like Hockey Day brings some extra fun to the NHL rink as well.

“Having kids in it, as well, it’s all pretty special to see the way everybody reacts to it and the excitement around the high school games, and all the host city does is pretty special as well,” said Spurgeon, who was experiencing his 10th Hockey Day Minnesota on Saturday.

Spurgeon added that the Twin Cities in the winter definitely have some favorable comparisons to his hometown of Edmonton.

“It’s pretty similar. Obviously a lot of outdoor rinks, and it’s fun when you’re driving around to see the kids out there skating,” he said. “So, having today to celebrate the game we all love and to play it is pretty special.”

Having previously coached in New Jersey and Nashville, where hockey is part of the culture but certainly not to the extent that it seeps into parts of everyday winter life in Minnesota, Hynes — who is originally from hockey-crazy New England — said there is an appreciation for the game in this state that is rare.

“Being in a U.S. market where hockey is the number one sport in the state, today is another example of why it’s great to be here,” he said.

The Wild brought a 14-3-1 record on Hockey Day Minnesota into Saturday’s game versus Calgary.

Next two HDM hosts set

Hockey Day Minnesota will stay in the Twin Cities’ outer ring suburbs a year from now, with the outdoor rink at the United Heroes League complex in Hastings hosting dozens of outdoor games over the course of a few days in January.

The full HDM schedule is normally announced after the NHL schedule for the coming season is released, as a Wild home game is traditionally the final contest of the night.

If the state of Minnesota was one giant rink, the 2027 Hockey Day Minnesota festivities will be played close to center ice, with Brainerd announced as the next host community in line. It will be a return to the northern half of the state for the event, which began in Baudette in 2007 and has been hosted “up north” by Duluth, Moorhead, Hermantown, Grand Rapids, Bemidji and Warroad.

“We are excited and honored about the opportunity to welcome Hockey Day Minnesota to our community,” Jack Freeman, Brainerd High School’s athletics director, said in a statement. “This will not just be a memorable experience for our students, but for everyone in the Brainerd Lakes Area. It’s a celebration of the game we love and an opportunity to showcase the remarkable people, hospitality, and pride that define our community.”

The 2027 outdoor rink will be set up at Brainerd International Raceway, and could potentially utilize the facility’s seating for around 20,000.

Briefly

The Minnesota Wild, in partnership with Minnesota Hockey and FanDuel Sports Network, today announced former St. Paul mayor and U.S. Senator Norm Coleman as the 2024-25 State of Hockey Legacy Award winner.

Griffin Jax’s first stint as a major-league starter didn’t quite yield the results that he was hoping for. During the end part of a lost 2021 season, Jax pitched in 18 games (14 starts) to a 6.37 earned-run average.

After that season, the Twins decided to shift him to bullpen where he’s become, over the past three seasons, one of the best relievers in Major League Baseball.

That, at the very least, entitled him to another conversation about starting.

“It was all driven by me,” Jax said. “The Twins were actually very open-minded to it. We had some good conversation.”

Jax said the conversation started around the beginning of the offseason. A couple months later, in early December, he hashed it out with manager Rocco Baldelli and they decided it would be best if he remained in the bullpen, where he has emerged as a lock-down reliever for the Twins.

Part of what intrigued him, Jax said, was the amount of money starters make relative to relievers. The Twins challenged him to remove that from the equation to the extent that he could.

“When I tried to take it in that perspective and remove money as much as possible, I found myself always gravitating back towards the bullpen,” Jax said. “I’m sure part of it is because I failed as a starter at the big-league level and found some pretty good success in the bullpen but at the same time, I just feel like my personality just thrives in that back end, late-inning role now. I almost just look at it as, ‘If it’s not broken, why bother trying to fix it?’”

While the Twins have Jax now solidified as a reliever, they haven’t yet made a final determination on how they will use Louie Varland, who has been a starter bouncing between Triple-A and the majors but has looked even better in stints in the bullpen in each of the past two seasons.

That’s something that they’ll be able to better assess once they get to Florida next month. If everyone’s healthy, for example, it might be easier to shift Varland to the bullpen, which, at this point, looks like the most likely landing spot for him.

“I have a pretty good idea of where Louie is going to end up. I think Louie has a pretty good idea of where Louie is going to end up pitching for us,” Baldelli said. “With all that said, I want to get there, see how the entire group shows up, make sure we’re on track as a pitching staff because one or two things could pop up. … Let’s get down there and see how it unfolds.”

Twins pleased with health updates

A myriad of injuries plagued the Twins down the stretch, forcing some of their best players off the field. But as the team came together for TwinsFest this weekend, the Twins have been pleased with the reports they’ve gotten on the health of the roster.

Carlos Correa said his plantar fasciitis has gone away. Byron Buxton is experiencing his first healthy offseason in years. And Joe Ryan, who had a teres major strain that kept him out for months, has been throwing to hitters. Baldelli said his arm “feels just the way he would want.”

“This is probably the best offseason of health that I’ve seen since I’ve been here,” Baldelli said. “The reports on both the pitching side and the position player side, it’s almost up and down, which you would hope to be seeing.”

Briefly

The Twins are expecting to announce their promotional and special events lineup for the upcoming season on Tuesday. … Team president and CEO Dave St. Peter said it was his belief that they could eclipse two million fans through the gates at Target Field in 2025. The Twins were at 1.95 million last year and have not reached two million since 2019.

Anthony Edwards caught the ball out near midcourt, both feet firmly planted on the logo.

Jamal Murray dropped way back. Denver was getting killed by Edwards all day. There was no sense in trying to contest the 23 year old that far out from the hoop.

With no one around him, Edwards decided to rise up and fire.

Splash.

What better way to become the franchise’s all-time leader in 3-point makes? Edwards now has 976 for his career, one more than Karl-Anthony Towns made in a Timberwolves’ jersey.

It was that kind of day for Minnesota, which trounced Denver 133-104 in one of the Wolves’ most impressive performances of the season.

Edwards finished with 34 points and nine assists. As has been the case in recent history, the Nuggets didn’t have an answer for the star guard. If they overcommitted resources, someone else made Denver pay. If the Nuggets allowed Edwards space to cook, he cooked.

As a team, Minnesota 56 percent from the field and 47 percent from deep. Seven players scored in double figures. The Wolves dropped 40 points in the first frame alone.

Twice this season they’ve beaten Denver. Minnesota has been stellar offensively on both occasions. It all stems from Edwards. Denver simply doesn’t have an answer for the guard. The Nuggets don’t have a premier perimeter defender to deter Edwards, nor do they have a rim protector to make him think twice about being aggressive.

So, the Nuggets either have to sell out with Edwards, or roll the dice. Edwards correctly diagnosed Denver’s approach and attacked accordingly. No matter what the Nuggets did, Edwards exploited the plan’s weakness.

In the first quarter, that meant using his gravity against Denver, which created opportunities for others. At the end of the frame, Edwards strung out a pick and roll, dragging multiple defenders with him on the perimeter before zipping a pass down low for an easy Rudy Gobert finish.

“Heck of a pass,” Wolves coach Chris Finch said. “That’s the type of connectivity that we’ve not always had this season.”

As the game wore on, Denver’s defense loosened. By the third quarter, Nikola Jokic — who simply cannot expend the consistent energy needed to defend Edwards at the level of the screen — started to drift back further and further into the paint on pick and rolls, which allowed Edwards to fire away freely. That led to a couple drained triples that got the Target Center crowd on its feet.

“As the game goes on, you know he plays a lot of minutes,” Wolves guard Mike Conley said of Jokic. “We all have been there, and you get tired. So the more you run those pick and rolls and keep him active in them, the more chances you get breakdowns, the more chances you get Ant getting downhill (and) Julius, whoever has the ball, creating good situations for us.”

When Edwards is that patient within the game and reads it to the degree he did, Conley said Minnesota “can play at a whole different level.”

“I think it allows the other guys on the court to find a good rhythm, specifically early in the game where you get guys some easy looks, easy baskets,” Conley said. “I think that gives people confidence moving forward, and Ant’s doing a good job of just finding guys when it’s available, and splitting that with finding his opportunities offensively.”

And that’s what could allow Minnesota’s offense to ascend toward the top-10 level the Wolves envisioned at the season’s outset.

“If he continues to see that they won’t double me the whole game if I get off the ball a little bit quicker, or make an early read where my teammate can make a play, now I can finally show what I can do. He’s going to continue to be able to do that,” Conley said, “continue to be comfortable and continue to be patient, so hopefully he just keeps building that momentum, and our team will be a lot better for it.”