Minneapolis – Our Chilly Road To The NHL Winter Classic
Arriving on December 30th via Amtrak along with a bevy of St Louis Blues fans, a +6 degrees seemed cold, although nothing compared to what the Winter Classic 2022 would bring on the January 1st game day. Snowmobile suits, team merchandise and masks covered the fans, each side cheering on their respective teams. 
Pre-game festivities sponsored by Truly Hard Seltzer® NHL® drew an enthusiastic crowd with live musical performances, giveaways and hockey attractions. As hockey fans braced for the record breaking low temperatures on Saturday, snow wasn’t in the forecast, but subzero temperatures were. The 2022 Winter Classic registered minus 8 degrees at puck drop, the coldest in event history for an outdoor NHL game. The Wild made an impressive entrance to the field on a runway of ice much like a catwalk, emerging from a Winter Classic Cabin to music of the late, hometown performer Prince with Let’s Go Crazy. 
The battle represented a fight for first place in the division, the Blues recently leapfrogging the Wild by a point for the No. 1 spot. Minnesota had their schedule interrupted by a holiday break longer than expected due to COVID-19, having not played in the last 12 days.
The first period saw St Louis strike first with a goal by Perron, his 8th goal of the season. Minnesota’s Kaprizov, one of the most thrilling young players in the NHL quickly responded by getting the puck in the net all while being chased by Blues Forward Parayko.
“Minnesota Unbounded”, an organization founded for girls of color from all communities to enjoy and play hockey was represented on ice by Mia Lang as the Minnesota State Flag Bearer. Her mother, Meredith Lang and eight female coaches of color who have played at the top of their level from the Whitecaps to college, coach over 30 girls coming to play hockey since the inception in May 2021. Lang was inspired to organize the team after reading the Color of Hockey, stories about a team of all Black and Hispanic male players organized by the NextGen AAA Foundation that competed in the Beantown  Color Summer Classic in New Hampshire last summer.
Thomas Rhett braved the temps to warm up the sell out crowd of 38,619, getting them to their feet during the 1st Intermission with hits T-Shirt and Country Song. The band supported the Wild by wearing their jerseys, with temps dropping to -9 degrees with a -24 degree windchill by the start of their performance.
The 2022 U.S. Women’s Hockey team was also introduced on Saturday night at the Winter Classic. Hilary Knight will lead the 23-member team, making her fourth Olympic appearance in Beijing. At 32 years old, Knight is set to become the oldest U.S. Olympic women’s hockey player (the record currently held by Julie Chu). Abby Roque, a member of Wahnapitae First Nation, will be the first Indigenous woman to play hockey for the U.S. at the Olympics.
The momentum changed in the second period with the Blues clearly the better skating team, faster bursts of speed giving them a 3-1 lead early, ultimately a record breaking total of 5 goals in the period. The Wild came back with an earnest effort in the third period, but not enough to catch the Blues. The St Louis Blues defeated the Minnesota Wild by a score of 6-4.
Photo: JohnRothwell@prohockeynews.com
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