2018 NWHL All-Star Game Heading to Minnesota

The National Women’s Hockey League will be taking their show to the State of Hockey on February 10 and 11, after announcing on Friday, that the 2018 NWHL All Weekend will be hosted by the Minnesota Wild, of the National Hockey League.

All events for the third installment of the league’s midseason classic will take place at the Wild’s new state of the art practice facility, TRIA Rink, in Downtown St. Paul, Minnesota. The venue, officially called the TRIA Rink at Treasure Island Center, located in the former Macy’s building in St. Paul, just recently opened earlier this month.

Participation in girls’ & women’s hockey growing at record levels

Jamie Spencer, Executive Vice President of Business Development for the Wild said, “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 St. Paul. 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.”

NWHL Skills Competition Feb 10 & NWHL All Star Game Feb 11

The weekend’s activities will include the NWHL Skills Competition on Saturday February 10 at 7:45 pm Eastern Time, 6:45 pm Central. The 2018 NWHL All Star Game will faceoff on Sunday afternoon, February 11 at 12:30 ET/11:30 CT.

Tickets can be purchased at www.nwhl.zone/tickets, available now. Seats for the 2018 Skills Competition are 15 dollars per seat, and tickets for the All-Star Game cost 25 dollars. Fans can also purchase an All-Star Weekend Package for 35 dollars.

TRIA Rink has a seating capacity of 1,200. As with after every game during the season, all the All-Stars will participate in the autograph session following both events.

After the original game was played in Buffalo, New York during the inaugural 2015-2016 season, the league decided to take the event to the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania suburb of Cranberry Township for last years event. The success the NWHL received from the Pittsburgh Penguins helping to promote the game, led them to making the decision to once again bring it to a neutral site.

NWHL Hoping to Showcase the Game Beyond the Founding Four Markets

NWHL Commissioner, Dani Rylan said, “We are so proud to have the opportunity to present the All-Star Weekend in St. Paul. 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 are 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.”

Two 25 Minute Periods with 12 Skaters and 2 Goalies

The format for the 2018 NWHL All-Star Game will consist of two, 25-minute halves. Each squad will consist of 12 skaters and two goaltenders. Buffalo Beauts goaltender, Amanda Leveille, a University of Minnesota alumna and Boston Pride goalie, Brittany Ott, will serve as the captains for the event.

Both players are Isobel Cup winning goaltenders. Ott, won in 2016 at the RWJ Barnabas Health Hockey House in Newark, New Jersey and Leveille, won last season at the Paul Tsongas Center at the University of Massachusetts-Lowell.

Minnesota Whitecaps Players to Participate in Event

The NWHL also announced that local Minnesota women’s team, the Minnesota Whitecaps had accepted their invitation to have two players participate in the skills competition and game. Broadcast information and roster selections will be announced within the next few days.

NWHL to Play in Florida and Pittsburgh too

This weekend, 10 Metropolitan Riveters and one Connecticut Whale player, will join seven Pride and four Beauts down in sunny Tampa, Florida as Team NWHL takes on Team USA in the national team’s final two tune-ups before heading to PyeongChang, South Korea.

The two matchups will take place at the Florida Hospital Center Ice, in the Tampa suburb of Wesley Chapel, on Saturday, January 13 at 6:15 pm and Monday, January 15 at 2:15 pm. Riveters defender, Michelle Picard will serve as the captain for Team NWHL.

The Beauts and Whale will head out to the UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex, in Cranberry Township, Pennsylvania for their neutral site matchup on Sunday, January 14 at 2:00 pm. The game will be the Twitter Game of the Week.