FOX Sports North, in conjunction with the National Hockey League’s Minnesota Wild and Minnesota Hockey, announced today a cooperative effort to celebrate the Eighth Annual Hockey Day Minnesota presented by Wells Fargo in Elk River, Minn. Additional details and plans for Hockey Day Minnesota 2014, including a date and participating teams, will be announced by FOX Sports North and the Minnesota Wild at a later date. Hockey Day Minnesota 2014 was officially announced during tonight’s FOX Sports North telecast of the Wild game, and included Elk River High School Head Coach and United States Hockey Hall-of-Famer, Gordie Roberts.

Handke Pit (located next to the Handke Center 1170 Main Street) in Elk River will serve as the background for the three outdoor high school games featured in the Hockey Day Minnesota 2014 line-up. Dedicated in 1925, the Handke Pit is a glacier-formed bowl stadium that will be set-up for more than 2,000 seats. It has hosted thousands of hockey players, including NHL players Paul Martin, Dan Hinote, Joel Otto and Wild defenseman Nate Prosser – and is listed on the National Register of Historic Sites.

Hockey Day Minnesota 2014 on FOX Sports North will include a full day of hockey-related programming designed as a celebration of the game from peewees to pros.

"We are extremely honored to host HDM 2014 in Elk River, said Dr. Mark Bezek, superintendent for the Elk River Area School District. “Our venue, the historic Handke Pit is listed on the National Register of Historic Sites and notably the birthplace of Elk River Hockey. Every evening, the Pit is packed with kids honing their hockey skills, adults enjoying skating, or families sledding on the adjacent hills. The Handke Pit is a beautiful, glacier-formed bowl stadium. For more than a century, thousands, including four NHL stars, have played on the Pit.”

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