Gophers may be lone Big Ten team left out of Wrigley Field plans

BleedGopher

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Per Joe:

There are seven teams in the Big Ten hockey conference and six of them will reportedly be playing at Wrigley Field in 2025. The lone loser? The Minnesota Golden Gophers.

According to Badger Extra, the Gophers are the only team from the Big Ten that will not play at at Wrigley Field, the home of baseball's Chicago Cubs, in January 2025, shortly after the stadium plays host for the NHL's Winter Classic on Dec. 31, 2024 between the St. Louis Blues and Chicago Blackhawks.

"The conference hasn't announced details but the plans being discussed, sources said, include three Big Ten men's hockey games and one women's hockey contest involving Big Ten schools Wisconsin and Ohio State," writes Todd Milewski of Badger Extra.

He goes on to report that Wisconsin, Penn State, Ohio State, Michigan, Michigan State and Notre Dame will participate in the trio of men's games at Wrigley Field, leaving Minnesota out in the cold.

Minnesota played Wisconsin, and last 3-2, in the Hockey City Classic at Soldier Field in 2013.


Go Gophers!!
 



totally ok with not playing in this one. only thing i'm curious is to if these will be conference games or not? if so, hate that they do this and count things for conference standings on what is generally shit ice in poor conditions, especially if they're going to do so damn many games on it
 

totally ok with not playing in this one. only thing i'm curious is to if these will be conference games or not? if so, hate that they do this and count things for conference standings on what is generally shit ice in poor conditions, especially if they're going to do so damn many games on it
I agree. Wasn't it 2 or 3 years ago that the Wild played an outdoor game at Target Field and it was something like -10 degrees the whole time? And that counted as a regular game in the standings. That's effing ridiculous. Not enjoyable for anyone and downright dangerous. And of course some Minnesotans like to talk about the old days when "we kids played outside in minus 10 weather all day long." Yeah... no. Maybe for 15 minutes and then it was inside for hot chocolate.

This whole outdoor hockey game thing is a little like having the Gopher Football team host Wisconsin on a scruffy, half grass, half gravel/dirt field. Because hey... that's the way the game used to be played.
 


I agree. Wasn't it 2 or 3 years ago that the Wild played an outdoor game at Target Field and it was something like -10 degrees the whole time? And that counted as a regular game in the standings. That's effing ridiculous. Not enjoyable for anyone and downright dangerous. And of course some Minnesotans like to talk about the old days when "we kids played outside in minus 10 weather all day long." Yeah... no. Maybe for 15 minutes and then it was inside for hot chocolate.

This whole outdoor hockey game thing is a little like having the Gopher Football team host Wisconsin on a scruffy, half grass, half gravel/dirt field. Because hey... that's the way the game used to be played.
the gopher game against the buckeyes was even worse. beers were freezing by the time you got back to the seats and people were crowding in the stairwells trying to keep warm.
 

Obviously only need six of the seven teams. I have no idea, but would not be surprised in the least if the Gophers told the conference they would be fine if the other six teams did this and leave them out of it.

Otherwise, I see no other reason the Big Ten would willingly include Penn State and not Minnesota.

And, I'm good with Minnesota not doing this. My bet is so are the coaches.
 

I was mite when we would go to away rinks with the unheated rinks with tarp walls. Mom and dad never made it into the rink at those places
 




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