A hometown newspaper with a local office, local owners & lots of local news
A hometown newspaper with a local office, local owners & lots of local news
The crowd grew as boys teams from Cloquet and Sartell warmed up Saturday for Hockey Day Cloquet at Veterans Park. Games began on the ice sheet last Wednesday, with boys and girls varsity and junior varsity games played into the night Saturday. The rink remains open for public use through Jan. 23.
Cloquet-Esko-Carlton girls celebrate a goal by teammate Brooke Koski (middle) during Saturday night's Hockey Day Cloquet game at Veterans Park.
Spencer Moon, 85, waits outside the hockey rink Saturday to participate in the opening ceremony with his fellow Cloquet Area Honor Guard members. Moon is the oldest member of the local honor guard.
The Cloquet Area Honor Guard waits to go on the ice before the boys varsity game.
Chad Erickson shows off his Hockey Day Cloquet swag, a new hat and sweatshirt, made for the occasion. Erickson watched the temporary outdoor hockey rink as it was built in the city park.
Chris Potthoff came dressed for the weather, driving from Sartell to watch his son play in the junior varsity game Saturday. Potthoff is wearing a hat made of wolverine fur and choppers made from beaver.
It was a "build it and they will come" moment ... Minnesota style.
The Hockey Day Cloquet headlining Lumberjacks varsity boys and girls hockey games took place Saturday in front of roughly 2,000 people. They packed the metal bleachers (with seating for 1,300) and stood three and four deep at each end of the outdoor hockey arena built especially for the event. Clusters of mostly young men and boys stood on the hillside, respectfully placing hands on hearts as a giant American flag waved in the center of the rink. Others lined up for the food trucks and free s'mores.
The crowd ebbed and flowed, coming and going for the warmup Bantam game, the noon Cloquet-Esko-Carlton boys junior varsity and the afternoon boys varsity game against Sartell - which went into overtime, delaying the girls CEC JV and varsity games versus the Northern Tier Stars past their intended start times. As the day went on, the winter weather also played a part. The girls played "in a snow globe," said photographer Dave Harwig.
Sartell's Chris Potthoff, wearing a wolverine fur hat and choppers made of beaver, was thrilled to be at such an "awesome" spectacle. His son is a goalie on the JV team.
"I'm glad we got the invite," Potthoff said. "Our boys will remember this forever."
So will many others, including the young boys trying to demolish (small) mountains of ice piled on both ends, players who skated in a spectacular rink outside in the heart of Cloquet, friends and family who came to watch, hockey fans and others who just came to enjoy such a remarkable moment or who watched it on television - like hockey super-supporter Bun Carlson, from a hospital bed - because they were unable to get there.
