More Target Field Fun

Yesterday, Wild.com provided footage of the “Pride of Prior Lake,” Zach Parise and pals taking hacks at Ron Gardenhire knucklers at Target Field last week.

Now, it’s time to see how some of our own Wild players swing the aluminum. On Saturday, Clayton Stoner and Josh Harding squared off against T.C. Bear and a fella named Joe Ganther in a softball home run derby prior to the Twins taking on the Angels.

It wasn’t Stoner’s day as the big man couldn’t replicate the swing that they apparently taught Justin Morneau up in British Columbia.

Harding was a different story. As Bert “Be Home” Blyleven might say, “He used that uppercut swing, and he DID NOT miss it.” Harding displayed so much power that I am not even going to start teasing him for the white capri pants that he wore during the contest (but at least he wore the white pants before Labor Day).

Harding was forced a playoff, and actually beat T.C., the reigning champion. But he didn’t have enough to topple Ganther, who has been offered a tender to join my co-ed softball team.

As for other news, it became official today that the Houston Aeros are booked to host the Peoria Rivermen at Xcel Energy Center as part of Hockey Day Minnesota on February 12. Just think, if the Wild is forced to make a call up that day, they could let a player get his pregame skate in against Peoria before activating him to finish out the doubleheader. Of course, the St. Louis Blues could do the exact same thing, since Peoria is their AHL affiliate.

And speaking of affiliations, the Wild is has added an ECHL affiliate with the announcement having just been made. The Bakersfield Condors will join the Wild minor league family for the upcoming season.

If you check out their site, they currently have seven players on their roster, but that should change once NHL and AHL training camps start sending players elsewhere. And hey, even if that’s how the roster stands come October, I wouldn’t bet against the seven current Condors. After all, they do have former Bulldog and West St. Paul native, Jay Cascalenda on the squad. That kid can skate like the wind blows.

Tomorrow, from 9 to 3, yours truly will be at the Wild’s Minnesota State Fair booth located in the FAN Central building. Stop by, say hello and say something funny. You just might get your name in the next “View from the Lighthouse” post.

Moorhead To Host Hockey Day Minnesota Outdoor Games

It will be announced shortly that Moorhead, Minnesota, home of the Fightin’ Spuds, will play host to the outdoor high school games as part of Hockey Day Minnesota, presented by Wells Fargo on February 12. Moorhead follows Hermantown, St. Paul and Baudette, which hosted the outdoor event the first two years.

For the news, click here. The teams involved and further information will be made available in the coming weeks.

Where Will The Next Hockey Day Minnesota Outdoor Game Be Held?

Tomorrow, the Minnesota Wild will announce which Minnesota city will host the outdoor games as part of the fifth annual Hockey Day Minnesota celebration. We will post the information on Wild.com, and right here on the Lighthouse blog as it happens.

And if you want to know right away, and you’re still not into the whole Twitter thing, you can be notified every time there is a new “View from the Lighthouse” post by subscribing to the RSS feed of it. Just click that subscribe button on the right of this page, and you’ll be immediately notified with an email when there is a new post. I know that as Memorial Day approaches, all you can think about is hockey, and what I might be writing on the blog, so this is our effort to give the great people of Minnesota what they want…more Lighthouse!

Also, there is now a comment section at the bottom, and believe it or not, all comments are welcome, provided they only put me in a positive light. I can’t handle even the slightest bit of criticism, or I’ll just end up eating marble cake and ice cream while watching re-runs of Family Matters all day.

So, now that you can comment, I’d like to get your feedback on a couple questions. Which city or location do you think would be the ideal spot for a Hockey Day Minnesota outdoor game? If I had a vote, my location would be at the foot of the Aerial Lift Bridge in Duluth with the Lighthouse piers on either side of the rink where the fans could stand. The only problem here is that I would imagine it would be next to impossible to get a flat surface in there, but you never know. How great a scene would that be? The photos coming from that would be off the hizzy, as the hip kids might say.

And also, we all know the Wild is putting on the full court press (or four-man forecheck?) on the NHL to host an Outdoor Classic in the coming years. Of course, TCF Bank Stadium and Target Field are the front-running facilities to host the event. But where else could it be? Can you think of a location in Minnesota that would be even more unique than a baseball or football stadium? Think Mystery, Alaska.