As I revealed here some weeks ago, the Gophers will be part of a major new college hockey tournament next season. It’s unusual in that it features Minnesota’s Division I teams – exclusively.
The tournament will be played at the Excel Energy Center in St. Paul next January 24-25. It will involve four of the North Star State’s five big-time hockey teams: Minnesota, UM-D, Minnesota State and St. Cloud State. Bemidji State will rotate into the lineup in 2015.
An all-Minnesota college hockey tournament is a terrific idea – but what to call it? That’s where YOU come in. Organizers opened voting today (June 21) for naming ideas. Contributions from the public will constitute 25 percent of the overall vote for a tournament name. A panel will select from the top five entries.
Voting is online using this link:
http://www.gophersports.com/sports/m-hockey/spec-rel/mn-college-tournament.html
Entries can be made at Facebook’s Gopher hockey page; you can also cast your vote on Twitter with the hashtag: #MNCollegeHockey.
If you have a scintillating suggestion, don’t dawdle. Name selection is happening on a tight timeline, thus:• June 21: Submission Contest Begins• June 28: Submission Period Ends• June 29: Fan Voting Begins• July 8: Fan Voting Ends• July 9: Winning Name Revealed
The new tournament will run on a championship format with two semi-finals on Friday, January 24, 2014 and the third place and championship tilts the following day. The Gophers will serve as permanent host school although the Wild are, of course, deeply involved since it’s their building. Tournament details and ticket information will be announced later.
First, though, let’s decide on a title. I love the suggestion someone made when the tournament was first announced: North Star Classic. What’s your idea? Submit it to the Gophers now because the tournament naming clock is already ticking.
This is a major event in Minnesota sports. It deserves a terrific name.
