You know all about Mariucci and the "X" but what about The Pit?
Hockey Day Minnesota's primary venue this Saturday will be the legendary Handke Pit in Elk River, Minn. The Pit has been an integral part of community life in Elk River for decades, but what do you really know about it?
Roger Ostby, a prominent local hockey personality who passed away last November, was for many years a driving force in the hockey community. His son, Paul Ostby, was a standout Gophers goalie in the early 1980s who is now a sports agent.
Here's a link to a personal remembrance from Mr. Ostby. The video, which is a fascinating walk through time with Mr. Ostby on the scene at the Handke Pit, will be 14 minutes of your life well-invested.
On Saturday beginning at 9:00 a.m., join our historic wall-to-wall coverage of Hockey Day Minnesota 2014. The three high school games will be played at The Pit starting at 10:00 a.m. Later, the top-ranked Gophers host Ohio State at 5:00 p.m. at Mariucci Arena, followed by the Wild hosting the Dallas Stars at Xcel Energy Center at 8:00 p.m.
Unprecedented coverage: Not only will all the action be carried on Fox Sports North, but we're planning some amazing interactive content including your tweets and photos on Fox Sports North Plus.
Out-of-area viewers will, for the first time, be able to watch every game on Fox Sports 2 nationwide.
Just don't plan anything else for Saturday. This is sports television at its finest and we're thrilled to bring you every aspect of the sport -- outdoors, indoors, and numerous memorable special video and interactive features. See you on Hockey Day!
Doug McLeod is the play-by-play voice of Gopher hockey on Fox Sports North. Doug and former Gopher Ben Clymer will call the Minnesota-Ohio State game Saturday at 5:00 p.m. from Mariucci Arena as part of Hockey Day Minnesota 2014.
