As a young hockey fanatic growing up in suburban Minneapolis, I looked forward to the Thursday (which would be yesterday) of the Minnesota State High School Hockey Tournament as much as Christmas or the first day of summer or pretty much any other day. Every year from freshman year on, I would skip school—with my parents’ permission, believe it or not—and go to the X with a few buddies to enjoy four full games of AA hockey. It was an entire day of good, clean, unadulterated fun, and a set of memories that I will always cherish. As a high schooler, the only thing better than getting to cut class for a day (with a parental excuse, mind you) was getting to do so in favor of watching one of my favorite sporting events of the year, live and in person.
Wilderness Walk: The Best Day of the Year?
