WEST FARGO — The West Fargo Winter Classic will celebrate its fifth annual event this year, a nearly weeklong hockey jamboree for the youngest of players at the termite level to high school varsity squads.
This year’s Winter Classic, which begins Monday, Dec. 29 and ends Saturday, Jan. 3, will host more than 800 hockey players, including 14 high school teams along with their junior varsity squads. Some teams will play outdoors at The Lights rink on the Essentia Health Plaza surrounded by mixed-use commercial and residential properties.
“The West Fargo Winter Classic specifically came about when our local high schools, a couple of sponsors and West Fargo Events got together and said, ‘Rather than just having an ice rink and a couple of hockey tournaments, let’s have a festival instead,’” said Mike Amundson, executive director of West Fargo Events.
The event begins with varsity and junior varsity teams competing Monday and Tuesday. Two varsity girls games and six varsity boys games will be played on the outdoor rink with other games played indoors at the two-sheet West Fargo Sports Arena.
Amundson said it’s all about providing a unique experience for the players, including PSP Network broadcasting the eight outdoor games along with KVLY-TV carrying that stream.
It’s those kinds of features that make this event different from most hockey events, Amundson said.
“Because it’s not profit-driven, it’s experience-driven,” he said. “Everything that we do out here is for the kids. The fact that there’s a broadcast is pretty cool for a lot of those kids. The fact that it’s region-wide, and now thanks to the internet, anyone can view it … it’s really grown into a region-wide event, which is pretty special.”
West Fargo and Minot boys varsity teams will play a military appreciation game at 6:45 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 30. The North Dakota Army National Guard will take on the Happy Hooligans at 6:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 2, in a military hockey game called “Stars and Stripes Under The Lights.”
Fans watch Fargo North play River Lakes on Friday, Dec. 27, 2024, at the West Fargo Winter Classic at The Lights outdoor hockey rink.
Chris Flynn / The Forum
Due to an earlier postponed game, West Fargo Sheyenne and West Fargo varsity boys teams have rescheduled their game for Jan. 3 inside the arena.
The Winter Classic hosts the 12-team Pee Wee B1 tournament that draws teams from around the region, including North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota and Manitoba. Following Stampede Day, which features West Fargo’s mites, termites and 8U teams on New Year’s Day, the Pee Wee tournament runs Jan. 2-4.
The first West Fargo outdoor games were to be branded as Hockey Day North Dakota, but COVID-19 canceled the event. Since then, Hockey Day North Dakota organizer Jeff Romsdal of Jamestown, who has trademarked the name, has struggled to secure a location since it was last held in 2022.
Romsdahl, however, has told The Forum recently he plans to host an event next season, most likely in Jamestown.
West Fargo Winter Classic
Arena–Main Rink: Alexandria, Minn. vs. WF Sheyenne (Boys JV), 10 a.m.; Mandan vs. Fargo North (Boys JV), 12:30 p.m.; Mandan vs. Fargo North (Boys Varsity), 3 p.m.; Rochester Mayo, Minn. vs. Bismarck Century (Boys Varsity), 6:15 p.m.
Arena–Aux Rink: Marshall, Minn. vs. Bismarck Legacy (Boys JV), 11 a.m.; River Lakes, Minn. vs. West Fargo (Boys JV), 1:30 p.m.; Rochester Mayo, Minn. vs. Bismarck Century (Boys JV), 4 p.m.; Marshall, Minn. vs. WF United (Girls JV), 6:15 p.m.
Lights (Outdoor): Marshall, Minn. vs. WF United (Girls Varsity), 10:30 a.m.; Alexandria, Minn. vs. WF Sheyenne (Boys Varsity), 1:15 p.m.; Marshall, Minn. vs. Bismarck Legacy (Boys Varsity), 4 p.m.; River Lakes, Minn. vs. West Fargo (Boys Varsity), 6:45 p.m.
Arena–Main Rink: River Lakes, Minn. vs. Bismarck Legacy (Boys JV), 10 a.m.; River Lakes, Minn. vs. Bismarck Legacy (Boys Varsity), 12:30 p.m.; Minot vs. West Fargo (Boys JV), 3 p.m.
Arena–Aux Rink: Marshall, Minn. vs. West Fargo United (Girls JV), 9 a.m.
Rochester Mayo, Minn. vs. Fargo North (Boys JV), 11 a.m.
Marshall, Minn. vs. Bismarck Century (Boys JV), 1:15 p.m.
Lights (Outdoor): Marshall, Minn. vs. Bismarck Century (Boys Varsity), 10:30 a.m.; Rochester Mayo, Minn. vs. Fargo North (Boys Varsity), 1:15 p.m.; Fargo North/South vs. Marshall, Minn. (Girls Varsity), 4 p.m.; Minot vs. West Fargo (Boys Varsity, Military Appreciation Game), 6:45 p.m.