
Labor of Love: Despite Inability to Host Games, Fox Sports North Keeps Hockey Day Minnesota' Tradition Alive A live studio show at an outdoor skating rink anchored a day of features and classic Hockey Day games of years past By Brandon Costa, Director of Digital
Friday, March 5, 2021 - 2:52 pm
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlights
For 15 years, Fox Sports North has cemented Hockey Day Minnesota as a sports television tradition in the State of Hockey.
In years past, the event has taken high school and college hockey games and showcased them outdoors for a day-long celebration of the sport, all leading up to an evening tilt featuring the Twin Cities' home NHL franchise, the Minnesota Wild. This year, with the in inability to host the event safely in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Minneapolis-based regional sports network which is now owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group did not want to let the event go by unmarked. So, they set up shop at a local outdoor skating rink [the John Rose Oval, just north of Minneapolis-St. Paul in Roseville] with a remote studio show anchoring a day's worth of classic games, interviews, and high-end features.
Minneapolis-based Fox Sports North hosted its annual Hockey Day Minnesota on Saturday. While live games couldn't occur due to COVID-19 restrictions, the network produced a live studio show anchored by hosts Mark Parrish and Marney Gellner from an outdoor rink just north of the Twin Cities.
We had to find a way to make this happen, said Mike Dimond, SVP and GM, Fox Sports North. We didn't want to take a hiatus. It was a labor of love and was a work in progress throughout, but there was complete unity in wanting to make sure that we had a Hockey Day this year.
According to Fox Sports North senior producer John Stroh, the storytelling challenge for the crew was making the event feel special despite the lack of live games. The network aired classic games, even bringing back former players many of which are now parents and coaches themselves in Zoom interviews. The show also brought in local hockey personalities to the live set for interviews tying the event to the present day. Minnesota Wild player Matt Dumba actually hosted a camp at the set that was showcased at the top of the show. Fittingly enough, he scored the game-winning goal for the Wild later that night with just .3 seconds remaining in regulation.
As for the logistics, a talented team headed up by Fox Sports North director, operations Bob Rohde made easy work of the event. He noted this show was naturally much simpler operational to execute versus the massive rink and live game set up that the RSN will bring to a host city each year. However, it certainly wasn't without its logistical challenges: most of them COVID-safety related.
The show was handled out of a mobile facility built by Rush Media that worked perfectly for both the size of the show and safety reasons. The truck features six customizable workspaces that are separated by hard walls. It offered flexibility while making it easy to maintain social distancing for the crew in the truck.
Fourteen years of fun on ice!
We love @HockeyDayMN and there s more fun to come for #HDM2021 driven by @PolarisInc #ThinkOutside pic.twitter.com/ns3hvA0jXH
FOX Sports North (@fsnorth) February 27, 2021
The show featured standard hard/manned studio cameras, though a jib proved very valuable for scenics while also serving as the primary stage camera. In addition, there was a camera operator on skates with a MOVI grabbing some unique angles of kids playing on the ice behind the main set.
We site surveyed and met with the people who run The Oval a couple of times, says Rohde, who noted that the city of Roseville dedicated a 10gig network to assist the show. Those people were great and this thing fell together pretty easily.
As in years past, Fox Sports North used an ARCTEK satellite unit to transmit from the venue and, since facility power was used to support the chillers that kept the outdoor rink's ice frozen on an unseasonably warm day for the area, the show brought in its own Ziegler Power Systems generator (by CAT Entertainment Services) to power the television facilities. Zixi IP was deployed to connect the truck to the network's Minneapolis offices, granting direct access to the edit suites located there.
The broadcast also paid tribute to Fox Sports North coordinating producer Trevor Fleck. It was announced over the summer that Fleck had been diagnosed with Stage IV colon cancer. He underwent surgery earlier this year and is currently battling through rounds of chemotherapy. Fleck has played a role in the production of each of the previous 14 editions of Hockey Day Minnesota and has worked at Fox Sports North for two decades.
.@HockeyDayMN has been such an incredible day over the years thanks to our good friend and @fsnorth coordinating producer, Trevor Fleck.
We want to send him and his family the best this #HDM2021 as he battles cancer. pic.twitter.com/5FXug4us3P
FOX Sports North (@fsnorth) February 27, 2021
The 15th edition of Hockey Day Minnesota was originally scheduled to take place in Mankato back in January. Dimond said the network plans to pick up those plans and return to Mankato for the event's full reincarnation in 2022.
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
02/05/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
01/05/2026
January 5 2026, 18:30 (PST) NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to ...
22/04/2026
Solid State Logic is advancing its System T platform with a stronger focus on IP...
22/04/2026
From immersive audio to live streaming, Dolby Laboratories is focused on the fut...
22/04/2026
Shallow depth-of-field cameras have taken the industry by storm. Its debut a han...
22/04/2026
Riedel Communications (Booth C4908) announced that Eastern Kentucky University (...
22/04/2026
The NAB Show is in full swing, and the SVG and SVG Europe editorial teams are chasing down the hottest stories from all over the Las Vegas Convention Center. He...
22/04/2026
Blackmagic Design has announced the URSA Cine 12K LF 100G, a new model in the URSA Cine family adding 100G Ethernet for SMPTE 2110 live production output up to ...
22/04/2026
Celebrating its 40th anniversary, NEP is leaning into hybrid production with the...
22/04/2026
NEP VP, Platform Dan Murphy sits down at the 2026 NAB Show to unpack what NEP P...
22/04/2026
Spotify and the New York Liberty are teaming up to give music and basketball fan...
22/04/2026
New 20-minute documentary explores iconic design The Focusrite Room in Mesa, Arizona, where John Aquilino hosts the Studio Console 005.
In 2025, Focusrite co...
22/04/2026
Offers compact wireless solution for pedalboards
Taiwanese audio brand Cloudvocal have announced the availability of a new pedalboard-friendly wireless syst...
22/04/2026
Latest hybrid sampling/synthesis instrument arrives
Arturia's Augmented series offerings rely on a mixture of sampling and synthesis, allowing users to ...
22/04/2026
Combines three distinct analogue EQ emulations
The latest addition to Acustica Audio's ever-expanding collection of analogue-emulation plug-ins combines...
22/04/2026
Final instalment in vintage-inspired instrument series
Analog Empire: Bass & Lead marks the final instalment in Melda Production's vintage hardware-insp...
22/04/2026
Fuzz pedal joins all-analogue Series A line
Given that Strymons reputation was built on unapologetically digital pedals, it was a little surprising to see t...
22/04/2026
SBS names shortlisted brands for 2026 SBS Media Sustainability Challenge
22 April, 2026
Media releases
National broadcaster also releases its second annual...
22/04/2026
Why Low Band Electronic Warfare Matters...
22/04/2026
The nation unites around football team's World Cup dream
Warsaw, Poland, 20.04.26: Nielsen, a global leader in audience measurement, data, and media intell...
22/04/2026
Warsaw, Poland, 22.04.26: Nielsen, a global leader in audience measurement, data...
22/04/2026
New market intelligence offering gives businesses a clearer view of local consum...
22/04/2026
Glookast Unveils New UX, YouTube and Social Media Connectors, Premiere Panel, Ci...
22/04/2026
Lightcraft Technology to Preview Spark Story at NAB 2026 with Interactive Previs...
22/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
22/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
22/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
22/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
22/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
22/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
22/04/2026
22 Apr 2026
VEON's Banglalink to Bring Starlink Mobile to Customers in Bangladesh Bangladesh becomes the third market where VEON and Starlink Mobile partne...
22/04/2026
U have unveiled exclusive first-look images for their six-part police thriller Hit Point, starring Nick Blood (Day of the Jackal) and BAFTA nominee Saffron Hock...
22/04/2026
What can I watch on UKTV and stream on U this week?
This week on UKTV and the free streaming service U, viewers can watch a range of new and returning programm...
22/04/2026
Wednesday 22 April 2026
Sky announces fifth year of WNT Fund with 30,000 bursa...
22/04/2026
Back to All News
This Earth Day, Discover the Sustainable Productions Behind Our Films and Series
Emma Stewart, Ph.D.
Netflix Sustainability Officer
Enterta...
22/04/2026
The move from Retail Media to Commerce Media is about broadening the scope of th...
22/04/2026
April 22 2026, 07:00 (PDT) Dolby and BMW Bring Dolby Atmos to the BMW 7 Series,...
22/04/2026
RT Documentary On One 7-part series breaks US market for first time
RT Programme Sales has announced its first deal with a US distribution partner for its 7-...
22/04/2026
NVIDIA and Google Cloud have collaborated for more than a decade, co engineering a full stack AI platform that spans every technology layer - from performance o...
21/04/2026
Cloud-based production isnt going anywhere, and BitFire is doubling down by prov...
21/04/2026
The topic of artificial intelligence has a stranglehold on the sports-video-prod...
21/04/2026
5G is still a hot topic in live event production, and this workflow continues to...
21/04/2026
At the 2026 NAB Show, Ed McGivern, GM and President of Appear US, discusses the ...
21/04/2026
Studio Network Solutions (SNS) has announced an on-premise AI suite designed for...
21/04/2026
Suite Studios has integrated its file-streaming technology into the newly announced Frame.io Drive, a desktop application from Adobe company Frame.io. The colla...
21/04/2026
Net Insight has integrated InSync Technology's FrameFormer into the Nimbra E...