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 ...
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 ...
06/04/2026
Michigan legends bring a new voice to the broadcast as TNT Sports and CBS Sports...
06/04/2026
From high school sports all the way up to the major leagues, building high-quali...
06/04/2026
Quickplay, an AI company for the media and entertainment industry, has been accepted into the Advanced tier of the TwelveLabs Ecosystem Partner Program. Quickpl...
06/04/2026
Grass Valley has announced the Future Playmakers Program, a global initiative to...
06/04/2026
El l der de operaciones impulsa la producci n en estudio mientras encuentra insp...
06/04/2026
The ops leader helps lead the charge in studio for the Spanish-language broadcas...
06/04/2026
Behind The Mic provides a roundup of recent news regarding on-air talent, includ...
06/04/2026
The National Hockey League (NHL), in partnership with Verizon and the New Jersey Devils, today announced the opening of the NHL Innovation Lab powered by Verizo...
06/04/2026
Rock League, a new professional curling league, has announced that ESPN+ will stream its inaugural 2026 season for fans in the United States. The first Rock Lea...
06/04/2026
Advanced Systems Group has announced the appointment of Andrea (Andy) Cummis as Vice President of Systems Design and Engineering. In this role, she will lead de...
06/04/2026
Backed by Bolt Ventures, the venture brings Bryson DeChambeau, Grant Horvat, and...
06/04/2026
With this environment we can start that collaboration even earlier because we ca...
06/04/2026
Like the immortal lives of vampires, some stories never really end. That's t...
06/04/2026
As podcasting continues to evolve, growth increasingly means building beyond aud...
06/04/2026
Multiband dynamics plug-in enhanced
California-based developer FSK Audio have released a significant update for their innovative multiband dynamics processo...
06/04/2026
Share official & user-created full-rig presets
IK Multimedia's latest TONEX update makes it possible for users of the popular amp and effects modelling ...
06/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
06/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
06/04/2026
Dalet Showcases Dalia Agentic AI and End-to-End Media Workflows at NAB Show 2026
Brie Clayton April 6, 2026
0 Comments
Dalet, a leading technology and...
06/04/2026
OpenDrives Shows Off Sports Expertise in Sports Business Hub located in NAB Show...
06/04/2026
Proton to Demonstrate 3D Application at NAB 2026
Brie Clayton April 6, 2026
0 Comments
Yet further creative potential unleashed through innovation in ...
06/04/2026
Autoscript Highlights Voice-Driven Prompting and PTZ Solutions at NAB 2026
Brie Clayton April 6, 2026
0 Comments
Experience Autoscript Voice, PTZ prom...
06/04/2026
Mediaproxy Highlights Significant Enhancements to its LogServer suite at NAB Sho...
06/04/2026
Wayne, N.J., April 6th, 2026 Phantom High-Speed announces the release of PCC 4...
06/04/2026
April 6th, 2026
TRIBECA STUDIOS AND LILLY ANNOUNCE WINNERS OF INAUGURAL VITAL...
06/04/2026
Back to All News
Netflix Expands Kids Entertainment Lineup With Playground App ...
05/04/2026
Tackles all reported bugs!
SoundBridge have just announced the launch of a new update that introduces a couple of minor changes to their remote collaboratio...
04/04/2026
The University of Arizona's Men's Basketball team has only loss twice th...
04/04/2026
1080p HDR arrives, a new generation of storytelling tools takes center stage, an...
04/04/2026
Michigan legends bring a new voice to the broadcast as TNT Sports and CBS Sports...
04/04/2026
Faster, cleaner and more intuitive than ever
The control software for Flock Audio's digitally controlled patchbay systems has just been treated to an up...
04/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/04/2026
DHD Introduces AI-Based Audio Noise Reduction to XD3 IP Core
Brie Clayton April 3, 2026
0 Comments
The accompanying image shows the rear panel of the ...
04/04/2026
Macnica Redefines ST 2110 Flexibility with Two Speeds on One Card
Brie Clayton April 3, 2026
0 Comments
New for NAB Show 2026, MEP100 SmartNIC now sup...
04/04/2026
Unified Media Workflows for Story-Centric Production
Brie Clayton April 3, 2026
0 Comments
Framelight X unifies field capture, editing and publishing ...
03/04/2026
Michigan's Fab Five will reunite for an alternate presentation of the Mich...
03/04/2026
Avid will exhibit at NAB Show 2026 (April 18-22, Booth N2226, Las Vegas Convention Center), demonstrating its Content Core platform and new AI-driven workflow c...
03/04/2026
Mark Roberts Motion Control (MRMC) has announced the appointment of Nick Barthee as Chief Operating Officer.
The announcement follows MRMC's transition fro...
03/04/2026
Interra Systems has announced that Elite Media Technologies has selected its BATON file-based QC solution for media workflows. Elite Media Technologies speciali...
03/04/2026
Ateme has announced that Moldtelecom has deployed Ateme technologies across its streaming workflow, covering encoding, delivery, operations, and analytics.
Mol...
03/04/2026
Grass Valley will demonstrate Framelight X, its content management platform, at NAB Show 2026. The platform connects capture, ingest, editing, and publishing in...
03/04/2026
Encompass Digital Media and Techex have announced a cloud-native Master Control ...
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 
