The National Women’s Hockey League announced a partnership with the Minnesota Wild to host the 2018 NWHL All-Star Weekend on Feb. 10-11 in the Twin Cities. All events will be held at TRIA Rink, the Wild’s state-of-the-art practice facility in downtown Saint Paul that opened this month.

The NWHL Skills Challenge will take place on Saturday, Feb. 10, at 6:45 p.m. The 2018 NWHL All-Star Game is on Sunday, Feb. 11, at 11:30 a.m. 

Tickets are available now at NWHL.zone/tickets. Skills Challenge tickets are $15, All-Star Game seats are $25 and an All-Star Weekend Package with both events is available for $25. Seating capacity for each event will be 1,200 and there will be an autograph session with the players after both events for all ticketholders.

After the NWHL’s successful 2017 All-Star Weekend in Pittsburgh with the NHL’s Penguins, the league is again taking its all-star events to a neutral site and major market - in this case, the State of Hockey.

”We are so proud to have the opportunity to present the NWHL All-Star Weekend in Saint Paul,” said Commissioner Dani Rylan. “As we strive to grow the league and promote the women’s game, our goal has been to showcase the great players of the NWHL beyond our original four markets. We’re thankful for this partnership with the Minnesota Wild, a top NHL franchise that does so much for the development of hockey across all levels and genders.”

The All-Star Game format will consist of two 25-minute halves. Each team will have 12 skaters and two goaltenders. The captains of the teams will be Buffalo Beauts’ goaltender Amanda Leveille, an Isobel Cup champion in 2017 who played at the University of Minnesota from 2012-16, and Boston Pride goaltender Brittany Ott, an Isobel Cup champion in 2016 who was raised in Michigan.

The NWHL is also proud to announce that the hometown Minnesota Whitecaps, the women’s team of the State of Hockey, has accepted the league’s invitation to have two players participate in the skills competition and game.

Photo: Michael Hetzel