Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/1000673
USICERINKS.COM JULY.AUGUST.2018 / 17 He maintained the ice back when the team polled fans on what to name themselves in 1997, deciding on the Minnesota Wild over 13,000 other ideas. "This team here, it's a family," says Larson. "That's the only way to describe it." Now with TRIA, Larson gets the best of both worlds: organizing events for a celebrated NHL team and serving the people with public skates, hockey camps and high school games. Appropriately, TRIA Rink's floor-to-ceiling windows give a sprawling view to the community it serves. Larson has seen how the city rallies around not just the NHL, but lower- level teams. Each March, crowds at the state high school tournament often push 20,000 in attendance per session. In January, TRIA's first high school game with Johnson Senior High was sold out. TRIA is also home to the local Hamline University hockey teams. The women finished their regular season this winter ranked higher in their conference than they ever have. They earned third at the NCAA Division III national championship in March. "Their head coach Natalie Darwitz, former Olympian and high school hockey player out of Eagan (Minnesota), gives a lot of credit to the rink and the fact that they've been able to really secure a home for their program," says Jamie Spencer, Wild executive vice president of business development. "We're really excited that Hamline University's there." TRIA rink has already hosted the National Women's Hockey League All- Star Weekend, with potential to be home to the NWHL's newest expansion team, the Minnesota Whitecaps. Staff also works closely with Minnesota Hockey, the governing arm of hockey in the state, and has accommodated a slew of youth events. Spencer envisions even "HOCKEY'S REALLY THE CATALYST TO CREATING GOOD CITIZENS IN THE COMMUNITY."