Two of the state's most decorated programs take the ice in the first of two boys' high school games on Saturday, with Minneapolis battling against Warroad. 

Minneapolis (7-7-2) has gone 3-0-1 since a five-game winless streak earlier this season, putting the team on a bit of a hot streak entering Hockey Day. Senior forward and captain Ben Murray paces the team in scoring with 14 goals and 20 points, followed by sophomore defenseman Zander Zoia (5-13-18) and junior forward Frank Lindgren (4-11-15). 

Facing the hosts are the Warroad Warriors, rated No. 3 in the latest Youth Hockey Hub Class 1A rankings. The Warriors suffered their first loss of the season against rival Roseau on Jan. 9, giving the northland heroes a 15-1 mark. Senior forward and Northern Michigan commit Grant Sklukynsky leads the Warriors and the state in scoring with 24 goals and 59 total points. Freshman forward Jayson Shaugabay has been impressive in his first high school season with 11 goals and 37 points, and junior forward Anthony Foster has done more than just pitch in, scoring 21 times and dishing out 16 assists.   

Blake had an eight-game winning streak snapped in a surprising 4-2 loss to Burnsville on Jan. 14, giving the Bears a record of 12-4 heading into the weekend.

A trio of high-flying forwards power the Bears' offense, led statistically by junior forward and Minnesota verbal commit Joe Miller with 16 goals and 36 points. Joining Miller among the scoring leaders are senior forwards Jack Sabre (12-17-29) and Gavin Best (9-17-26).

Defensively, goaltender Aksel Reid has posted a save percentage of .913 and earned three shutouts so far. Junior defenseman Ryan Resseman is among the team's best with a plus/minus of +14. 

Blaine (10-5) is coming off a 15-1 win over Spring Lake Park in which senior forward Cole Hansen scored two goals and assisted on six scores, and fellow senior and New Hampshire commit Carsen Richels rattled off five goals. Hansen (15-21-36) leads the team in scoring, followed by Richels (16-16-32). 

The first period has been the kindest frame to Blaine thus far, with the team allowing just eight goals in the opening stanza compared to 31 in periods two and three. The Bengals have won three straight games since a 6-4 loss to Centennial on Jan. 4. 

With one swing of his fist, Larry Alm helped sparked a Minneapolis hockey dynasty.

Larry and his five brothers, Gary, Rick, Mike, Tim, and Tony had just moved in down the street from Jim Westby and his six siblings, and young Jim saddled up his tricycle to investigate the new family. 

“I pedaled over to the front of the Alm’s, and Larry Alm punched me,” Jim said over the phone Friday morning from his Roseville home. “Then I turned around, pedaled home, and we were great friends ever since,” Jim added with a chuckle. 

From that point on, the Westby’s and Alm’s ruled the Riverside Park neighborhood in Minneapolis, joining a handful of kids from other families for childhood games of all sorts. 

“In those days, we didn’t have much television,” Jim said. “So we were able to play football, baseball, and hockey, and all those other games in the alley. It was just a tremendous group of kids,” Jim continued. “It was a lotta fun.”

Talent grew from the streets and parks near the Mississippi River gorge, with all six Alm boys and the four Westby sons, Dick, Jerry, and David, along with Jim, becoming standout players at Minneapolis South High School. 

With Jim and Jerry both on the Tigers’ varsity for the 1955 state tournament, Jim etched his place in high school hockey history by scoring the game-winning goal in the eleventh overtime to lift the Tigers over Thief River Falls. 

“We ended up stopping the game at 1:20 in the morning,” Jim said, admitting that before that night, he had never been up so late. 

Several of the Westby/Alm crew, including Jim, went on to play at the University of Minnesota, and Jim suited up for the United States national team at the 1959 and 1961 World Championships. In 1964, Jim once again donned the red, white, and blue, playing for the U.S. at the Winter Olympics in Innsbruck, Austria.

Westby sister Judy was not allowed to participate in organized hockey due to her gender, but kept up just fine with the boys in the park, and helped form the Women’s Hockey Association of Minnesota. 

“Back in our days, the women didn’t have a chance,” Jim said. “They didn’t really have any teams. It wasn’t fair to women back in the forties, fifties, and sixties. It’s really enjoyable to watch women’s hockey (today),” Jim said.   

Jim continues to play the game, winning the USA Hockey Adult Hockey Player of the Year Award in 2016 for his lifelong contributions to the game. He plays twice weekly now with friends and says that the games are a wonderful way to continue with the sport he loves and maintain friendships. 

“A great thing about our hockey going on, we have lunch or supper after the game,” Jim explained. “It’s amazing how fun it is to sit around with all the hockey players and talk and have a few beers,” Jim said, adding that he prefers a Blue Moon with the requisite orange slice.

While Jim will not be in attendance on Saturday as his beloved Minneapolis plays host to some of hockey’s most devoted fans, his imprint, and his generation’s imprint, on the city’s hockey history cannot be understated.