By Frank Rajkowski, SJU Writer/Video Producer

COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. - Tradition runs pretty deep when it comes to hockey in White Bear Lake.

Doug Schueller knows that as well as anyone. The Saint John's University head coach played a part in that history, having been on two state tournament teams before graduating from White Bear Lake High School in 1995.

So he was pleased to hear the community had been selected to host this year's Hockey Day in Minnesota event. But he was even more thrilled when he learned his current team would be participating in the festivities.

The Johnnies (6-3-1 MIAC, 10-7-2 overall) are scheduled to face MIAC foe Augsburg (5-3-0, 9-7-1) at 5:30 p.m. Friday outdoors under the lights at Polar Lakes Park in White Bear Township. It marks the first MIAC contest (and just the second NCAA Division III college matchup) to be played as part of the event since it was first established by the Minnesota Wild and what is now known as Bally Sports North in 2007.

"It's really exciting for our guys to have the opportunity to be part of an event like this," said Schueller, whose team will complete the two-game series against the Auggies with a home matchup scheduled for 7 p.m. Saturday at the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center in St. Cloud.

"I know it means a lot to the community there and it means a lot to our program. I think part of the reason we were considered is that Mike Schwartz, who was my head coach in high school, went on to coach at Augsburg. So there's a connection between our two schools and White Bear Lake. That helped everything line up for this to fall into place."

The event – which has truly blossomed into a weekend-long affair over the years – gets underway Thursday with a high-school matchup between the Forest Lake and Cretin-Derham Hall girls at 5:30 p.m. followed by a celebrity game at 7:30. Friday starts with the SJU/Augsburg matchup, followed by a White Bear Lake alumni game in which Schueller is tentatively slated to take part.

The official Hockey Day itself begins with a high school matchup between the Stillwater Area and White Bear Lake girls at 9:30 a.m. followed by prep boys games between Hermantown and Mahtomedi at 1 p.m. and Hill-Murray and White Bear Lake at 4:30. Fireworks are scheduled for 7 p.m. leading into BSN's broadcast of the Buffalo Sabres/Wild NHL matchup at 8 p.m. at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul.

There will also be live music in the warming house all three days as well as other events.

"I know the organizers in White Bear Lake have put a ton of time into making this a successful weekend," Schueller said. "I have friends with kids on the high school team now, and I know everyone has gone out of their way to make sure this is going to be a really cool place to play."

Schueller's players, too, are eagerly anticipating Friday's game.

"I'm not really sure what to expect, but I know it's going to be a ton of fun," said senior forward Auggie Moore, who has six goals and 10 assists for SJU this season. "There will be a lot of people there. We'll be outdoors under the lights. I think it's going to be a great experience."

Moore last played an outdoor game when his Benilde-St. Margaret's squad faced Minnetonka as part of a run of high school games that surrounded the 2014 Hockey City Classic at the University of Minnesota's Huntington Bank (then TCF Bank) Stadium in Minneapolis.

But his brother was actually part of a Hockey Day game back in 2013 when Benilde-St. Margaret's played Grand Rapids, that year's host school.

"I think the wind chill that day was like 30- or 40-below," Moore said. "So hopefully it will be a little warmer than that Friday."

Indeed, the forecast calls for temperatures in the low teens before falling into the single digits as the night goes on. Certainly nothing that will spoil the homecoming for not just Schueller, but two other Johnnies as well.

Sophomore defenseman Cooper Anderson is injured and will not play. But his father, Will Anderson, who played Division I hockey at the University of Minnesota, is active in White Bear Lake hockey circles and has helped put the event together. 

Senior forward Brett Meister, a 2016 White Bear Lake graduate, is expected to be in uniform.

"It's very exciting," Meister said. "My journey to Saint John's had a lot of stops. So it's been a few years now since I last played a game in White Bear Lake. I can't wait to get back there for this.

"It's hockey town. No doubt about that. Whether you play or not, you know somebody who does. You support someone who does. The sport is such an important part of the community there."