High School Boys Ice Hockey in Minnesota - Historical Timeline

Historical Timeline

• 1905—St. Paul Academy fields their first hockey team-believed to be the oldest in the state of Minnesota
• 1930s—High school hockey played at approximately 25 schools in Minnesota.
• 1945—First MSHSL Boys State High School Hockey Tournament (the first of its kind in the United States) held at St. Paul Auditorium.
• 1969—The tournament moves to Met Center in Bloomington, home of the Minnesota North Stars NHL team.
• 1976—The tournament moves to the St. Paul Civic Center.
• 1992—Tier I and Tier II structure adopted.
• 1994—Class AA and A structure adopted.
• 1999—The tournament moved to the Target Center in Minneapolis.
• 2001—The tournament moved to the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, home of the Minnesota Wild NHL team.
• 2003—Period length changed from 15 to 17 minutes.
• 2007—Coaches seed top four teams in each class.
• 2008—March 7, 19,559 fans attended the 2008 State Boys’ Hockey Tournament Class AA semifinals at Xcel Energy Center, setting a new record for the largest crowd to ever attend a hockey game in the state of Minnesota.