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MARSHALL -- The Fairbanks Ice Dogs junior hockey team is preparing to return to Marshall this December, continuing a relationship that began during the COVID-19 pandemic and has grown into an annual tradition.
The junior hockey team will play at Red Baron Arena & Expo on Dec. 4-5, facing the Minnesota Wilderness both nights. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. each evening.
For Visit Marshall Director Cassi Weiss, the relationship began with an unexpected phone call during the pandemic. With Alaska’s strict travel restrictions requiring visitors to quarantine for several days after flying in, the Ice Dogs were looking for a way to adjust their season.
"We had got a little wind that they were looking to maybe be in Minnesota," Weiss said. "So it really was just a cold call to the general manager, like, 'Hey, do you want to play in Marshall?'"
Weiss said having a Marshall player on the Ice Dogs roster also helped establish a connection between the team and the community.
What followed was a community-wide effort to make the arrangement work. The city of Marshall, Red Baron Arena, Visit Marshall, the youth hockey association, the high school hockey association and Marshall school officials all worked together to accommodate the team.
"The coolest thing is just like the whole community came together," Weiss said. "Everyone just came together and figured out a way to make this work."
The Ice Dogs ended up staying in Marshall longer than originally anticipated, requiring schedule adjustments and flexibility from the organizations involved. Weiss said the team’s willingness to engage with the community made the experience especially meaningful.
"They really wanted to engage into the youth and into our community and give back as much as they could," Weiss said. "And they really were just so appreciative to be here."
One of the most important parts of bringing the team to Marshall was finding local families willing to billet players. Billeting is a common practice in junior hockey in which players stay with host families during the season or while traveling.
Visit Marshall worked with the Youth Hockey Association to connect with interested families. Some of those families have continued to billet players since the Ice Dogs’ first visit.
"We still have billet families to this day that did it the first year, and they just want to continue to do it because they love meeting the kids," Weiss said.
Weiss said the experience also provided an opportunity for families whose children had grown up playing hockey to stay connected to the sport.
The Ice Dogs’ return has become something both the team and Marshall look forward to each year. Weiss said attendance has remained strong, with the community continuing to purchase tickets and families expressing interest in hosting players.
"We sell just as many tickets as we did the first year," Weiss said. "We always have billets that want to billet."
The relationship has developed into an informal annual tradition, with conversations about returning often beginning during the summer as schedules are finalized.
Weiss said the Ice Dogs are also having an impressive season, giving fans another opportunity to watch high-level junior hockey. She encourages people who may not typically attend hockey games to experience the atmosphere.
"I always try to get people who aren’t hockey people into the rink to see what it’s like because it’s such a different game," Weiss said. "It’s a laid-back atmosphere that you don’t get in this facility very often."
Weiss hopes the team feels the same hometown support in Marshall that it receives in Alaska.
"I hope they feel that same kind of hometown energy when they play here," she said.
Tickets for the Dec. 4-5 games are available online through Visit Marshall’s website at visitmarshallmn.com. Tickets are only available online.