According to the January issue of the Defending the Blue Line January Newsletter, the Minnesota Wild will once again be hosting a Camouflage Sweater auction. The date of this year's event will be February 26th, as the Wild face the San Jose Sharks, and champion of the cause Brent Burns.

According to the newsletter, the camo sweater auction resulted in the single largest donation ever made to Defending the Blue Line. Without a doubt, this year's event will likely at least match last year's. Fans will get a second chance to land a limited edition sweater, autographed by their favorite Wild player.

We will get you information on the site for the hosting of the auction as soon as that is available, but you can be sure it will be linked to here and at Wild.com.Get your cash and credit cards ready, folks. It's time to bid high and win that camo sweater you didn't get last year.

Anyone going after one of these beauties?

Despite not being outside for the first time, Hockey Day Minnesota had to be considered a good day for hockey fans across the state. The Pagel Activity Center was a very nice complex to host the high school games. Grand Rapids and White Bear Lake had a great game to open the day. The fans who showed up early to watch the Thunderhawks and Bears were treated to a much more competitive game than the Skippers and Greyhounds.

The Gophers were able to bounce back against Colorado College. While Fox Sports North and their homer employees would never acknowledge that there are more than one Minnesota D1 college teams, the other state teams performed well. The Bulldogs swept the series in their return home over Alabama-Huntsville. Minnesota State was able to pull off an overtime win against Nebraska Omaha. St. Cloud State played a very competitive game against North Dakota despite missing their cornerstone goalie and captain.

To cap off the day, the Wild found their offensive game and forecheck in a huge win against Dallas. Chad Rau and little brother Kyle Rau were able to celebrate a huge day for the family. Chad ended up with the game-winning goal in his first NHL game, the first goal of his career. It was a great day for Minnesota hockey.

While there were plenty of good games over the course of the week, there were really only two games with serious implications for Minnesota Boys' High School Hockey. Unless it's the State Tournament, it's rare to see arguably the top two teams from both Class A and Class AA going head to head.

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Yes, that's right. Hockey Wilderness would like to take on the honor of covering the growing women's game in addition to the coverage we already bring you. We are looking for someone for a weekly column on High School girl's hockey (similar to what Jesse and Chris bring us about the boys game), and a weekly column covering the Women's programs inside the borders of Minnesota at the college level.

Are you that person? We'd love to hear from you. There are links to emails at the bottom of the page, you can let us know in the comment section, talk to us via Twitter (@hockeywildernes, @ReynoldsSBN, @nathaneide), reach us at our Facebook page, hire a courier to bring us a note, check yes or no on the note the kid behind you has... whatever manner you wish to communicate in.

We would like someone over the age of 18, and able to attend games, or at least watch the games in some way. Someone with strong knowledge of both hockey in general and women's hockey specifically.

This "job" pays absolutely nothing, but does come with the prestige of being part of the greatest team of writers in all of Minnesota hockey. You also have the opportunity to represent Hockey Wilderness at state tournaments and college level tournies as well, should you so choose.

Are you our newest writer? Let us know.

When you peruse the Minnesota Wild roster looking for the names that would best represent the Wild at the corporate boondoggle that is the All Star Game, there are a few names that jump out at you. Mikko Koivu (selected, but injured), Dany Heatley, Devin Setoguchi, Niklas Backstrom certainly have to top the list. However, none of those players will be at the festivities made to impress corporate sponsors and the 150 actual hockey fans in the area. One player will be there for the Wild.

How many guesses would it take you to get to Nick Johnson? About 20?

What makes Nick Johnson an All Star is subjective. He has rookie status, and he is there solely to participate in the skills competition as part of the rookie squad. Without the rookie status, Johnson wouldn't be there. Which is fine. The rookie thing is cool, and gives those corporate big wigs a reason to watch something other than the draft.

Who is Nick Johnson? After the jump.

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Remember back when the Wild had a bunch of Aeros players and the team still sucked, and the Aeros weren't doing much better?

I'm not sure what happened in the organization, apart from the renewed faith in management inspired by Marek Zidlicky earning his $4M in the press box, but we're in that same boat again. This time, however, it seems to be working!

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Another day, another short Walk. At least this one has some meaning to it. Yes, I just devalued the work I do each day. I'm allowed to do that.

News could be rather short is coming with the All Star break, so if there is no Walk for a day or two, don't panic. We're still here. We'll find something to keep you from having to do actual work, OK? OK. Anything specific you want to use as a distraction? Let us know.

For today, please follow the first link and vote. It would be very nice of you, and I am asking you personally to help out. It costs nothing, takes about a minute, and could help out big time. More than can be indicated in words. You can vote every day via that same link, and we'll remind you every day to do so.

Links, after the jump.

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Minnesota Wild 3 - 2 Colorado Avalanche

For Colorado perspective, please visit Mile High Hockey.

Well... road losing streak broken. A goal from the blue line. Offensive zone pressure. Outshooting the opponent. You have to bet Chuck Fletcher will hear from Brendan Shanahan about this. Clearly a suspension is due for those rule violations.

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, the Wild have won two games. In a row. And the second one came on the road. The only explanation is that the Mayans are right, and we're only here for a few more months. The Wild played a pretty decent game, save for maybe the first five minutes or so. It looked ugly for a few minutes to start this one, but they pulled it together and pulled out the big win and back into eighth in West.

The Avs scored early, but the Wild didn't drop into a coma. Justin Falk scored his first goal of his career to tie it up. Later, Dany Heatley drove home a Kyle Brodziak shot, and the Wild had a lead again. It was odd. If I had not seen it with my own eyes, I would never have believed it.

Then... nap time. Just the mere mention of Chuck Kobasew's name makes me tired. Still, Kobasew did drive the net and score a goal. Something that was so rare in his time in Minnesota, we are left to wonder if he really scored the one tonight.

The final goal was a thing of beauty. Carson McMillian strips the puck, and he and Kyle Brodziak go in on the 2 - on - 0 break with McMillan potting the game winner. Not often you see absolutely no one back for a team with two of the opposition coming the other way. Especially without Todd Richards behind the bench.

This game was not nearly as chippy as it should have been. Being a win, it wasn't nearly as boring as it should have been either. And with Adrian Dater off for the night, it was almost tolerable.

Good times, Wild fans. Time for the All-Star break, with the Wild back in the playoff bubble.

The Bennett's Chop & Railhouse Stars of the Game:

1. Carson McMillan (GWG, 4 SOG)
2. Justin Falk (1G, 3 SOG, 5 PIM)
3. Dany Heatley (1G, 3 SOG)

Remember, when you begin and end your night at Bennett's, you're the star! Easy parking, drink and food specials and a free shuttle to and from the Xcel Energy Center. Check them out at http://bennettschopandrailhouse.com/.

Five Questions:

1. Over under of how long it takes Kassian to seek retribution is set at 5 minutes. What you got? Way over. No fights. Strange.
   
2. Can Wild fans stay awake with the most exciting team in hockey hosting the Wild? It wasn't exactly a barn burner, but it was decent.
3. Who steps up in this one? Everyone played well. We'll say... McMillan.
   
4. Can the Wild overtake the Avs into the break? Yep.
   
5. How many times does Adrian Dater make himself look stupid tonight? He was off tonight. Still found a way to make himself look stupid, though. Still unsure how a guy who is so biased continues to be called a beat writer.