St. Paul, MN – April 12, 2016 – Minnetonka is one of 10 finalists in the Kraft Hockeyville competition to find America’s most passionate hockey community. The first round of voting is now open and will end at 10:59 PM on April 14. The winning community will have the honor of hosting a 2015-2016 NHL preseason game in their community, a live broadcast from NBCSN and $150,000 toward upgrading their local rink, courtesy of Kraft.

Players in the Minnetonka Youth Hockey Association (MYHA) play at Pagel Activity Center in Minnetonka, MN. With more than 900 players, MYHA is the fourth largest youth hockey association in Minnesota and one of the largest in the country.

“It is wonderful to see a Minnesota arena named a Kraft Hockeyville finalist again this year,” said Minnesota Hockey President, Dave Margenau. “Minnetonka is another great example of the local hockey association working closely with their community to provide a safe and fun place to play hockey.  Let's all get behind the Pagel Activity Center and vote them into the finals!”

Minnetonka was one of over 1,000 communities that were nominated, and is now one of five communities competing in the West region. The 10 finalists were selected based on criteria that reflect the community’s passion for hockey, community spirit and creativity/originality.

“It is with great community excitement that our home rink, Pagel Activity Center, has been nominated and selected as one of the 10 finalists for Kraft Hockeyville USA 2016,” said Doug Howe, president of MYHA. “We thank Kraft and their commitment to all hockey communities and helping young men and women build lasting friendships and learning life lessons through the great sport of hockey.”

There are multiple ways to vote. Voters can visit the website www.krafthockeyville.com and follow the links and instructions to vote; or use a two-way text-messaging capable device and text the word “PAGEL” to 35350 to vote. Each eligible voter may vote fifty (50) times per method per day during each Voting Phase.

Additional prizes include:

• One (1) Runner Up prize: $75,000 in arena upgrades (paid via check) for the Runner Up winning Rink.
• Two (2) First prizes: $25,000 in arena upgrades (paid via check) for each First Prize winning Rink.
• Six (6) Second prizes: $10,000 in arena upgrades (paid via check) for each Second Prize Rinks.