Hockey team victimized by thieves receive surprise of a lifetime.

A youth hockey team that was victimized by thieves has been given the surprise of a lifetime thanks to the wonderful efforts of a National Hockey League franchise.

On Monday, the Minnesota Wild will welcome a pair of high school hockey teams to their home rink, Xcel Energy Center, and there they will allow those teams to play out a game in front of a live arena full of fans. The Wild are doing this because one of the teams was victimized by a thief late last year, with over 40 sticks being stolen from the team's bus while they were traveling for a game.

The Wild made note of the unfortunate incident in their official press release for the event:

The Boys Varsity Hockey Teams from Mankato West High School and Anoka High School will play a postponed game originally scheduled for Saturday, Dec. 28, at the Heritage Holiday Classic in Duluth. Mankato West was unable to play the game on the originally scheduled date after the team's hockey sticks were stolen from the team bus.

This won't be a case of the Wild simply turning the lights on at Xcel Energy Center however, no instead the kids are going to receive the full NHL experience when they play on Monday. Once again from the Wild's official press release:

The Minnesota Wild will implement many of its traditional NHL game elements during the game, including public address announcer Adam Abrams, national anthem singer John de Causemeaker, Minnesota Wild Mascot Nordy, the team's DJ accompanied by music and LED lighting.
The game will be treated as a neutral site.

The best part of course is that fans in the area have been invited to attend the special event which will only serve to make it that much more special for the kids on the ice.

A truly wonderful gesture from the Minnesota Wild and another great example of the sport of hockey bringing people together as a community.