By Sam Schaust
Murphy News Service

Buying into the idea that there’s never a bad time to celebrate Minnesota hockey history is easy — even during the roller-coaster-like season that’s under way for the Minnesota Wild.

So, on March 21 hockey fans will celebrate indeed, when five former Minnesota North Star goalies come together for a public meet-and-greet.

Scheduled to be on-hand will be former favorites such as Cesare Maniago, Carl Wetzel, Pete LoPresti, Don Beaupre and Jon Casey, all of whom protected the North Stars net during the NHL’s first Minnesota run here from 1967 to 1993 (before the team moved to Dallas to become simply the Stars).

Together, the original brick walls of Minnesota professional hockey will gather at the Rock N Jock Expo, a local sports and music event taking place at the New Hope Cinema Grill and Outtakes Bar and Grill in New Hope.

Those who go will “see some of the old faces that hid behind the masks in the North Star net over the years,” Beaupre said. He helped lead the North Stars into the Stanley Cup final during his rookie season. “I hope the diehard Minnesota hockey fans have the time to come and share their North Star stories with us.”

The five goalies will meet with fans to sign autographs and take pictures from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. Pricing per autograph is still being determined. All proceeds will be donated to the Minnesota NHL Alumni Association.

Then five former Stars will make their way to the Wild game that evening, as the St. Louis Blues come to Xcel Energy Center.

“I have had the opportunity to talk with Carl Wetzel, Pete LoPresti and Caesar Maniago in the last few months and it is always a fun conversation,”  Beaupre said. “They are all great guys with a common thread of guarding the net for different North Star teams at the Met Center.”

The last gathering of North Stars alumni took place in 2012, an event hosted by the Wild that ushered in later Xcel appearances by Beaupre, LoPresti and the late J.P. Parise.

Maniago, LoPresti, Beaupre and Casey make up four of the seven goalies to have played 100 or more games for the North Stars, while Wetzel is distinguished as a three-time member of the U.S. National Team.

All but Beaupre live outside of Minnesota, with one – Maniago – making his first autograph-signing appearance in Minnesota in more than 12 years.

“We’re very excited to host a reunion event recognizing the rich history of Minnesota’s first NHL franchise,” Shaun Hagglund, owner of Fan HQ, the organizer of Rock N Jock Expo and this reunion, said. “The North Stars hold a special place in the hearts of Minnesota hockey fans and we expect the State of Hockey to come out in large numbers to meet the men who minded the nets for the North Stars from their first to last years in Minnesota.”

Reporter Sam Schaust is studying journalism at the University of Minnesota.