Penguins' Guentzel bringing Stanley Cup to Woodbury
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Pittsburgh Penguins rookie Jake Guentzel is bringing the Stanley Cup back to Minnesota.
The Star Tribune's Michael Russo reports that Guentzel plans to spend a portion of his day with the cup at Woodbury's HealthEast Sports Center on Thursday, July 13.
Guentzel (@shakenjake20) retweeted Russo's message:
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Officials from the HealthEast Sports Center, formerly known as Bielenberg Sports Center, have confirmed to WCCO that the event will be open to the public from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.
Born in Omaha, Nebraska but raised in Woodbury, Guentzel played two seasons of high school hockey at Hill-Murray, before joining the USHL's Sioux City Muskateers.
He went on to play for the University of Nebraska-Omaha, spending three season with the Mavericks and racking up 46 points in 35 games as a junior.
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Guentzel left UNO after three seasons to sign with the Penguins, who selected the winger in the third round of the 2013 draft.
He broke out in the playoffs after a strong regular season, racking up 21 points and tying Dino Ciccarelli's longstanding rookie playoff scoring record, while leading the playoffs with 13 goals, including the game-winners in Game 1 and Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final.
Despite his successes in Pittsburgh and Omaha, Guentzel's family has strong ties to the State of Hockey.
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Jake is the son of University of Minnesota assistant coach Mike Guentzel, who played for the Gophers from 1981-85.