Portman Hockey celebrates 3rd annual “Great Skate”

DULUTH, Minn. — Portman Hockey celebrated the kickoff to their outdoor hockey season with their annual “Great Skate” fundraiser.

Skaters both big and small gathered from around the Northland to help Portman raise funds for the organization’s programs, in order to keep the sport affordable for all interested kids.

After the event was previously postponed from its original Dec. 17. date, the evening brought the community together to support one of Duluth’s favorite winter traditions.

“The ‘Great Skate’ is one of our biggest fundraisers of the year, and so we’re just celebrating all of the efforts that our community put forth to raise money so that we can continue offering fun outdoor hockey for the winter months,” said Jennifer Lovely, the Portman Representative for the Duluth Area Hockey Association.

The event also included the season’s first “mini mites” game, where skaters 3 to 5 years old got to play their first Portman game.

Among those lucky skaters was Lovely’s daughter, Bonnie, who played in her first ever Portman Hockey game.