By: Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 14/4/2018 (1354 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
DAVID JOLES / MINNEAPOLIS STAR TRIBUNE
Seen from the 24th Street walking bridge cars make their way slowly on I-35W in the blizzard Saturday in Minneapolis. Authorities closed several highways in southwestern Minnesota, where no travel was advised, and driving conditions were difficult across the southern half of the state.
The Jets are to fly out of Winnipeg today after a blizzard kept them from landing in Minneapolis Saturday.
They've handled the Minnesota Wild in the first two games off their playoff series, but the Winnipeg Jets have proven to be no match for Mother Nature.
A record-setting spring snowstorm meant the Jets were unable to land in Minneapolis Saturday afternoon and forced the charter flight to be diverted to Duluth, 250 kilometres northeast.
After sitting on the tarmac for a couple of hours waiting to see if an opportunity to get into the Twin Cities might open up, a decision was made to turn the plane around and head back to Winnipeg by late afternoon.
All planes were grounded at the Minneapolis-St. Paul airport for much of Saturday as the area was under a blizzard warning, with some estimates of more than 30 centimetres of snow.
It was a whiteout on the highway near Monticello, Minnesota this morning. Free Press photographer Trevor Hagan was on his way to Minneapolis to cover the Jets/Wild playoff series.
Flying in to the competitor's city on game day is a major change to normal game-day routine. The puck is set to drop for Game 3 at 6 p.m. in St Paul, with the Jets up 2-0 in the best-of-seven series.
Winnipeg held a brief practice and media availability Saturday morning at the Bell MTS Iceplex, moving up the time because of the storm system. They took off from Winnipeg just after noon, which was a couple hours earlier than originally planned with the hope of beating the worst of the weather.
It obviously didn't work.
ANTHONY SOUFFLE / MINNEAPOLIS STAR TRIBUNE
Minneapolis is blanketed in snow as flurries blow in the wind from the I-35W Saint Anthony Falls Bridge over the Mississippi River on Saturday.
Several commercial flights out of Winnipeg to Minneapolis were cancelled Saturday, throwing a major hitch in plans for fans and several local media members following the team south.
Minnesota chartered back home immediately following Friday night’s game and held a practice at the Xcel Energy Centre Saturday afternoon.
mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.ca
Twitter: @mikemcintyrewpg
ANTHONY SOUFFLE / MINNEAPOLIS STAR TRIBUNE
A traveler walks through the snow and ice to get to the Metro Government Center Plaza station as the snow picked up in downtown Minneapolis Saturday.
Mike McIntyre
Sports columnist
Mike McIntyre grew up wanting to be a professional wrestler. But when that dream fizzled, he put all his brawn into becoming a professional writer.
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