Medallion under a tree in Mounds Park

Tim Petrie of Cottage Grove combined his loves of hockey and of following treasure hunt clues when he set out to "Capture the Flag" and found a Pioneer Press treasure Saturday night in St. Paul.

The first summer version of the newspaper's annual winter Treasure Hunt celebrated the National Hockey League's Minnesota Wild and the return of hockey.

Petrie, a 20-year-old Century College student and Minnesota Wild season-ticket holder, found the medallion shortly after 11 p.m. in a green knit pouch hidden beneath a tree in Mounds Park.

Petrie's prize: two Minnesota Wild opening-night tickets, a Wild road trip for two, a $500 Best Buy gift card, a National Hockey League Center Ice package and a 30-person suite ticket for the Oct. 16 Minnesota Wild vs. Mighty Ducks of Anaheim game.

In addition, Petrie collected all seven of the daily clues. So Tom Reid, former NHL defenseman and WCCO Radio play-by-play announcer, presented him with a Wild autographed hockey stick. An autographed jersey will be his as soon as the players get in town to sign it, Reid promised.

Since age 13, Petrie has been an avid follower of the Pioneer Press Treasure Hunt and a member of the Cooler Crew, a group of fervent hunters (coolercrew.com). He also became a Minnesota Wild season-ticket holder at age 13.

Like the Pioneer Press Treasure Hunt during the Winter Carnival, the "Capture the Flag" version had readers trying to solve daily clues, this time to find a flag, which was hidden on public land in St. Paul.

With family, friends and Cooler Crew members keeping him company and offering clue analysis, Petrie was out hunting every day.

"I was in the park Friday until 2:30 a.m. and back at 8 a.m. Saturday," he said. "The clues were the best in years," he added.

"If you ask any medallion-hunting fiend, they'd tell you these clues were better than the last five years. They were well-written, like the old Winter Carnival clues, and actually led to the place." Recent Treasure Hunt clues have been more vague with lots of room for interpretation, Cooler Crew members said.

Cooler Crew member Lisa Voigt said that treasure hunting is a family event and there are usually kids along, but Petrie has always been a real hunter. "He was good at solving clues, even as a kid," she said.

Copyright 2005 Pioneer Press.