Why the MN State H.S. Hockey Tournament is Special
May 7, 2013; Saint Paul, MN, USA; Fans gather outside the Xcel Energy Center prior to game four of the first round of the 2013 Stanley Cup playoffs between the Chicago Blackhawks and the Minnesota Wild at Xcel Energy Center. Mandatory Credit: Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports
In 2013-14 there were 7,795,658 high school student athletes in the United States. Those millions of athletes competed on thousands of teams or individually. Between them there were countless state championships awarded. Of all the thousands of tournaments nationwide, a few stand out above the rest.
Football in Texas.
Basketball in Indiana.
Hockey in Minnesota.
We are lucky enough to have one of the best high school tournaments around right in our own backyard. The state of Minnesota and the game of hockey are inextricably intertwined. That fact is what made losing the North Stars in the early 1990s inexcusable. It also helps explain why so many of the top programs in Division 1 college hockey hail from this state. Finally, it helps begin to explain the Minnesota State High School Hockey Tournament.
There are not many high school events that are capable of captivating the majority of their state for four days but this tournament is one of them. 16, 17 and 18 year olds have become legends which really is remarkable. That can happen in the Olympics or with actors/entertainers but that’s about it. Many players from the state tournament have gone on to everything from the Miracle on Ice to having their names engraved on the Stanley Cup.
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I grew up in Duluth and went to Duluth East (No, I did not play hockey in high school. Football and track for me.) so I have been fully invested in the state tournament for as long as I can remember. East hockey is the only team I root for that is expected to be successful every year, and generally is. My high school was a part of two of the most memorable state tournaments: Dave Spehar’s three hat trick tourney that lead the Greyhounds to the AA championship in 1995 and the unfair 5 overtime loss to Apple Valley the following season in the semifinals. A photo in the next day’s Duluth News Tribune showed that a Dylan Mills shot in the second overtime was tipped and went inside the crossbar and shot back out of the net. It was incorrectly ruled a no-goal and Apple Valley went on to win the game. It was an honest mistake that still makes people upset to this day.
Maybe the coolest thing about the state tournament is that it means something different to everyone. For the players it is a chance of a lifetime. For the parents of the players it has to be as nerve-wracking, yet as rewarding as it gets. For the state, it is a signature event. It can mean glory or heartbreak and the difference between the two can be razor thin. If we are being perfectly honest, for a lot of the students it is a chance to miss school, get plastered and party for a weekend. I swear Mom and Dad, that wasn’t me, but it definitely happens.
Regardless, it is one of the most fun weekends of the year. Enjoy the rest of Tourney 15 Minnesota, because it will not last long.