What starts out with dreams of glory, scoring the game-winning goal to win the championship in overtime, is played out over and over in the minds of youngsters who will watch the games on TV, knowing someday, this dream may come true.

The television rights to The Tourney at one point were valued more than the rights to televise the Minnesota North Stars for the season. WCCO won the bid in 1985, paying $1.55 million for the next three years, which was about what the North Stars were paid for their season. At that time, the average TV viewership was 250,000 with another 100,000 in attendance for the three-day tourney. The WCCO broadcast team included the likes of Lou Nanne, Herb Brooks and Doug Woog.

It is in these broadcasts that youngsters begin to dream, from mites on up, that one day, they and their friends will be playing in St. Paul for the title. Tickets are willed down within families, with multiple years waiting list for those wanting tickets.

Viewing now actually goes beyond state borders as people from around the country and in places around the world are drawn back to viewing on the internet. The Tourney is more than what you see on TV. It starts when a child first starts to skate, playing for his community, and stays with him long after graduation.

The actual tournament starts in sectional play featuring every team playing hockey and ends in St. Paul where the top eight teams in two classes vie for the championship. Just to get to The Tourney is a milestone that is highly sought. Once in St. Paul, the teams start with seeing each other at a banquet honoring them for being there. It is well deserved.

Some teams in the tourney this year arrived as No. 5 seeds in their sectional tournament. Rogers, who at the end of the regular season was top ranked in some polls, was eliminated by Wayzata. Another top sectional seed in Hill-Murray was upset by Gentry Academy. Both fifth seeds won their section but saw their championship dream end in the state quarterfinals.

From West 7 th Street, the bars and restaurants, as well as the hotels, all fill up, with fans from around the state gathering for a four-day hockey tournament that continues to grow and flourish. At the restaurants and bars, from Mancini’s to Tom Reid’s and Zamboni’s, the chatter is all hockey, with the talk of past games and players being replayed, as well as the games that are going on.

Up in the press box, the television and radio, as well as print publications are full speed ahead, trying to cover and share the game with their audiences. The officials from the tournament are also watching their colleagues who are now on the ice, keeping the game safe and in control.

One of the officials up top is John Boche, who has officiated at all levels, from his early days calling youth games, to Division I and Division III college playoffs. His son, Brenden, is now part of his crew, who last year were the officials for the Class 2A final that saw Moorhead hold on to beat Stillwater 7-6.

For both classes, in the quarterfinals, the higher-seeded teams didn’t disappoint, with top seeds advancing, setting up Hibbing/Chisholm vs. Mahtomedi and Warroad vs. Delano Class 1A semifinals.

The Class 2A tourney saw top-seeded Minnetonka take on Rosemount, with Edina and Moorhead battling in the late game of the semifinals. These two games were played with more than 20,000 in attendance.

Both Boches were on the ice for the semifinal between Rosemount and Minnetonka, where Minnetonka won a close battle, 4-3, coming from a 2-0 deficit, rallying and winning in overtime to get them to the championship. In the other Class 2A semifinal, Moorhead broke open a tough, physical game against Edina, winning 3-1.

Minnetonka coach Sean Goldsworthy, son of former Minnesota North Star legend Bill Goldsworthy led the Skippers to the title in 2018 and again in 2023 and was thankful to advance.

“This team plays its best hockey the back half of each period because other teams get tired,” Goldsworthy said.

Minnetonka player Ethan Sturgis noted that “our super-strong schedule during the regular season puts us in a good spot for overtime games.”

Moorhead coach Jon Ammerman recalled: “We were on our heals a bit to start the first five minutes, but not too bad, finished the first well, with the second period having the puck a lot but not getting shots on net, but loved the way we played, and in the third period we played outstanding from start to finish.”

Moorhead junior forward Zac Zimmerman noted after defeating Edina: “It feels great, just knowing how special it was last year with 20,000 people there playing for your community. I am ready to do it again.”

In Class 1A, 3-seed Warroad beat 2-seed Delano 6-3, with top-seeded Hibbing/Chisholm beating Mahtomedi 4-2. The championship finals did not disappoint, as both games needed overtime to decide a champion.

Class 1A: All North final for the ages
It’s only fitting that this year’s Class 1A final featured two northern teams, Warroad and Hibbing/Chisholm. It is well documented why Warroad in the state of Hockey is known as Hockeytown USA. Warroad is just six miles from the Canadian border and has less than 2,000 residents. Its ties to USA hockey is every team that has won the Olympic Gold medal for the United States has had a player from Warroad on its roster, with the Christian brothers Roger and Bill in 1960, David Christian in 1980 and Brock Nelson in 2026.

Cal Marvin, the brother not involved in the global Marvin Windows company and what drives employment with more people employed than the population of the town, is considered the Godfather of Warroad hockey. His passion for the game was evident in his Warroad Lakers Senior A Men’s hockey club that were one of the most famous amateur hockey clubs in North America and a major factor of Warroad becoming Hockeytown USA.

The Club was established in 1946 playing in the Manitoba Amateur Hockey Association, where they played for the Allan Cup. The winner of the Allan Cup, a Canadian nationwide hockey tournament, where the winning team represented Canada in the World and Olympic tournaments through 1960.

Warroad was the only club ever to win three-straight Allan Cups in 1994, 1995 and 1996, narrowly missing a fourth in 1997. The team folded after the 1997 season. This club built the tradition of hockey in Warroad with the Christians in Roger, Bill and Dave, along with former NHLer Henry Boucha playing for the Lakers.

Hibbing is no stranger to the state tourney, but has won just two titles, both when the tourney was a one-class tourney, the last being in 1973 and the first being in 1952, when they stopped Eveleth’s early dynasty of four-straight tournament crowns, winning in 1948, 1949, 1950 and 1951. Eveleth is now the home of the U.S. Hall of Fame.

Hibbing in 1973 were led by Joe Micheletti with seven goals and four assists in that tournament. He would later have a long NHL career with St. Louis and is now a well-known NHL TV Analyst. His teammates included George Perpich, who went on to coach the Hibbing team for almost three decades and had Frank Brimsek Jr. in net. Brimsek’s father was a star goaltender in the NHL from Eveleth, whose name is still honored with the top Minnesota goalie awarded the Frank Brimsek award.

Frank Brimsek was also involved in Eveleth’s run, as the NHL goalie, gave then Eveleth goalie Willard Ikola, a pair of goalie skates, and with these skates on, Ikola never lost an Eveleth game, winning back-to-back to back championships.

Warroad’s last state championships were in 2003 and 2005, where NHL and Olympic star T.J. Oshie led Warroad to two state championships.

The game was a rematch of the 1994 game with Warroad beating Hibbing 5-3 at the old St. Paul Civic Center. In that game, Tom Lund scored for Warroad, and his son Connor would get the Warroad Warriors on the scoreboard in the 2026 game. Hibbing/Chisholm had two family connections with Derek Gabardi being the uncle of Joe Gabardi and Eric Rewertz being the uncle of Whitaker Rewertz, who scored Hibbing/Chisholm’s first goal.

Warroad’s goalie, Patrick Kennedy, had to step up in the section tournament, where the team steamrolled it’s way into the state tournament with three lopsided wins.

He would be needed throughout the staet tournament,and in the state championship game he was peppered with 32 shots on goal in the first two periods, giving up only one to Rewertz in keeping Warroad in the game.

Isaiah Hildebrandt got Hibbing/Chisholm within one on the rebound of a scramble in front and on the 45th shot Hibbing/Chisholm tied it up on a Rewertz blast from the high slot with Kennedy screened. Less than a minute later, Hibbing/Chisholm scored to take the lead at 4-3 on a shot that rebounded off the back wall to the side of the net and Ben Galli quickly slid past Kennedy.

With 46 seconds left, Warroad tied the game upon a high tip from Gavin Andersen on a shot that was a deliberate pass from the top of the circle with the game going into overtime.

Both teams gave their all, and with the next goal being for a state championship, the players dug deep. Warroad ended the game 1 minute into overtime on a 3-on-2 rush which went from the left wing Rodrick Jackson to the high slot Andersen down low to Jackson and over to Ryan Shaugabay, with Jackson sliding the puck off the pad of the goalie onto the stick of Shaugabay, who buried his shot into the back of the net.

His fifth goal of the tourney was for the state championship, bringing tears of joy to Shaugabay and all of Warroad and would share his game-winning goal with his father, Son Shaugabay, who is an assistant coach.

Ryan Shaugabay noted, “We hadn’t won one since 2005, since T.J. Oshie, and this is a special feeling, everytime I looked up to the crowd, I started crying because this is such a special community, we live and breathe hockey, and it couldn’t have ended any better.”

Ryan had some huge footsteps to follow, as his brother Jayson won the 2023 Mr. Hockey Award and is a leading scorer in college hockey playing for the University of Minnesota Duluth. When asked if he had ever dreamt of scoring the overtime winner playing pick-up hockey, Ryan noted “so many times, when I scored the overtime winner, I slid into the corner and just started to cry, it was just an unbelievable experience.” 

Shaugabay noted that the team’s defense was the strength, giving up just four goals in the team’s last seven games entering the tournament. Kennedy played well, being called upon to be the team’s goalie after finding out late in the season Finn Hanson, the regular-season goalie, would be unavailable after getting injured late in the season. In the championship game, Warroad was outshot 47-33 with Kennedy keeping them in the game until the overtime winner.

In a game where it was sad to see one of the teams lose, Hibbing/Chisholm saw the agony of defeat, as they played hard and could have easily been the winner. They finished the season 26-3-2. The last loss being one that none of these players will forget.

With 10,518 in attendance, those in the building witnessed a game that will be talked about for years to come, with two historic programs battling to the end.

Class 2A: A classic double-overtime thriller
Minnetonka will also feel the pain. The Class 2A championship game, ending the four-day tournament, was even more painful for the Skippers. To recap, they had the game in control, up 4-1, when Moorhead put on a frantic finish, scoring three goals in the game’s last 10 minutes, with the last being with just 36 seconds left and their goalie pulled.

Minnetonka was playing in its seventh tourney, while Moorhead, the defending state Class 2A champion making its 18th appearance. Both teams were highly rated throughout the year and heading into the tournament were a toss-up for the rating and deserved to be in the title game.

The game itself started with Minnetonka taking a quick three-goal lead, as Moorhead sophomore goalie Will Arnold struggled in what seemed to be a bad case of nervousness and an unfortunate cross-checking penalty giving the Skippers the power play. They cashed in with senior center Jordan Johnson one timing a cross-ice pass from Danny Browing just 2:45 into the game.

A few minutes later, the Skippers added to the lead as right wing Ethan Sturgis carried the puck into the zone and drove toward the net and slid the puck from a very sharp angle toward the net. The puck went five-hole, between the skates of Arnold, and found the back of the net. The soft goal put Moorhead down 2-0 with 9:28 still remaining in the first period.

Arnold’s low point of the night was after giving up the third goal on another stoppable shot by
Minnetonka sophomore Cash Hardie, as he took the puck off the boards at center ice and beat Arnold with a wrist shot, with this being Hardie’s fourth goal of the tourney.

Down three goals, Moorhead would need a monumental effort, against a strong defensive team known for its defenders, and goalie Chase Jerdee with a season save percentage of .922. The Spuds have the offense to do that, and they started to mount a comeback midway through the second period as Micheal Herman found the back of the net with Tyden Bergeson’s 52nd assist of the season and 81st point, with Max Cullen adding his 34th assist of the season.

Late in the second period, Minnetonka made it 4-1 on Max Aronson’s goal. The momentum swung back to ‘Tonka, and with a comfortable three-goal cushion, time now matters as the Skippers are one period away from the crown.

Moorhead starts it way back with under 10 minutes to play with a power-play goal by Joey Cullen. The sophomore took a pass from Zac Zimmerman and snapped the shot past Jerdee to get Moorhead within two with under 10 minutes to play. Four minutes later, Zimmerman tipped a shot past Jerdee making it a one-goal game. Zimmerman was playing in the USHL for the Fargo Force to start the school year but returned to his team, to see if they could repeat.

With just 36 seconds left, Zimmerman scored to tie the game at 4, sending the arena crowd into a frenzy. The play became even more intense, with the crowd now standing for both overtimes. The teams opened up and raced up and down the rink, until Max Cullen sent in Evan Wanner who snapped a wrist shot past Jerdee to retain the Class 2A crown.

Moorhead Coach Jon Ammerman noted: “It was a tough start, no doubt about that, but just incredible character from the kids, there was never a murmur of doubt on the bench.”

Bergeson noted in the press conference that “never a doubt that we weren’t winning this game, never a doubt that we weren’t going to get back into the game, play our best hockey, and see what happens.”

Wanner noted this was a childhood dream, “A lot of kids dream about that, the title goal, OT winner, kind of unbelievable, and when it happens you don’t know what to do.”

His roommate, Drew Simonich, had the conversation the night before, at around 1:30 a.m., asking Wanner: “What would you do if you scored the overtime game winner, and I remember him saying ‘I would just throw everything into the crowd.’”

It happened just as they thought, with Wanner getting the OT game winner and equipment ending up in the crowd.

The attendance was 19,648 to go with Friday’s semifinal Class 2A session of 20,350 had a combined attendance of 40,000 for Friday and Saturday evening. Combined with Thursday’s two quarterfinal sessions, and the Class 1A total of 37,485, the tournament again exceeded more than 100,000 in attendance.

The Tourney is alive and well, but is now faced with challenges that have crept in, some within the last few years. Minnesota and its community-based model have worked well for more than 80 years, but the landscape is changing.

Several of the top players in the state are no longer choosing to stay playing for their high school teams, with the pull for the next level of junior hockey being too strong. With the advent of junior Canadian hockey now recruiting Minnesota players, offering more games and other perks, and with these players now able to play college hockey with the NCAA’s recent rule change, we need to be aware of the competition for the best of the best and what is at stake.

For now, we will relish where we are at, with two of the best hockey games in recent memory played for the 2026 State Championships. Congratulations to both Warroad and Moorhead, you worked overtime.

The post A Class Of Its Own appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.

Scott Tiffany writes about his friendship and working relationship with John Gilbert.

This story was originally published in the 2025 MN State High School Hockey Tournament Guide.

The post John Gilbert: Legacy Lives On appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.

With a heavy heart, this story is how Henry convinced me to do a special issue on his beloved Warroad community, and the making of one of my all-time favorite special issues featuring Warroad hockey. I also want to share my last in-person visit with Henry as we discussed faith and the spiritual side of life for hours.

Henry’s death on Sept. 18th, 2023 left a void in the hockey world that will never be filled. Henry and his legend was bigger than life. Henry may have passed on, but his legend will always be with us. 

I met Henry more than a decade ago, when we had booths next to one another at the Let’s Play Hockey trade show.  That was fortuitous because wherever Henry went it, he attracted a crowd. By the end of that weekend, Henry and I had developed a friendship that continued up until his passing. 

MHM Photo.

Henry and I had a love of hockey that went beyond the ice. He was always promoting the game and those who played it.  

About seven years ago, I met Henry at the grand opening of the Royal Club in Lake Elmo where he was helping sell real estate. Henry had invited me to the event and said he had something else he wanted to share with me. 

When I got there, Henry started right in with the Warroad hockey idea and told me we really needed to go to Warroad and put together a special issue. I initially liked the idea but told Henry I needed to see if it was even possible to do a whole magazine on such a small town of less than 2,000 people.

I reminded Henry that Warroad is a six-plus-hour drive from the Twin Cities, and I didn’t have a lot of spare time to go and look. I asked, how did he plan on getting me up there?

Henry said he would fly me up, on the Marvin Windows plane that next week, so I could take a look for myself. He also said he would help me get the stories and the sponsors to make this a reality. The next week, I was called by a Warroad Hockey Town USA person, letting me know that I had a seat reserved for early Saturday morning, and to catch the flight in Bloomington at the Signature Aviation terminal.

 I arrived at 5 a.m. for the flight out of the private terminal at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, where I was about to hop on a private jet with some of the greatest names in Minnesota hockey. In the terminal were past and present prominent NHL players who were heading up to play in the annual Warroad Celebrity Golf Tournament.

I looked at the scene and thought it would be best if I boarded as the last person on the plane, sitting wherever the open seat was. I boarded the plane and looked to find the open seat that was next to Lou Nanne. I put my briefcase down on the seat next to Nanne, and he politely told me no, that seat was taken by Neal Broten. Nanne then hollered to the back of the plane: “Brot’s get your butt up here.” I looked and saw Broten get up from the rear of the plane, and now figured that would be my seat in back. As I got to the back of the plane, I sat face-to-face across from Ryan Suter, who was sitting next to Tony Hrkac, a previous Hobey Baker winner for the University of North Dakota.

With the seating arrangements now figured out, I was on my way to Warroad for an epic day. I had a few copies of the magazines and gave both Suter and Hrkac copies. They were impressed with the magazine, and we talked about my trip and what it took to make a magazine happen. Suter gave me his cellphone number; he wanted to advertise a product he was bringing to market.

When the plane landed, we all jumped into cars that were waiting for us, and it was onto the course for the day’s festivities. At the Warroad Estates Golf Course,  I met all of the legends of Warroad hockey, as well as many other hockey celebrities.   

By the end of the day, I knew why this town of less than 2,000 people really needed to have a special edition and was accurately called Hockeytown USA. Now it was time to get back with Henry and figure out the details.

I met with Henry that week to discuss the next steps. He said that if I drove him up he would take care of everything else. About a month later, we were both back in Warroad to get down to business to capture the story on what makes Warroad Hockeytown USA. 

I had heard some stories on the wilder side of Henry. He knew when it was time to work, when it was time to kick back and when it was time to have some fun. I saw this while living with him that week. 

We started by settling in for a week at a condo on the Warroad Estates Golf Course. From there, Henry took me around town daily, showing me the rich hockey history and life in Warroad. Henry made the morning calls and had people lined up, opening doors of opportunities for stories or sponsors, and then relaxed in the evenings taking in a grandson’s football or granddaughter’s volleyball game.

True to his word, all of this came true. Henry’s love for his hometown and his presence made it easy to get people on board with content or as an advertiser. We worked hard getting the stories and sponsors. With Henry’s help and persistence, we did in a week what typically takes a team of writers and ad sales people a month or more to do. By the end of the week, we had more than enough content to do a complete magazine, with enough sponsors to create a 100-page magazine.

That Saturday night, it was time to celebrate a successful week. Henry said we needed to go out to one of his friends’ who was having a surprise 50th birthday party. We had a blast. When they gave the birthday grandpa some small sticks of dynamite, it made a lasting memory, hearing the sizzle as the wick burned and then the blast, each time they went off. As the designated driver, we stayed late, then closed down the local bars, and made it back to the condo around 2 a.m. for a late-night steak dinner that Henry had planned earlier in the day.

After this magazine was produced and on the shelves statewide, I got a call from Henry, saying we needed to really promote this. I asked what did he have in mind? A week later, I found myself with Henry on the radio of the north, 100,000-watt WCCO AM and Sports to the Max with Mike Max. Henry glowed as he spoke for 45 minutes on his hometown and the sport he loved. He shared the stories that we covered in the magazine and then about his own career. My time on the air was about three minutes to Henry’s 42, which was appropriate for the show.

I am so thankful for all the time I spent with Henry. Up until very recently, Henry and I met at various events and hockey games and helped each other out where possible. Prior to the Covid mess, I helped him with some of his book signings and he helped me at our charity golf tournament or our banquet to honor lifetime achievers in hockey. We also went to watch some pro and high school hockey games together.

Henry Boucha at his book signing. (MHM Photo)

Henry had a deep spiritual side to him that few knew about. Besides our love for hockey, I think one of the reasons we enjoyed each other was he was a very spiritual person and knew my faith in Christ was real to me. I enjoyed sharing spiritual thoughts with Henry. He loved his Creator and had a reverence for life. I would call Henry on occasion to get his take on something in the wild I had just seen. He always had a spiritual explanation.

The last time I was with Henry was when he invited me over several months ago for a steak lunch. Henry shared that his heart was now in rough shape and the danger of surgery was almost as bad as his condition. The doctors at Mayo Clinic told Henry that they did not want to operate.  

We spoke for hours about life and death and all that was going on in the world.  

I shared my Christian faith with him, we agreed about the Creator, but Henry wasn’t convinced Jesus was the only way. After several hours of a very deep conversation, I told him I had to get going to go to see my mom and dad for dinner. Henry asked if I could call my parents to see if he could go with me.. My parents were thrilled to have Henry over for dinner, where they talked hockey for a few hours. On the way back to his home we continued our discussion on the afterlife.    

The Minnesota Hockey Magazine Warroad Special Edition would not have happened without Henry. He not only introduced me to the stories but also the sponsors, who all jumped on board in making this happen.

The link to the magazine Henry helped bring to life is below. To view the magazine, click on the cover and scroll to flip the pages. By reading this magazine, you will find out what makes Warroad Hockeytown USA and is a go-to source for the locals.

We all have Henry to thank for keeping these stories alive.  

Minnesota Hockey Magazine for Nov. 2017 (volume 6, issue 2)

The post My Friendship with Henry Boucha appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.

The 2021-2022 season is now upon us after a long break.  Join MHM this year as an advertiser/sponsor.

• We will be printing 4 issues of our magazine in 2022.  These will also be digital issues.
• Award Winning 4 Color Gloss Magazine.  Gold medal award with the Minnesota Magazine Publishers Association Magazine of the year-Special Section. 
• You will be seen: our social media will market the print magazine.  We will market our print magazine by exposing our content through social media with Twitter, Facebook and our e-Edition. 
• Our core team is intact for another season, and we have added even more writers and photographers.
• Coming Soon and NEW for 2022…Minnesota Hockey Magazine Podcasts with well-known hosts.  
• Sign up for our FREE e-Edition from the home page of our website or just click HERE.
• Making a Difference:  To date, we have sent over 300 kids in need to various hockey camps on scholarship via our MHM Foundation.

Please take a few minutes to review this media kit.  We are looking for the right partners to join us as we promote hockey and help kids in need. Let’s team up for good.

We look forward to hearing from you.

Scott Tiffany
President&Founder, MHM

The post Hockey is BACK! Join Us appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.

The Glory Years of Laker Hockey

Winning the Allan Cup is a big deal.  To understand senior A hockey in Canada, it is nearly impossible for someone south of the border to get the impact and difficulty, as hockey is the national game and is treated like a religion in Canada.  

The Allan Cup goes to the winner of a series of tournaments that are played throughout Canada, with teams from every province competing for a trophy that is awarded annually to the national senior amateur men’s ice hockey champion of Canada.  

The Cup was donated by Sir Montague Allan of Ravenscrag, Montreal and has been competed for since 1909.   The tournament is televised by TSN and is treated like the NHL’s Stanley Cup, passed by champion to champion by league championship or challenge.

In 1915, the challenge system was replaced with a series of national playoffs.  From 1920 to 1960, the winner of the Allan Cup would represent Canada in the Olympics and in World Championships.  

The Cup has been won by teams from every province and from the Yukon, as well as by two teams from the United States.

The original Cup has been retired to the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto, and a replica is now presented to the champions.

It has been said that there is more to life than hockey, not in Canada or Warroad.

Like Father, Like Son –Player-Coach  David “Izzy” Marvin

David Marvin was No. 11 of 12 Children by Beth and Cal and grew up with hockey.  

Like his father, David would go on to play for the University of North Dakota and then coach the Lakers.

“We had very few conversations that didn’t revolve around hockey or maybe the particular business that dad had at that time,” David Marvin said.  

David and Cal Marvin with Allan Cup

Growing up as a stick boy for the Lakers, he was in the locker room with the legends of Lakers hockey including Olympians Roger and Billy Christian.  His own game was developed by Laker players like Bob Storey, Peter Waselovich, Scott Marvin, Blaine Comstock, his brother Mike Marvin and Billy Christian.  

In Bantams, under Christian, the team would be disciplined and conditioned as Billy worked them hard.  The team would qualify for the state tournament.  

With coaching like that the players developed and, by their high school years under Tom King, and with players like Larry Olimb and Danny Lambert, the team would go undefeated in Marvin’s junior season.  For the next 2 years, the team would make the trip to the state tourney, with 16 players from that group going on to play either college or pro hockey.

With high school behind him, it was now time for the University of North Dakota where he played for Gino Gasparini.

“Gino didn’t have to recruit me very hard,” Marvin said. “I wanted to play where my dad played.”

Billy Christian then helped David get a tryout with the Winnipeg Jets.  With the tryout and his wedding fast approaching, David was very excited, but soon would be hit with a tragedy that would change the direction of his life.  As his  future wife was heading back from Grand Forks with her little sister, a drunk driver hit them, killing David’s fiancé’s sister.

The funeral was on Wednesday and the wedding followed on Saturday, After the tryout with the Jets, David was sent to the farm team at Moncton, New Brunswick and was offered a minimum professional contract, which wasn’t much.  

The person who killed David’s would-be sister-in-law had now plead not guilty, and with a trial looming, David knew in his heart it was time to go back home to Warroad.  

“If you’ve ever lost someone, you know there’s nothing worse,” Marvin said. “I asked myself ‘What are you doing out here in New Brunswick?’”

He headed back home in November, played with the Lakers, started into business and did the best to take care of his wife.

David would play for the Lakers in the team’s final six seasons, the last five as player-coach.

Lakers Come of Age

The Warroad Lakers team in the 90’s was the best senior men’s hockey club to ever play the game.

Not to say the Canadians didn’t make it difficult, the tournament in itself is grueling, but throw in the US/Canada sentiment and their feat is even more amazing.

John Hanson said playing in the Allan Cup finals in Quesnel British Columbia wasn’t just playing against the other team, but it was also playing against other factors, including suspect officiating.

“Our team was so good that they just had it in for us,” Hanson said.  

With the officiating less than desirable, and the host team winning to advance to the finals, Hanson would find himself in some hot water with the officials.

“The officiating was just awful.  It was very apparent they wanted the host team in the championship game.  After the game, and with me being so upset, I told the ref what I thought and he kept skating away from me.  The referee bumped legs with me and fell, taking a huge dive.  He then wrote me up for abusing an official, where I was suspended from playing in Canada until the following year.  This type of refereeing was typical for the games we played in Canada.”

Starting with “final four” appearances in the Allan Cup in both the 1991-92 and the 1992-93 seasons, the team was poised for something special.  With Cal as manager and led by his son Player-Coach David “Izzy” Marvin, the team was ready to take home the Cup.

Over the years, 62 former University of North Dakota players would wear the Laker Jersey.  

Joined by Former Sioux players Shane Mcfarlane and John Hanson, along with adding Roseau guys like Greg Lund, Jamie Byfuglien, Mike and Steve Ross and Billy Lund, the makings of a strong core was set for what would soon be the glory years of Laker hockey.  

The Lund Brothers from Roseau

Cal had the team ready and with the help of guys like All-Americans Steve Johnson and Warroad native, and Minnesota Mr. Hockey winner, Larry Olimb, the pieces were there for a great run.  

McFarlane and the guys loved being around Cal and said, “Cal loved telling stories; he had all these hockey stories, starting with UND, the early Lakers, about Henry Boucha, just great hockey stories.”

Scott Knutson, a 1982 All-State player for Warroad before his Laker days, said Cal was one of a kind. “Cal really enjoyed it, he loved being around the guys, he had a great sense of humor, and would always have a smile on his face.”

Cal was always on the lookout for players who were in the area who could help the Lakers.  Sometimes Cal would miss on the talent of a player.

“Cal and Spencer Estling went down to Bemidji to look at Joel Otto,”  Knutson said. “And after seeing Joel skate, Cal thought Joel really couldn’t help the Lakers, as he wasn’t a good enough skater.”

Otto would go on to play 14 years in the NHL as a shut-down center, winning a Stanley Cup with Calgary in 1989. Otto also played on two U.S. Canada Cup teams and was a member of Team USA for the inaugural World Cup of Hockey and the 1998 Olympics games in Nagano, Japan.

Having been to these Allan Cup finals in Quesnel, Cal knew Warroad would be a good host and the club knew how to put in a bid to host for the 1994 Allan Cup.

In a show of respect, the 1994 Cup was awarded to Cal Marvin and the Warroad community.  With the games played in Warroad, the story was made much better for the Lakers and for Cal Marvin, winning the first Allan Cup in their beloved “Garden”.

The bid would only be the second time that the tournaments finals would be played on U.S. soil, having been played in Spokane Washington decades earlier.  Warroad was also the least populated city to ever host the championship round.

The story would get even better.  The Laker club from 1994 through 1996 was the only team to ever win the Allan Cup three straight seasons.

Fighting Sioux, Rams and Warriors unite – Allan Cup comes to Warroad

Warroad and Roseau have one of the greatest rivalries in Minnesota.  From Mites to the High School level, that game was circled on every calendar.   Roseau player Jamie Byfuglien noted,  “Cal would rarely miss any games particularly the Warroad – Roseau games and, looking back as far as squirts, I remember him wearing the long trench coat smoking a cigar.”  

Merging these two hockey powers into one force was the work of Cal.  Cal knew that if the Lakers were going to win it all, he needed the help of their neighbors.

“I grew up watching the Lakers and I always wanted to play for them,” Byfuglien said. That was the closest thing to professional hockey as there was up here.

Playing Laker hockey was second only to my youth and high school hockey in Roseau, where we won the state peewee, bantam and then the high school tournament.  I was fortunate to play on some great teams, including the three Allan Cups.”

According to Byfuglien, it was Greg Lund who was the guy who broke the ice, and started skating for the Lakers from Roseau.  

“I didn’t know what to expect, but my D partner was also from Roseau, with Greg Lund, who was about 4 years older than I,” Byfuglien said. Once we joined the Lakers, there was no rivalry that I know for the guys from the late 80’s and on as we were a team.

“Cal took us Roseau guys in with open arms. Every practice we had he was up watching, chewing on the cigar, arms crossed.  He knew it was also important for the wives and girlfriends of the players to feel welcomed, and that is what made it special.  Without Cal, the Lakers would not have had the success they enjoyed.

“Our practices were intense, we would scrimmage and play black on white, with Izzy taking a run at me and I would make sure he would get the brunt of the hit.  But at the end of practice, we would just go in, and BS in the locker room with everything that had just happened being left on the ice,  It was great fun.”

On the long road trips, the players were cared for by Cal.

“Cal would have the pre-game meal at McDonalds where every player got seven bucks, although some guys got envelopes that had more cash after the games,” Byfuglien said.  “What was paid was a secret for years.  On the road trip home he would always have a boxed lunch for all the players.  He took his time out during the day to make sure the guys were taken care of on the way home.”

Greg Lund recalled the respect the team had for Cal while playing for him.  

“He just loved the game, he would sit up watching us every practice,” Lund said. “Afterwards, he would come down to the locker room, and we would flip him crap and he would give it right back.”  

Lund looks back at the Laker practices with fondness.  “Our practices were like playing for the Allan Cup every night. The practices were intense; we would shoot on the goalies for 5 minutes and then go to war playing a best of 5 series up to 5.”  

The team and the community of Warroad went all out in their efforts to host the 94 Allan Cup.  One of the most important activities, fundraising, was headed up by Conway Marvin.

The community was able to raise the $40,000 needed to host the Allan Cup. The five-day round-robin tournament featured teams from across Canada with the travel expenses for these teams picked up by the Lakers.

Hanson said the 94 squad that brought in Chris Imes right off the Olympic team was really strong.

“Imes was a very good player, but was just another piece,” Hanson said. “He wasn’t even our best player, we were just that good.”

That team featured 2 All Americans and 13 Division 1 hockey players.

Wyatt Smith, a high school star, joined the club.  He would be on two Allan Cup championship teams before he graduated from high school.  Smith would later go on to star for the Gophers and play in the NHL for the Wild, among other teams.

The result was well worth the efforts as Warroad would take the Allan Cup on its home ice in dramatic fashion by winning the tournament in five games.  The team would need every player to get through the grind, and energy guys like Bruce Elson, Roger Lien, John Gillie, Wayne Bartley, Donny Riendeau and Jared Baines would make this vision a reality.  

Solid goaltending wins championships.  Without it, you will not win as it is almost impossible to hide poor goaltending in a long tournament.  The Lakers were blessed with Todd Kriebich providing a steady influence between the pipes, with Kriebich being awarded all-tournament honors on a consistent basis.

After the tournament, Player-Coach David Marvin summed it up best saying, “I can’t begin to tell you how much it means to me just because of my father.  I saw him get a little emotional there at the end.  None of us would be here if it weren’t for him.  He’s the ultimate team player.  This whole thing is for him as far as I’m concerned.”

1994 Lakers Allan Cup Champions

The Lakers were just starting their dominance of the Allan Cup.  

The 1994-95 squad was not as talented as the year before, but what they lost in talent, they made up for in chemistry.  The team found a new league playing in the Southeastern Manitoba league and filled out its schedule by playing strong teams like the St. Paul Parkers, Minneapolis Bucks and the Sun Valley, Idaho Suns.

In the playoffs, the team cruised to its fourth straight Manitoba title defeating Thompson 12-1, Notre Dame, 6-2 and St. Anne 6-3, and defeating Notre Dame in the championship by a 10-4 score.  

The Lakers would catch a big break in the next round, as the were to play the Cupar Canucks for the Manitoba Saskatchewan championship.  Cupar would jump out to a 2-0 lead in the best of 5 series, but after the Lakers defeated them 3-2 back in Warroad, the Cupar team forfeited the remaining 2 games giving the Lakers the title.  

Many of the Cupar players hadn’t planned on losing, and when they did, the guys needed to be back at work by Tuesday, having planned most of their vacation time for the Allan Cup.  Cupar Manager Kelly Findling said his guys had taken time off through Monday, and, “since we all came over in one bus, we decided to play the Sunday game.  If we had won, we’d go to the Allan Cup.  If we lost, we’d be done, our players are professional workers, not professional hockey players”.

Cal Marvin was not pleased stating, “I don’t understand it.  In 48 years of amateur hockey, I’ve never seen anything like this.  You play all year to get to the championship and pull out one win away from the finals.”

Why Cal couldn’t understand this was obvious.  Nothing like that would have ever crossed his mind.  The Laker commitment to hockey, which was Cal’s commitment to hockey, would never have allowed for such thinking.

In the Allan Cup playoffs at Stony Plain (located just west of Edmonton) the Lakers posted wins over Powell River British Columbia 9-2, and Stony Plain 3-2 and dumped the Truro Nova Scotia Bearcats 5-2.  Stony Plain would win the play in game and the Lakers would defeat them 3-2 with goals by Knutson, Donnie Riendeau and Wyatt Smith.  The Lakers would finish the year with a 35-8-1 record and the Allan Cup.

That summer, the Amateur Hockey Association of the United States gave its Hall of Fame Heritage Award to Cal Marvin.  The award is based on outstanding service and significant contributions to American hockey.

The Laker team was not finished, and would soon make history, becoming the first team ever to win back to back to back Allan Cup titles.

The following year the Allan Cup finals were hosted in Unity Saskatchewan.  In the first game, Knutson’s hat trick helped defeat Stony Plain 6-2.  The next night, Roseau native Billy Lund would get  four goals, while Donny Riendeau added three as the Lakers destroyed the Truro, Nova Scotia Bearcats 11-3.  The Lakers then rallied from behind to defeat the Unity Miners 4-2.  The Lakers would defend their title beating Stony Plain by a 6-1 score to earn their third consecutive Allan Cup.  The team would finish the year 35-1.

The three-peat is the only such performance in the history of the Allan Cup.

The team under David Marvin as player-coach had an amazing run, winning five straight Pattison Cups (the Manitoba championship), Three straight Patton Cups (the Western Canada championship, and three straight Allan Cups (the Canadian AAA senior amateur championship).

One problem that the Lakers had was they were too good and in the end, after a 50 year run, that would be the killer.  They were not wanted in the Manitoba Senior League, after posting a 70-14-1 record over the previous two years, the team was told they were no longer welcome in the Southeast Manitoba Hockey League.  

With no league to play in, and no team wanting to play in Warroad unless they were paid to come in and play, Cal made an announcement that the 50th season would be the last of Laker hockey.  

With an amazing half-century run, a 50th reunion was planned to be held in Warroad on the day of Game 3 of the Manitoba playoffs.

The Manitoba champion would be decided by a best-of-five series between the Lakers and an Ille des Chenes team, which had added two former NHLers to its roster.  The Lakers would win that series 3 games to 1 setting up a series with the Kindersley Klippers, a town of 5,000 on the Saskatchewan border.

Sweeping that series in three games proved costly, however, as injuries to key players would decimate the Lakers. Injuries would knock out Billy Lund (knee) and captain Scott Knutson, who would take a vicious cross check to the back, along with Jared Baines (knee) Hanson (shoulder) and Riedeau (leg bruise).   

The Lakers would go out in style in the Allan Cup Finals. They defeated Stony Plain 6-5 before falling 4-1 to a loaded Powell River squad and lost to Truro 4-3 to end the round robin. The Lakers eked into the semi final game behind the sensational goaltending of Todd Kriebich, who shut out Turo 3-0 setting up a dramatic last Laker game.

The battered Lakers would do their best playing for a four-peat in the championship of the Allan Cup but the Lakers were beat up having played five games in five nights and the injuries had taken their toll.

They led the host Powell River team 2-1 after the first period, but the Lakers would eventually come up on the short end of a 7-3 decision.

The 50 year reunion had 422 mailing addresses to all of the former players that were known.  With 570 players having donned the Laker jersey, not all the players were found.

Cal Marvin – led Lakers for 50 years-as a player, coach and GM

“It was quite a party,” Cal said at the time. “Unbelievable. With guys coming from Florida, British Columbia and Calgary.  David worked hard putting that together.  He wrote a lot of letters and made a lot of telephone calls.  There gets to be quite a bond between the guys when they play together like we did.  When you come from Winnipeg when it’s 30 below, you don’t do it for the $25 … you don’t leave home with your wife chewing you out at the door unless it is for something that you believe in, that you want to do and to be with your teammates.  The game really has to mean something to you.”

Cal Marvin and his weekly column for the Warroad Pioneer and Commonwealth newspapers would no longer feature the Lakers.

On this 20th anniversary of the last season of Laker hockey, and with 50 years of Laker hockey now in the books, the last chapter on the Lakers now has been written.  They may be gone, but hardly forgotten, as they are the reason Warroad is HOCKEYTOWN USA.

The post Warroad Lakers – Senior Hockey at it’s Best appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.

Warroad is HOCKEYTOWN USA because of Cal Marvin.  Cal Marvin and his Warroad Lakers Senior Men’s Hockey Club were the cornerstone of modern day hockey in Warroad.  Cal was the guy who made it all happen.

Cal Marvin was born August 29, 1924, the youngest of the five boys and second youngest child of George and Almina Marvin.  George Marvin had arrived in Warroad from Canada, after learning the grain business, and came to manage the Canadian Grain Company’s elevator, lumber and fuel interests.  When the expected shipping center didn’t materialize, Marvin stayed and bought a lumber business. Through many innovations this is now a highly successful business, known as Marvin Windows, which now employs over 5,000 people worldwide.

While his three brothers Bill, Jack, and Tut worked to build the Marvin Company, Cal took a different route.

The early years, Cal Marvin, Wes Cole and Les Lightning

In the movie, “It’s a Wonderful Life,” George Bailey is given the opportunity to see what would have happened if he was not around in his local community. Similarly, Warroad certainly would not be the same without Cal.  

Dick Roberts, who grew up just a few houses from Cal, knew him well.  “Cal Marvin was full of energy, a go to guy, full of ideas; his mind was always working and for his whole life Cal would get things done.  He didn’t like to take no for an answer.”

Cal enjoyed his youth and loved sports. After graduating from Warroad High, Cal went off to Carleton College where he soon discovered that college was not his calling.  

With the war in full force, he felt led to join the Marine Corps and went off to San Diego for training.  He then served in the South Pacific fighting against the Japanese in Saipan.  When the war ended, Cal came back to his hometown; where instead of going into the family business he became a successful businessman in the resort and hospitality industry.  This gave him time in the winter, and soon Cal became a fixture in the Warroad hockey fabric.  

When Cal came back from the war, he wanted to help the community as it had no rink.  The Warroad Pioneer reported on March 8, 1945 that, “Marine Private Cal Marvin revived the sport here this winter while home on furlough from active duty in the South Pacific.”

Cal and a few helpers flooded a rink on the schoolyard, and with the rink now in place, and Max Oshie as a star player, he was able to start up the Warroad High School team.

Warroad gets an Arena – the building of the Castle on the Corner

In Cal’s mind, what Warroad needed more than anything else, was a place to play hockey indoors.  Dead or alive, he was committed to seeing this through.  While serving in WWII, his love for the game was off the charts, and if he had not made it back from the war, he had named the Warroad Arena Fund as the beneficiary of his $10,000 life insurance policy.

Cal was now ready to begin to put together the group that would plan and start the work needed to make his dream come true.  With his good friend Dick Roberts, Cal and Dick called a meeting to put together a small group that would become the members of the Warroad Memorial Arena Association.

On the invitation list was 35 business owners from Warroad.  It was not an easy sell.  Warroad had few sidewalks, no library, and the roads were in poor shape.  Many in the community felt the ice arena was not where the funds should go.  

Cal led the way for a fundraising effort to build the first indoor rink, his “Castle on the Corner.”  Cal was able to raise the funds through bingo nights, benefit auction sales, variety shows, raffles and other fundraisers, and by 1947, he had raised $9500.00 in the Warroad Arena fund.  

Cal proved his critics wrong, as this money that was spent to create an arena was one of the seeds in the ground that put Warroad on the map, not just locally and in Canada, but throughout the hockey world.

With the support of the community, the blueprints from the University of North Dakota rink and a volunteer force ready to go, the plans for the arena were now in motion.  With local carpenter Ed Christian scaling back the plans, it was now time to get the building started.  Christian would later see his three boys Gordon, Roger and Bill play in this building, and in time all three would represent the USA as Olympians.

Ginny, Bill and Roger Christian all wearing the USA Jersey

Cal would miss only a short bit of the entire project, but he had a good excuse.  His marriage to Beth took place that summer.  He flew to his wedding and, after honeymooning for two days, returned to his project.  This lifestyle didn’t stop Cal and Beth from enjoying each other’s company, as winters are cold and long in Warroad, and they somehow managed to have 12 children.

With the arena built, it was now time to fill it up with hockey players, with practices and games for all ages. Mike Marvin saw firsthand his father’s devotion to the game.

“Dad wasn’t one of those who just loved hockey at the level that he was at, but he wished success for everyone, at every level,” Mike Marvin said. “That is evidenced by his 40-some years as president of our youth hockey organization; with all the countless meetings that he sat through.  Dad fought to build the arena and he fought to make the hockey programs successful.”

In the Beginning- the birth of the Warroad Laker hockey

Warroad Lakers First Hockey Team

In the summer of 1946, Cal wanted to get a senior hockey team in Warroad.  In order to do so they needed to have uniforms.

“Cal and I planned a dance in a local seed house,” Roberts said. “The dance was very well attended by the people in town.  We raised $1300.00 that night which at that time, was a lot of money for the complete uniforms”.   

With uniforms now in hand from the fundraising dance in the summer of ‘46 by Cal and Roberts, it was time to organize.

The Warroad Lakers Hockey Club started in 1946 -1947 when Warroad pharmacist E.J. Holland called a meeting to organize a men’s team that would play in the States-Dominion League against teams from Northwest Minnesota, including teams from Hallock, Crookston, Roseau and Thief River Falls.

Led by Cal Marvin, this group of hockey players from Warroad would take their game to Grand Forks and started the University of North Dakota program.

The Birth of UND Varsity Hockey

The following year, with Cal Marvin leading the charge, they would bring the University of North Dakota varsity program to life.  Marvin felt strongly he could make a solid college team and asked Red Jarrett, the UND Athletic Director, to give them a chance to bring players into the University of North Dakota and start a varsity program.  Marvin followed through, getting the players and, with the help of Jarrett scheduling games, started the varsity hockey program at UND.

In the first year as a UND varsity team, they traveled by train out to play mighty Michigan, defeating them in front of few fans by a 6-5 score.  The Wolverines would rebound the next night, and in front of a full house, beat UND sending them back for the long train ride home.  

When the team arrived back in Grand Forks, at 7:30 a.m., in well below zero weather, they were greeted by Jarret and the university band, after becoming the first UND sports team to ever beat a Big 10 team in any sport.

With a limited college schedule, the players would often head home for the weekend to play for the Lakers, against the local competition from around the Northwest.

Cal Marvin and the Lakers

The Warroad Lakers may have been the greatest amateur club to ever play the game of hockey.  The Lakers dominated the sport.  Showcasing talent with speed, skill and toughness, the Lakers would beat national and Olympic teams.

The Lakers didn’t start hockey in Warroad, but hockey in Warroad would not be the same without them.   The club has not played a game in 20 years, but it is during the 50 years they played that Warroad became known as HOCKEYTOWN USA.  

Cal Marvin’s name was synonymous with the Warroad Lakers.  As the leader of the Lakers, Cal was known for his ability to get the guys needed to be a winning team, and then manage their ice time.  In addition, for 50 years, he was loved by the guys who played for him.  They knew he cared and would do whatever he could to help them out.

“Dad’s commitment to hockey and the Lakers was so unwavering,” Cal’s son Mike said. “But the same commitment that he had for the Lakers Hockey Club is the same commitment that he has for his family.  And I don’t just mean our family.  I mean his brothers, his cousins, his nephews, everyone.”

This was not beer-league or no-check hockey.  This was intense, 60-minute stop time, full-contact hockey.  It was common to play with pain, and if you weren’t prepared to play, you would be leaving worse than you arrived.

How good was the Warroad Lakers Senior Men’s Hockey Club?

In 1960, the U.S. Olympic team traveled to Warroad, only to get beaten by the Lakers. This wasn’t the first time the Lakers beat a U.S. national squad. In 1958 they did it not once, but twice.

Lakers playing Team USA

Later, that 1960 U.S. team would take the Olympic gold medal in Squaw Valley with Warroad players Roger and Billy Christian on it.

Not only did Bill and Roger Christian play on the first U.S. team to ever take the Olympic gold medal, but for many seasons, they also played for the Lakers.   

U.S. National Team and Olympian players that donned the Warroad Lakers jersey included the likes of John Noah, Dan McKinnon, Gordon Christian, Roger Christian, Bill Christian, Sam Grafstrom, Dayton Grafstrom, Myron Grafstrom, Bob Lund, Jim Stordahl, Henry Boucha, Blaine Comstock and David Christian.  Cal Marvin also coached the 1958 team and was manager of the 1965 U.S. National team.

hrist

David and Bill Christian- played together as Lakers

Interestingly enough, the United States has never won a gold medal in the Olympics without a member of its team being from Warroad.  

“One of the nicest testimonies about my dad Cal and the Lakers was something that Chris Imes said after he had played for the Olympic team and then came to Warroad and played for the Lakers in the playoffs,” Mike Marvin recalls. “Imes told Virg Foss, of the Grand Forks Herald, ‘You know Virg, I’ve been on a national championship college team and I’ve played in the Olympics, but I’ve never had so much fun as playing for Cal Marvin.’”

Besides representing their country, the Lakers had numerous players who played or coached in the NHL, including Clarence Schmidt, “Sugar” Jim Henry, Ed Kryzanowski, Bill Juzda, Allan Hangsleben, Henry Boucha, Dave Christian, Bob Johnson (coach), Howard Walker and Chad Erickson.

Mike recalls overhearing Billy Lund, who played professionally in Texas say “Cal, we’re getting paid and we’re playing, but it’s not like Laker hockey.  That was so much fun.’”

Five Lakers are now members of the United States Hockey Hall of Fame, including Cal Marvin, Bill Christian, Roger Christian, Henry Boucha and David Christian.  I know of no other amateur hockey club that can make these claims.

The largest challenges that Cal and the Lakers ran into were from being too successful.   Over the course of 50 years, the club played in many leagues, but soon wore out their welcome, as team owners refused to allow them in their league.

The Lakers saved the best for last.  With Cal’s son David as player-coach, the Lakers became the only senior team ever to win the treasured Allan Cup in a three-peat, winning the title back-to-back-to-back. In its final season, the team made it to the finals but a banged up squad came up short.

“There wasn’t anybody who wanted to win more than Cal…no one,” David Marvin recalled. “Yet, he could handle a loss.  He’d always be in your corner.”  

John Hanson, who played on all three of the Allan Cup championship teams, said “Cal recruited guys that were extremely competitive.  We always wanted to win, practices or games, we played to win.”

The Lakers and Cal Marvin are no longer with us. Cal lived a wonderful life not only doing what he loved, but leaving Warroad with a rich, historic legacy that contributes to its HOCKEYTOWN USA fame.

David and Cal Marvin with Allan Cup

The post Cal Marvin – Mr. HOCKEYTOWN USA appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.

It all starts at the top and, in the state of hockey, nothing compares to the ride that the Minnesota Wild saw in 2016.   Since their inception in 2000, the Wild have had five  head coaches, and in 2016 we saw three different faces behind the bench and podium.

The year was one for streaks, beginning with a slide for the ages, as the Wild lost 13 of their first 14 games.  On Feb. 13, after their  eighth loss in a row at home, to Boston,  owner Craig Leipold and GM Chuck Fletcher pulled the trigger, firing coach Mike Yeo after four-plus seasons at the helm and  named John Torchetti the interim coach.

The former Iowa head coach, who helped solidify the AHL franchise with sound structure and solid teaching, was asked to come in and lead the Wild.  Torchetti would have mixed results as the team searched for an identity.

After righting the ship and getting an under-performing team to play hard, the team turned around and was able to make the playoffs, entering as the  eighth seed and facing a hot Dallas team  which had finished the year by going 12-3-2 in  its last 17 games and earning the top seed.

The Wild would put up a fight in the series, playing hard and winning  two of the first  five games, but would eventually have their season end at the X losing in  Game 6.

In  Game 6, the team came back from a horrid start, down 4-0 after  two periods, and finished with a frantic comeback.  But just like their season, the hole they dug was just to deep to crawl out of losing 5-4.

With the streaky team going 15-11-1 under Torchetti, the question remained, would that be good enough for Leipold and Fletcher to take the interim label off and keep Torchetti as the  fourth head coach of the Wild.

Once the season ended, Chuck Fletcher told the media that Torchetti would be a serious head coaching candidate but he wanted to look at other options as well.

Torchetti, along with Randy Carlyle, interviewed with Fletcher.  More names were brought up as potential candidates.  All things changed from what was suppose to be a slow process, to a fast track, when Bruce Boudreau was fired by the Anaheim Ducks after losing another  Game 7 to the Nashville Predators.

On April 29t, after leading the Ducks to four consecutive division titles, but losing a  Game 7 for the fourth consecutive year, the Ducks cut their ties with him.

With Bourdreau being available, the hiring decision was fast-tracked, as his demand as a head coach would far exceed all other candidates.  His track record showed  eight division titles in  nine years and an overall coaching record of 208 wins, 104 losses and 40 ties.  This record made him a very hot prospect.

His coaching career in the NHL began in 2007 with the Washington Capitals, where he led the Caps to  four straight  division titles, becoming the fastest coach to win 200 regular season games.  However, In the playoffs, he lost  three times in  Game 7.

The following season, after a fast start that was followed by a prolonged slump, the Capitals and  Boudreau parted ways on  Nov. 11, 2011.  His unemployment was very short lived, as just  two days later he would be hired by Anaheim where he continued his winning ways.

With the Wild in need  of a coach with a proven track record, Fletcher immediately targeted Boudreau, and, with Ottawa also in hot pursuit, time was of the essence.  Fletcher would get his man.  On May 7th, Boudreau would be unemployed for less than  two weeks, becoming the  fifth head coach of the Wild.

Boudreau is glad to be back in the town where his professional career began.  The irony of his hiring is he now coaches in a building on the same spot Boudreau  began his professional career as a player  with the Minnesota Fighting Saints.

Boudreau knew that he had talent to work with but was also facing serious challenges, as the old regime had instilled a very different system and he would need to get the team to buy in to his style.

Because breaking old habits takes time, Boudreau told the media that he thought the club would find it’s stride by December.  He was prophetic.

The Wild more than found their stride in December, winning 12 straight games after a Dc. 2 shootout loss to Calgary to set the stag for Saturday’s historic matchup with Columbus.

The Blue Jackets arrived in St. Paul with a 14-game winning streak of their own marking the first time in NHL history two teams with winning streaks of at least seven games had ever met. In fact no two teams in all of the major sports had ever squared off with each having win streaks of 12 or more games.

Both teams entered the league in 2000 and have come of age  built around solid  goaltending, with the Wild leading the league in goals against average at  2.00 and Columbus right behind at 2.06 to start the night.  Devan  Dubnyk carried a  19-6-3 record, with a  save percentage of .944  and his own 10 game winning streak into the contest.  His counterpart, Sergei Bobrovsky  was 23-5-2 with a .932 save percentage and  a 12-game streak.

Neither club has a real sniper up front, but are very balanced with  four solid lines and lead the league with  eight of the top  nine players who are greater than  plus-18 in terms of plus/minus.

A common thought from the players and coaches was the game was still game number 36 out of an 82 game season, although the Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella liked the thought of the match up saying, “I want our guys to revel in it .”

Revel in it they did, as Columbus jumped off to a lead on Cam Atkinson’s goal at the 10:05 mark of the first period.  The Blue Jackets then scored twice in 15 seconds on Jack Johnson’s goal followed by another from Atkinson, early in the second period giving them a 3-0 lead.

The Wild countered just over a minute later with a goal by Mikael Granlund that brought the crowd back to life.  This was stifled late in the period with Seth Jones scoring to give the Jackets a comfortable  three-goal lead going into the  third period.

Coach Boudreau would inspire his club between periods and just 24 seconds into the third period Jason Zucker would cut the lead in half.  “ We wanted to score a goal every  five minutes, which would win us the game,” either Boudreau or Zucker said because the quote was not attributed despite both names mentioned in this paragraph. “ After the first one, I thought we would get another in eight minutes and, if we would have got the next one, it may have been different as the crowd was so into it.”

The Wild pressed hard until the end, but the Blue Jackets have won 14 straight games for a reason, and know how to close out good teams, keeping the Wild off the board and extending their streak to 15.

After the game Boudreau expressed his  team’s need to get back to how they started the streak. “Giving up 14 goals in  four games, we have gotten away from how we play because we have changed our  mindset,  most likely because we have been scoring goals,” Boudreau said.  “We need to get back to winning games 3-2 and 2-1, that’s what is going to make us win.  If we think we are going be a team that is going to win 5-4 we are in trouble, as that is not going to happen.”

When asked how his December was and what he will remember,  Boudreau said, “Christmas was very good, New Years not so good.  When you sit back and look at the whole picture what we did was pretty good, as long as we can get back to what we were doing, we will be successful.”

The post 2016 – A Very WILD Ride appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.

Our hearts are heavy this morning with the news of the passing of Minnesota coaching and broadcasting legend, Glen Sonmor. Glen coached the Gophers, Fighting Saints (with whom he also served as GM) and North Stars before a long career calling Gopher games on the radio alongside Wally Shaver.

A few years ago, Glen was kind enough to grant us the privilege of sitting down with him for a series of interviews discussing his long hockey career, both on and off the ice. Below is the product of that discussion filled with fond memories and anecdotes from Glen’s lifelong love affair with the game of hockey.

Loading Videos...

The post A Hockey Life appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.

 Herb Brooks Foundation honors Bill Butters’ amazing comeback

When the good Lord made Bill Butters, he took one look and then broke the mold, as Butters is truly like no other. His transformation into who he is today is really hard to fathom. Butters went from one extreme to another, going from an NHL tough guy with the Minnesota North Stars to the church pulpit as a minister.

As a player, Butters was known as an enforcer, being one of the toughest and fiercest competitors who ever played hockey in Minnesota.  He was also known to have been just as tough off the ice, bending the rules as he saw fit, with his partying and other escapades.

Butters now is known as  a man with a gentle spirit who leads Chapel services in NHL and college locker rooms. He is now also serving on the staff of Hockey Ministries International.

On June 12, at the National Sports Center in Blaine Minn., Butters was recognized for all that he has done for the hockey community when he was honored with the 2015 Herb Brooks Foundation Youth Hockey Hall of Fame Award.  Brooks, his former coach at the University of Minnesota, was instrumental in helping Butters get to this point.

Early on in Butters’ ministry work, Brooks took him aside and told him he wanted to help and do a fundraiser for him. Brooks did just that, raising over $10,ooo to help Butters get started.

Pushing the envelope

The former Minnesota Fighting Saint’s character was not always saintly, though. In fact, according to an interview Butters did for Eagle Brook Church, Brooks once told him, “Right now Bill, you are a character; I hope someday you will have character.”

Bill’s escapades on and off the ice were legendary. When requesting stories from former team mates about Bill’s past, the most common response is I have a story, but can’t tell you, because it would not be suited for print. Besides, they also knew Bill was famous for getting people back in the pranking department, and wasn’t afraid to take his game to the extreme.

Former Olympian Rob McClanahan said of Butters, “Billy will be the first to admit he is lucky to still be alive.”

Bill Butters still entertaining others at the Herb Brooks Foundation Golf Tourney (photo by HBF staff)

Butters was always pushing the limits off the ice in his NHL playing days and his North Stars teammate, Steve Payne, offered a prime example.

Payne recalled a night  in Atlanta after a game against the Flames at a restaurant and bar adjacent to the team hotel.  As the story goes, a large tropical aquarium separating the restaurant from the bar quickly drew Butters’ interest.

“Bill was really quick with his hands,” Payne said.  “He stuck his hand in the tank and grabbed a fish.  He then looked at us, and stuck the fish in his mouth and ate him live.  When Butters repeated the dubious feat, the bartender, seeing his fish disappearing, asked him to stop.  Payne says this only encouraged Butters to push the envelope and he swallowed yet another tropical fish.

The bartender was now getting really upset, saying “That’s it, if you do it again, I’m calling the cops,” Payne said.  Bill took that as a challenge and ate another fish.

“Known for never backing down, Bill then proceeded to eat one more fish, just before he and the rest of the guys exited the bar, just seconds before the police arrived.”

Bill grew up in White Bear Lake, Minn. with his mother and two sisters.  He played baseball until he couldn’t hit the curve and football until his 5’ 9” stature and lack of speed made a future career in either sport highly unlikely. When he tried hockey, it was like football on ice for him and he thrived as he became a feared and fierce competitor.

At the University of Minnesota, Butters also played for Glen Sonmor, a coach also known for his tough character. Former NHL star Reed Larson recalls the day he was first introduced to Butters. While being recruited by the U and having been asked to attend the Gopher game versus Colorado College, Larson found himself sitting at the old Mariucci arena right behind the Colorado bench.

“In the old Mariucci Arena, the recruits would sit right behind the opponents bench, with just a bar separating the visiting team and the first row,” Larson recalled.

What happened next was classic Butters. Larson witnessed him not just take on a player, but the entire CC team.

According to Larson, the game became chippy and Butters was ejected for fighting. But before leaving the ice, Butters skated to the visitors’ bench and challenged the Tigers to a fight.

“When no one came on the ice, Billy jumped into the player’s bench with both fists flying,” Larson said. “I was shocked, but then started to reach and grab the Colorado College guys from behind, trying to help Bill out.”

An inspirational leader

Butters made a name for himself as a tough guy who was all about putting the team first. His senior year, although not the most talented player, Butters was named captain of the Gophers. When others are asked to describe Bill in one word, the most common response is inspirational.

Former teammate and 1980 Olympian Buzz Schneider recalls “I was a freshman and Bill was the senior captain of the Gophers. Bill was the ultimate team guy, I just loved playing with him and having him as a captain.”

Butters’ notorious reputation across the WCHA drew the ire of many an opposing fan. Former Gopher great Rob Harris recalls all 8,100 at the old Dane County Coliseum repeatedly chanting “Billieeee Buuutterrrs.”

“Bill would have his hands high saying bring it on,” Harris said. “The ironic thing is the chant continued the following year, even though Butters was no longer playing for us.”

Former NHL “Enforcers” Bill Butters and Jack Carlson (photo by HBF staff)

Fighting for a job

Butters desire was to play professional hockey. At that time, the Philadelphia Flyers and the Boston Bruins were winning championships through toughness and intimidation, and he  figured the only way he was going to make it as a professional player was to have that same level of toughness.

Butters signed a professional contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs before moving on to the fledgling World Hockey Association. His  job as a professional hockey player was  to protect the more skilled players, playing just outside the rules, as an enforcer in an era that was known for its bullies.  Butters was known for being a tough guy, having been in over 100 hockey fights with over 240 stitches in his face.

Butters would play 7 years as a professional including 217  games in the WHA, playing with the likes of Goldie Howe, and another 72 games in the NHL.  He amassed 607 minutes in his 289 pro contests. Although he had hoped to play for many more years, his career came to an end when he was informed that his services were no longer needed.

At 30 years of age, Butters did not know what he was going to do.

Bill Butters’ transformation is truly from sinner to saint. It’s fitting that one of the pro teams he played for was the character-filled Minnesota Fighting Saints. Butters in his previous life could best be described as a self-destructive wild child.

Bill has always been a character but, as Brooks noted, it’s not the same as having character. Bill would be the first to admit he made mistakes along the way, but in life you don’t get a rewind button.

Upgrades, on the other hand, are allowed.

The turning point

Legendary South St. Paul girls hockey coach Dave Palmquist summed it up best.

“Bill Butters is a man of faith,” said Palmquist, the state’s all-time leader in wins among girls’ high school coaches. “His story is a great story of transformation in turning his life over to Jesus Christ and from one making very poor choices, to now the man who is looked up to and held in the highest respect.”

What changed Bill was his encounter with Jesus Christ when, in a prayer huddle as an instructor at a hockey ministries camp, he came to the realization of where he was at and where he was going.

In Bill’s own words from his short autobiographical booklet entitled Out of the Penalty Box Butters tells his story of his own transformation:

“I went back home to Minnesota to look for a job, and even though I had attended college for four years, I had not completed my degree, so I had trouble finding employment.”

Then a friend, a long-time pro hockey player named Tom Reid called me and asked if I would like to help at a youth hockey camp. At first I agreed saying that I could use the money. Tom told me that this was a Christian camp and I would be working as a volunteer. I told Tom that I would not come. I hung up the phone, but Tom was persistent calling me again and again. For some reason I agreed to work at the camp.

At the camp I saw young boys and pro players having fun, singing songs and studying the Word of God. No one was swearing, fighting or other things I had witnessed in boys that age. In one of the large group meetings the song leader looked at me (assuming that all of the pro instructors at the camp were Christians) and sang, “Oh Billy do you love Jesus?” I was supposed to respond “Oh yes I love Jesus.” My face started getting red and my eyes welled up with tears. I was embarrassed, not so much because I didn’t know the song, but because I didn’t know who the song was about. During the meeting, Chico Resch, a pro goalie, got up and told how Jesus had changed his life. I had never heard anyone talk about a personal relationship with Christ before that time.

Later we broke into small huddle groups. At the end, the counselor said we were going to close in prayer and whoever wanted to, could pray. The counselor prayed, the boy next to him prayed and then each boy in the circle prayed. They were heading in my direction and I was nervous because I had never prayed before and I didn’t know what to say.

All of a sudden a calmness came over me and I started to listen to the boys prayers. Each boy was praying for me. The Holy Spirit used those prayers and those 11 and 12 year old boys were showing me the love of Jesus Christ. I was there teaching them how to play hockey; and they were there teaching me how to love.

They prayed that I would find peace in my life, employment, and that I would know Jesus as my Savior. I went back to my room, got down on my knees and asked Christ into my life. I admitted that I was a sinner and that I needed Him to help me turn away from the sinful life I was living.

When I came home from camp, I knew Christ had changed me. I told my wife about my becoming a Christian. I told her that at camp, I had asked God for forgiveness. I also then told her of all my shortcomings and how I had not always been faithful, and asked for her forgiveness. After some time, my wife saw the change in my life was real and her faith allowed her to forgive me. Jesus Christ had restored our marriage.”

This real transformation that has lasted over 30 years is miraculous. Butters exemplifies the traits associated with Christ and the Holy Spirit. Ephesians 5: 22-25 states, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.”

A legacy of honor

Butters has consistently shown these positive traits to hockey players of all ages, from the eight-year-old camper at the Hockey Ministries camp, to coaching high school and college players, all the way to working with the NHL’s veteran players and coaching staffs.

Current Gopher assistant coach Mike Guentzel recalls joining the Minnesota coaching staff in 1994 and having the opportunity to be mentored by Butters for a season. Besides sharing advice on coaching and life, the one comment that really stuck out  is, “The team from the East that wears red is a team we can never lose to.”

The ironic thing is that the hockey world is pretty small, and a decade and a half later, Butters joined Mike Eaves’ staff as an assistant coach for the University of Wisconsin. He began poaching the talent pool of the top prospects in Minnesota, including former Minnesota Mr. Hockey, Grant Besse. The former Benilde-St. Margaret’s star, who scored five goals in the 2013 state championship game, three of them shorthanded, is now starring for the Badgers.

Butters has come a long way from the day Herb Brooks called him out for his character.  Besse said that was the trait which stood out in Butters throughout the recruiting process that factored heavily in his decision to sign with Wisconsin.

“I knew Bill was sincere and really cared about me as a person and had my own best interest in mind,” Besse said.

Besse was one of several hockey dignitaries attending the event in Butters’ honor to offer their thoughts and recollections on their encounters with him over the years.

Several Minnesota Gophers including Kyle Rau, Brady Skjei and Justin Kloos said the thing that comes to mind when thinking of Bill Butters is his present work with Hockey Ministries and how he makes himself available.

“It is much more than talking hockey,” noted Rau. “Bill talks to us about life and making the right choices and how to deal with all of the pressures of life.  We greatly appreciate Bill taking the time to help us out.”

One Tough Foursome -Bill Butters, Jack Carlson, Murray Rudisell and Sean Goldsworthy (photo by HBF Staff)

St. Olaf men’s hockey coach Sean Goldsworthy, a close friend of Butters stated, “The transformation of Bill Butters is nothing short of miraculous. Bill has translated his passion and loyalty for his teammates, to now living for Christ in the hockey community. His love for people is evident in his soft heart, unconditional love, and kindness for people wanting to know more about living for Christ. His toughness is now represented in love.”

Former Gopher and NHL star Chris McCalpine talked fondly in saying, “Bill recruited me and was like a father figure, not just to me, but all of the guys, teaching us how to treat people, and the game. He helped many of us advance our career and is a major reason why I was able to play in the NHL. I just think the world of Bill.”

Minnesota Wild head coach Mike Yeo added, “I had heard about Bill before I arrived here, and have now gotten to know him personally. During the season when things weren’t going well, getting texts from Bill meant a lot to me. His work with the chapel and helping others has meant a lot to me and many other individuals.”

Wild forward Ryan Carter thought so highly of Butters, his coach at White Bear Lake High School, that he asked him to officiate as the minister at his wedding. “Bill Butters has been a selfless individual for as long as I have known him. Bill has always thought about what is in the best interest of others. And when I was considering going  to play Junior A hockey instead of high school, Bill took me aside and went through how I was a person who really cared about my family, that it wasn’t necessary to play juniors, and he was absolutely right. It gave me the leadership skills that helped get me to the NHL playing with the Wild, I can’t thank Bill enough for all he has done.”

The 2015 Herb Brooks Foundation Youth Hockey Hall of Fame Award is a fitting tribute to Butters’ lasting hockey legacy and Brooks would be proud of how far he has come, and all of the hearts and lives that he has touched.  If you would like to learn more about Hockey Ministries Int’l check out: hockeyministries.org .

Bill Butters – Herb Brooks Foundation 2015 Hall of Fame inductee (photo by Herb Brooks Foundation staff)

The post Tribute to a transformation appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.

July 31st 3rd Annual Camp for Kids charity event

Thomas Vanek at the lumberyard helping out kids

We are  excited to announce that Minnesota Hockey Magazine (MHM), on behalf of the MHM Foundation, is hosting our Third Annual  charity golf tournament!

Please join us on Friday, July 31st , for a day on the greens at beautiful Pheasant Hills Golf Club in Hammond, Wisconsin.  The course is located just 3 miles north of I-94 about 35 minutes from downtown St. Paul.  New owner Jeff Kelm has the course in excellent condition and is looking forward to hosting the event.

All proceeds will benefit Minnesota youth looking to attend hockey development camps to improve their skills, develop as a person and have some fun by going to various camps.  Without this program they do not have the means to do so.  In our first 2 years, we have sent 12 players to hockey camps and we hope to double that number this year!  We are currently working on an interactive website to keep everyone informed of our Foundation’s  progress.

So far this year, we have  silent auction items and prizes that will  include framed autographed photos  from 1980 Miracle legends Neal Broten and Dave Christian, along with framed autographed photos of hockey legends John Mayasich,  Henry Boucha, and others.  We also have some autographed items from golfing legends  Bernard Langer, Kenny Perry, and more.

Individual tickets are $75 per golfer, and includes golf/cart, dinner, raffle, prizes for golf contests and a silent auction.  For those registering early, we will offer a healthy discount.

Registration starts at 11:30 am with a shot gun start at 1:00 pm.

MHM is also offering a variety of sponsorship opportunities for individuals, organizers and advertisers, to include:

• Diamond Level Sponsorship | $750 includes 2 months of advertising on MinnesotaHockeyMagazine.com, tournament advertising & hole or contest sponsorship and 4 golfers with carts and dinner
• Gold Level Sponsorship | $500 includes 2 months of advertising on MinnesotaHockeyMagazine.com, tournament advertising & hole or contest sponsorship and 2 golfers with carts and dinner
• Silver Level Sponsorship | $300 Includes 2 months of advertising on MinnesotaHockeyMagazine.com, tournament advertising & hole or contest sponsorship and 1 golfer with cart and dinner
• Bronze Level Sponsorship | $150 includes 2 months of advertising on MinnesotaHockeyMagazine.com, advertising at the tournament & hole sponsorship
• Hole and Contest Sponsorship | $100

To register for the event or donate to our silent auction, contact Scott Tiffany at scott@mnhockeymag.com , or call  him at 715-222-6460.  If you run a training facility or a hockey camp and want information on how to participate, call Scott for details.

See the complete Golf Tourney flier here.

Hope to see all of our Minnesota hockey fans out on the course — should be a fun day for an even better cause!

The post Save the date (July 31st) for MHM’s 3rd Annual Golf Event for Sending Kids to Camp appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.