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Acknowledgements: This story was submitted via the Contact Form on the Minnesota Hockey Magazine’s website by Jessa Preimesberger, a regional manager with Flag International, a global student exchange organization.  Additional information was provided by Maggie Vekich, a local coordinator with the same organization living in Minnesota and Jamie Nielsen, mom of the host family. Photos courtesy of  Jamie Nielsen.

It started with a love of hockey and ended with a moment that felt like fate.

My name is Jessa Preimesberger, and I am a Regional Manager with FLAG International, a nonprofit student exchange organization. Last year, we received an application from a student named Henri, a teenager from Germany. What made Henri unique was his passion for hockey, a sport not commonly played in his home country, but one he loved deeply.

As we learned more about his family, we discovered something interesting: Henri’s father had been an exchange student himself 38 years ago somewhere in northern Minnesota. The exact town was unclear, and the host family he had lived with had since passed away. There were no remaining ties to that event. Just memories.

One of our Local Coordinators, Maggie Vekich, who lives in the small Iron Range town of Bovey, felt strongly compelled to find Henri a host family in the area. She searched tirelessly across her region, driven by nothing more than intuition and hope.

Eventually, she found the Nielsen family in Bovey, MN.  The family immediately opened their home, excited to share their sport, their school, and their community. They had twin boys Henri’s age, Brayden and Bryce, and like Henri, hockey was their life. Henri was thrilled.

But nothing could have prepared him for what came next. When Henri received his school placement, he froze. He stared at the school name in disbelief.

It was Greenway High School. This was the exact same small, rural high school his father had attended as an exchange student 38 years earlier.

The same tiny school. The same tiny town. Two different host families. Two different generations. One incredible coincidence.

Without planning it. Without knowing it. Without any remaining connections tying them there, this small northern Minnesota community had welcomed both a father and his son, decades apart.

For Henri, it wasn’t just an exchange year anymore. It was a continuation of his father’s story.

Henri on his way with his dad to his first hockey game in Germany

Maggie continues – When placing Henri, all we knew was that his dad spent his exchange year in a small town of under a thousand people somewhere in Northern Minnesota. We didn’t know that it was Greenway until AFTER placing him with the Nielsen family!  

Henri reached out to Jamie (his host mom) and sent a picture of his dad’s letterman jacket from Greenway High School years ago – so you can imagine all of our shock and excitement when we realized he has been placed in the same exact small school as his father… not on purpose!

Henri arrived in Greenway on August 29^th, 2025.  He joined the football team in the fall (his dad had joined the football team and was the kicker while he was here at Greenway as well).

He was most excited to join the hockey team and indicated that it was quite a bit different from back home as he was in inline hockey there vs. ice hockey here. He said he was really excited to be part of a hockey enthusiastic family. 

His host mom, Jamie, adds that having twin host brothers share their love of the game really helped – we were able to make it to a couple of UMD Bulldog games, a couple World Junior games (USA against Germany being one of them and USA against Finland the other). They also attended the 7A & 7AA section finals games as well as the HS State games this year. You can ask him…but he may or may not say he’s “hockey’d out” for a bit, lol.

Henri, #35, same number as his dad when he played football for Greenway

Jamie continues that Henri has had a lot of firsts here.  Pretty much all the outdoor activities have been the first time for him: started out with his first day here on the pontoon, jet skiing and his try at water skiing.  Although hunting and fishing are not his favorite, he has participated and has experienced all these northland activities.

Maggie concludes that Henri became a GNK Titan when he first joined the football team as stated above. He then continued to play for the Raiders during hockey season – which was his childhood dream that came true because of the Nielsen’s. He truly got the best family to give him that MN experience

When I talk with Henri, all he talks about is how much he loves this community. He is truly so happy to be part of the Greenway community and wear the Titans/Raider gear. 

Final note: Henri is currently set to fly home to his family in Cologne, Germany on June 6^th.  He plans to attend college when he returns.  Truly a remarkable adventure Henri will remember fondly.

For more information on Flag International, check out their website at: 
https://www.flag-intl.org/

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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.

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