ST. PAUL, Minn. — If there’s one thing that Alex Bump definitely does well, it’s scoring goals at Xcel Energy Center.  

Denver players Kent Anderson (left) and Zeev Buium (middle) celebrate one of their three second-period goals. (MHM Photo / Rick Olson)

For the Pioneers, who won last year’s Frozen Faceoff on their way to a national championship, it was a tough ending as they held what appeared to be a secure lead going into the third.  

Alex Bump scores the overtime-winner 22 seconds into the second OT period while being defended by Denver’s Zeev Buium. (MHM Photo / Rick Olson)

Early in the second, Western still stayed in control, but then the Pioneers caught fire. At 5:46, DU got on the scoreboard on a goal by Jake Fisher. After Slukynsky stopped Samu Salminen’s shot, the rebound went right to Fisher, who tapped it into an open net to make it 1-0.  

Western Michigan players celebrate their NCHC Frozen Faceoff Championship on March 22, 2025. (MHM Photo / Rick Olson)

“That is a huge hill to climb, down 3-0 to Denver in the third,” Ferschweiler said. “That’s such a great hockey team, and they’re so dangerous. But I thought our players were getting better throughout the game and there was lots of belief in that locker room. We just talked about being urgent from the first shift on and not waiting ’til the end to try to press. We couldn’t. We had to get three goals, not one goal.

“Then the big-time play by Liam Valente to pull up and find Zack Sharp, who calmly buries it under the bar, and you could feel ‘Okay, the belief was there.’ This is a confident group. The belief is always there, but then you could just feel the momentum build, and I just thought we got better and better and better even throughout the overtime.” 

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It’s a place where kids have flirted with frostbite and battled their best friends over the past 23 years, and the Slukynsky name is well-known in Warroad, known to some as Hockeytown USA.

As Hockey Day Minnesota took place this past weekend in Shakopee, it’s been a year since Warroad hosted the same event, as all eyes focused on the town of 1,900 and its rich hockey history.

However, a pair of Warroad kids are still receiving plenty of attention, as Grant and Hampton Slukynsky are enjoying a tremendous season at Western Michigan.

“Grant and Hammer have meant so much to our town and specifically our hockey program, and the example they set and the way they conduct themselves is second to none,” said Hardwick, who coached both brothers in high school. “Obviously, they’re both talented hockey players, but they’re awesome leaders and they both set a great example for their teammates and future players.

“They were raised right and in everything they did growing up – They did it the right way and they showed up with a purpose. They’ve really helped set the standard here the last few years, and you don’t find many kids like them. So, we were super fortunate to have both of them come through our program.”

Grant (right) and Hampton (middle) Slukynsky grew up skating on their family’s backyard rink, which their father, Tim (left), has maintained since 2002. “I still make it every year and clean it off, and even this year Grant came home over Christmas break and skated,” Tim said. “It’s a family tradition and our nieces and nephews come over to skate, and I just remember the boys always begging to skate growing up. There were so many good memories made out there as kids.” (Photo courtesy of the Slukynsky Family)

Grant, 22, played three seasons with the Warriors and the left-shot forward captained the team twice, putting up 101 points (39-62-101) in 2019-20.

Hampton, 19, followed soon after, tending the Warroad crease for three seasons before heading to the USHL. Hampton won the Frank Brimsek Award in 2023 as the state’s top goaltender and led the Warriors to back-to-back Class 1A championship games and runner-up finishes. The success has followed both out of Warroad, too.

Grant won a Clark Cup with the USHL’s Sioux City Musketeers in 2021-22 and spent last season at Northern Michigan before transferring to WMU in June. Hampton was named the USHL Goaltender of the Year and back-stopped the Fargo Force to an Anderson and Clark Cup last spring. He flipped his commitment to WMU at the same time.

Hampton, who was drafted by the Los Angeles Kings in the 2023 NHL Draft (fourth round, 118th overall), has continued to excel this winter, too, as one of the nation’s top freshmen goaltenders.

He’s currently 5-3-1 with a .946 save percentage and 1.55 GAA for the Broncos, and Grant has 15 points (4-11-15) through 22 games. WMU has won six straight, is ranked third in the country and sits atop the NCHC standings with 30 points.

“You grow up wanting to play for the high school team and make the state tournament, and then you want to play at this level and in a conference like the NCHC, and it’s been great so far,” Hampton said. “Going back to this summer, we honestly didn’t know a ton about Western. But we were looking for a spot that would be a good fit for both of us and a place we could win.

“We knew they had a successful program and the staff was highly-regarded, and everyone here has been great to us. I think we have a really good team and can hang with anybody in the country.”

Hampton Slukynsky is sharing the crease with Cameron Rowe this season, who has been “huge’” for Slukynsky’s development. WMU allows 1.8 goals per game, tied for third in the NCAA. Slukynsky earned his first NCAA shutout on Jan. 25 against Miami. (Photo courtesy of Western Michigan Athletics)

Reunited
This season has been an adjustment for both brothers, in a good way.

It’s their first year living in Kalamazoo and attending a new school, and the first at the college level in Hampton’s case. The two are sharing an apartment and living together and they even share a few classes, which has helped ease the adjustment.

However, it’s also their first time playing on the same team.

“It’s been unbelievable and definitely something we’ve been looking forward to,” Grant said. “From the moment we got here, we’ve loved every minute and it’s been a ton of fun going to the rink every single day and working to get better. We’re just taking it one day at a time, and I think that’s part of why we’ve had so much success. But I know for us personally, it’s been really special to finally play together and the off-ice part and living together has been fun too.”

Hampton added: “It’s been really cool. Obviously, he’s three years older, so we never got the chance to play together in youth hockey or high school, but I know both of us and our family have really enjoyed it so far. Playing at this level is special as it is, but to do it with your brother is something both of us will cherish forever.”

Make no mistake, the rest of the family is enjoying it too.

“I think when they were committed to Northern we just took it for granted and kinda expected it was gonna happen, but it’s been surreal seeing it come to fruition and Western has been an amazing fit for both of them,” said Tim Slukynsky, who doubles as their dad and the backyard rink’s maintenance manager. “I don’t know if you want to call it fate or hockey karma, but it’s been amazing how everything has worked out over the past few months. Obviously their team has been playing lights out on top of it too, and I know they’re really happy with where they’re at.”

Grant (left) and Hampton (right) Slukynsky have played in nine games together this season. “You would’ve thought given our numbers in our small town there would’ve been a little bit of overlap, but it’s just never happened,” said their father Tim. “It’s been amazing to watch them this year, and it’s really special for our family.” (Photo courtesy of the Slukynsky Family)

Family Affair
Tim and his wife, Jenny, have attended nearly every WMU game this season. They’ve missed three games total – two of which they were in Ottawa watching Hampton at the World Junior Championships.

Having both kids under one roof has “been a game-changer” Tim quipped, especially after they racked up thousands of miles in recent years. At times driving through the night after Northern Michigan’s games in the upper peninsula to watch Hampton in Des Moines, Omaha or Sioux City – among other locations.

“We wouldn’t be where we are today without them, and I know they’re loving watching us on the same team, and it’s been awesome sharing it with them,” Grant said. “It’s hard enough to play college hockey at this level as it is, but to go through it with your best friend makes it that much more special, and I know we’re not taking it for granted.

“Just being there to support each other in practice, or working together on a project has been awesome, and obviously Hammer’s handled this season tremendously well. At the end of the day, we’re each other’s biggest supporters and we’re just hoping to keep it going.”

Grant Slukynsky has played in all 22 games this season, including two in Grand Forks earlier this month. WMU swept North Dakota and the Slukynskys had roughly 25 friends and family in attendance from Warroad. “We love Warroad and are super proud that we grew up there,” Grant said. “We know a lot of people back home are always pulling for us and that’s pretty special, and we love representing the community.” (Photo courtesy of Western Michigan Athletics)

It’s been quite the year for the Slukynsky brothers, and the Broncos look poised for a deep run in the spring. Hampton also helped the U.S. win a gold medal earlier this month at the above-mentioned WJC in Ottawa, where he won a pair of games.

They both have promising careers ahead of them and have found a good home in Kalamazoo, and they’re making everyone back home in Warroad proud in the process.

“When you know how much hockey means to their family and how professional and caring they are every single day, it’s not a surprise at all to see them having the success they are,” Hardwick said. “They’re both extremely driven and passionate kids, and that’s been evident from a young age, and they’re just winners.

“I’m sure they’ve spent thousands of hours skating in their backyard and during the summer together, but to see them playing together now and being big contributors on one of the country’s top teams – it’s incredible. I know it means so much to both of them and for them to be representing our community in the process, I know everyone here in Warroad is super proud of them and they deserve it.”

The post Successful Slukynskys appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.

William Howard Taft had just been elected President of the United States.

The Titanic was three years away from its ill-fated voyage in the Atlantic; and the University of Minnesota, which had been playing its hockey games on frozen Como Lake in St. Paul, was amid a nearly 20-year hiatus from competition.

But just a stone’s throw from the Canadian border, high school hockey teams from Warroad and Roseau were squaring off against one another for the very first time.

So, the origins of one of Minnesota’s greatest sports rivalries commenced long before official record-keeping began in the mid-1940s.

“Why would people say it’s the best rivalry? I think because everybody has something in the game,” said Larry Olimb, Warroad native and 1988 Mr. Hockey Award recipient. “In Warroad, everyone’s part of the hockey community, and Roseau is the same way. Then just being so close to each other, and being so competitive over the years.”

The U.S. Olympic team, as well as the NHL, have reaped the benefits of this far-north region of Minnesota.

But both hockey havens have perhaps shined brightest in youth and high school competition, regardless of the era.

“In 1999, my senior year, we won a double-A state championship,” Mike Klema said, looking back on the rivalry.

Klema, a Roseau native, went on to play four years at Yale, and is now vice president in the Roseau Youth League and coaching his two Mite-aged sons.

“I just looked back at it from my experience thinking what a great, great run of teams that Roseau and Warroad produced in the 90s,” he said. “And that’s not to shortchange any other decade, because obviously, going back to the 40s, Roseau and Warroad have had really strong histories.”

Past and present, the names are synonymous with Minnesota hockey: Marvin and Christian; Oshie and Nelson; Bjorkman, Boucha and Broten.

Both communities have consistently produced great players and even greater play on the ice.

“No matter if one program has a lot more talent than the other a certain year it doesn’t matter,” said Gigi Marvin, a Warroad native and three-time Olympian for Team USA. “It seems like everything goes out the window and you just play on character and heart and passion and so it’s a lot of fun.”

Rivalry by number
The towns are just 26 miles apart, with the population of Roseau eclipsing that of Warroad, 2,712 to 1,810 respectively.

By the numbers, as they pertain to hockey, Roseau holds the edge as well, with a series record of 107-71-5 since 1945. The two schools battled on 30 occasions throughout the 1960s, the most of any decade.

Roseau has 34 appearances in the boys’ state high school tournament, with seven championships. Two of those titles were won in Class 2A, after the advent of the two-class brackets.

Warroad has made it to the tourney 24 times, bringing home four Class 1A titles.

In the years before the 1991-92 season, schools competed in the single-class system. For Roseau and Warroad, that meant only one team would emerge from the Section 8 region and head to the state tournament.

“By the time we’re done playing each other in high school, we’ve probably played each other 30, 40 times,” said Bill Lund, a Roseau native who was part of the Rams’ 1990 state championship team.

Lund played his college hockey at St. Cloud State and later skated four seasons for Lake Charles in the Western Professional Hockey League.

“Back when we were squirts, we’d play them four times every year, all the way through,” Lund recalled. “And then obviously, in summer hockey, they used to come over to our camp.

“For a couple of weeks in the summer we got along. In the winter, we didn’t get along so well.”

The animosity was tempered for Lund after college when he played on Cal Marvin’s storied Warroad Lakers Senior A team.

“It was Roseau and Warroad guys along with a bunch of other guys playing for the Allan Cup up in Canada,” Lund recalled fondly. “It was one of the best memories ever, playing those two years with the Warroad Lakers.”

Talent throughout the decades
One common theme – regardless of era – rises above the battles: Players who competed in the rivalry still carry an appreciation for the level of competition and how it only raised their game.

“The thing about that rivalry is both teams are usually really good every year. So, that’s what makes it even better,” said Hampton Slukynsky, Warroad’s 2023 Goalie of the Year who now plays with the Fargo Force of the United States Hockey League.

“I think with having two really good teams in northern Minnesota, it makes it a lot more competitive. You want to be better than Roseau, if you’re from Warroad. Or if from Roseau, you want to be better than Warroad.”

Last season, Warroad had the unique distinction of not only having the Goalie of the Year in Slukynsky, but also Mr. Hockey Award recipient Jayson Shaugabay on their roster as well. The pair led the Warriors to Class 1A runner-up finishes the past two seasons.

For Shaugabay, the rivalry ranks as the pinnacle in his accomplished amateur career.

“Leading up to the Roseau-Warroad game has always been the most exciting time in my life,” Shaugabay said. “Even when I was 5 years old watching or, until I got to play in it, it was the most anticipated two games of the year.

“It’s pretty much just like playing in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, but the high school version and it’s just so fun.”

Ready for Hockey Day
Warroad is primed for the three-day event, which has far surpassed earlier incarnations in size and scope.

That excitement is no doubt taken up several notches this January when Hockeytown USA hosts Hockey Day Minnesota.

“Back when it started in Baudette, Minnesota, it was mainly just a game,” said Tad Palmquist, Hockey Day Minnesota co-chair. “Now it’s an entire village. So, it’s everything. We added everything from a big snow hill for the kids to sled down. We’ve added a mini version of the skate path we have on the river.”

The village will also feature exhibits honoring Warroad’s rich hockey history and that of the region. A tribute to Cal Marvin and his Warroad Lakers legacy will highlight the event, as will a ceremonial puck drop in tribute to Henry Boucha, who died on Sept. 18, 2023.

But Palmquist is quick to point out that the weekend will highlight not only Warroad but the entire region, including Hockeytown’s favorite rival.

“We know it’s hard to get the Hockey Day way up north like this, especially in a rural town like Warroad,” he said. “So we want to celebrate all the local towns and obviously Roseau being a key part of that.”

While Warroad will travel to Roseau for their first meeting of the season at the historic Roseau Memorial Arena on Jan. 9, the main event will face off on Jan. 27, for a Hockey Day Minnesota showdown no one will soon forget.

“One thing about our rivalry is it’s not always bitter,” Palmquist said. “On the ice, it’s bitter, maybe. But it’s also built on respect.

“And a lot of these people end up being friends along the way.”

The post The Rivalry appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.