Hockey Town

Today the MN State High School Hockey Tournament started. I secretly like to watch some of it, even though I claim to hate hockey. Don't tell anyone. High school hockey in MN is the epitome of the game. Those kids are out there giving all they have. They haven't developed the college hockey player ego yet, and it's far more exciting than the NHL. I'm rooting for Hermantown this year, to stay true to my northern roots. 


But enough about this year's tournament. Let's got back to 1998. My high school (The Eveleth-Gilbert Golden Bears) was in the class A tournament and I was a cheerleader. It was a pretty amazing run by a team that had a shaky start. If I remember right, we won something like 21 games in a row to finish the year as State Champs. The championship game was against Hermantown, and in between the 1st and 2nd period, we went out to do our school song and cheer as the players warmed back up. I was oblivious to anything going on around me and focused on the large crowd singing and cheering along with us, when out of nowhere, from my right side, I was hit from behind. I fell to me knees on the ice and was in immediate pain. It was probably only a split second but I remember watching people's faces in awe as it happened in slow motion for me. I went sliding on all fours towards the boards.I remember thinking that if I didn't get my hands off the ice, my fingers were going to get cut off by someone's skate. A mess of players were skating by very quickly. Book'em Heitzman helped me up and off the ice. I was crying. Partially the tears were out of pain, but a large part of it was embarrassment.


I spent the rest of the game cheering from the sidelines with an icepack on my knee. I watched my classmates and friends lead the team to a 4-2 victory, and the title of Champions. The pain went away a little with the happiness and pride that came from the win. I hobbled out onto the ice and celebrated with everyone. It seems like it was yesterday, not 14 years ago.


Years later I would go on to meet the guy who ran into me. His nickname was Moose. It was completely fitting, as he was a very large guy. We had mutual friends and would laugh about what happened. The funny thing was, we changed the HS Hockey rules in MN just a little bit. From that year on, all of the players weren't allowed to skate around in warm ups between periods anymore. Only the 5 starters could be out there, to make the situation safer for everyone.


That was the last time Eveleth-Gilbert won the tournament to date. I am proud to be from such a little town with so much rich history in the sport. Looking back on those years and the people I was lucky enough to cheer with and have classes with always makes me smile. I have to admit that it's a little bit cool to think that I have the tiniest little part in the Eveleth High School Hockey legacy.