Not long after a young boy puts on his first pair of skates, the dream of playing in the Minnesota State High School Hockey Tournament becomes an annual goal. As these kids progress from Tiny Mite games on early Saturday mornings to the final of the section tournament the allure of “The Tourney” is a constant thought and goal.
Some call the Minnesota High School Hockey Tournament the greatest and grandest tournament in the United States (with all due respect to Indiana high school basketball). During the now 4 day event, over 160 high school hockey players battle for the honor to become a state champion. The event consistently draws over 100,000 fans, and the games are now broadcast worldwide with the addition of streaming services.
Last week two Adrian hockey players were able to live the dream themselves. Skylar Dingmann, a sophomore, and Nick Harder, a junior, along with their Luverne teammates took part in the 2017 Minnesota High School Hockey Tournament in St. Paul. Adrian co-ops with Luverne for high school hockey, so Skylar and Nick drive to Luverne during the week for practices and travel to the games with the Luverne squad.
Luverne played inspired hockey in the first round and took top seed Hermantown into overtime only to have Hermantown prevail. The Cardinals earned the respect of everyone in the arena as the game went on. In second round play the Cardinals fell to East Grand Forks 5-2.
For the full story and photos pick up the March 15, 2017 issue of the Nobles County Review.
