MSHSL State Hockey Tournament

By: Eric R
Last Friday, March 4th, a couple buddies and I took a trip to the Minnesota State Hockey Tournament. The Minnesota State Hockey Tournament is not only the biggest tournament in the state, but it is the biggest in the nation. The Minnesota State Hockey Tournament beats Texas football, Florida football, and Indiana basketball. There is no doubt Minnesota is nicknamed “The State of Hockey.” When we went there, they set a new record for the largest crowd to ever attend a hockey game in the state of Minnesota with 22,244 fans attending. The single A games are not as bad, and you are able to get a fantastic seat in the lower level. I would not say there is a bad seat in the house though. On the other hand, we waited in line for over two hours just to get a ticket for the double A games and still only got standing room seats for the second level. The student section of the school even had to sit in the upper deck. This was my second time being at the state tournament, but the other time I went I only watched one game and then left. This time, I stayed the whole day and watched four games. We watched Breck, Thief River Falls, Hermanton, St. Paul Academy, Stillwater, Wayzata, Grand Rapids, and Eden Prairie. These were some great teams. A couple that stood out to me were Hermanton and Eden Prairie. It was the seventh year in a row that Hermanton was in the state championship. Eden Prairie ended up making it to the state championship but then lost to Wayzata. Eden Prairie always has a good team and should be there for years to come. It was a great experience, and I will always remember it.