Peace in Christ Lutheran Church in Hermantown held a Kids for Hunger
event Saturday to help package food for distribution both locally and
internationally. The goal was to fill 80,000 pages of food. Volunteers
helped with the bagging of the food. Check out more photos in our
Photos of the Week section
. More information on the event will be in the May 22 issue of the
Hermantown Star.
Five Hermantown High School seniors will be part of a radio show on Wednesday, May 21, from 6-9 p.m. on WKLK Radio (96.5 FM) in Cloquet.
The students will take over the station and dedicate the three-hour program to the graduating class.
Students participating are Sarah Berg, Chelsey Hausch, Tim Crossmon, Elliot Carlson and Danica Lowry.
Tom Cox putts for the Hawks during the final round of the Lake Superior Conference golf tournament Wednesday at Northland Country Club. The Hermantown boys won the 2008 LSC golf title with a team score of 636, 11 strokes better than second-place Duluth Denfeld. Cox finished with an 83 for 18 holes on the day.
The Hawk girls finished second overall with a team score of 842. Duluth Marshall won the girls’ title with a score of 732.
Pick up the May 22 copy of the Hermantown Star for more photos and scores for the LSC tournament.
The Hermantown Hawks stayed undefeated with wins over Ashland and Esko Thursday at home. The softball team continues to pile up the victories season after season, yet rarely does the local squad get a state ranking until late in the season, if at all. If you enjoy great softball, check out the squad this month and be treated to some great play on the field.
Why is Hermantown a great community? Because people talk to one another and say “hello” to people on the street. It also is a great community because residents let a young boy hold a puppy. While this five month old puppy did not see too excited about the whole affair, three-year-old Aidan Petrich had the thrill of day by getting to hold the animal for a few seconds at the Fichtner Field Complex Thursday afternoon.
by Wade Petrich
Hermantown Star
Hermantown boys’ hockey coach Bruce Plante was a little choked up after watching a video of the community’s hockey history.
He was not the only one.
Hundreds of hockey fans attended an event Saturday night celebrating the history of Hermantown hockey, starting back in 1949.
Held at the Golf Skydome, the fundraiser was a tribute to all those who have helped make Hermantown a successful hockey program. From humble beginnings of playing on local frozen ponds to a state title last season, hockey has a rich tradition in the community.
For many in attendance, the event was a reunion, as former players came together to relive old memories. There were four members of the original 1949 team at the event — Roger Aanonsen, Duane Shaw, Lyle Carlson and Pete Peterson (pictured above.) These players not only did not have an indoor rink to play on like the current squads, but also they did not even have a home outdoor rink. Instead, they practiced at local ponds whenever they could.
Organizers of the event, many who are parents of current high school hockey players, had been planning the event for months. There were team photos on display that drew a constant crowd. Three current UMD men’s hockey players at Hermantown alums — Nick Kemp, Kyle Schmidt and Chad Huttel — signed autographs for fans.
The highlight of the evening, which brought back some fond memories for Plante and others, was a program that included a historical video and live comments from past players and coaches.
Pete Stasuik, who coached the Hawks for parts of three decades, starting in 1967, made the trip from Arizona to be at the event. The Alberta, Canada, native played college hockey for the University of North Dakota and played professionally for Winnipeg.
Stasiuk said he had a lot of good teams and some great players. While the Hawks never made it to state during his tenure, they were often above .500 and made some good runs in the Section 7 playoffs against some strong programs.
Jeff Hady, a 1978 graduate who played college hockey for the University of Wisconsin-Superior, said he learned a lot playing for the long-time coach.
The video portion of the program had clips from state and section tournaments, along with a news segment from WDIO when the Hermantown Ice Arena was completed in 1988. There were a few clips from the first game in the new arena, where the Hawks beat Superior 7-4.
The arena was built 20 years ago at a cost of $1.4 million. Dick Rothe, Ralph Capriglione and Rick Francisco were interviewed about how the community came together to get the facility built.
Brian MacDonald, captain of the 1994 team, the first to go to state at Hermantown, said during the program that being the first team to go to state was a bit overwhelming.
“We did not know what to expect,” he told the crowd. “It was the best experience of our lives. I think most of the city was down there (at the state tournament in St. Paul).”
The program had some emotional roller coasters when the video related about the passing of Pat Andrews, Sr., and how his son a couple years later scored the winning goal in the Section 2A finals against Proctor to send the team to state for a second time. The senior was interviewed after the game and so excited he could hardly speak, giving the audience a good chuckle.
Pat Andrews is the current Bantam coach for the Hermantown program.
That year (1998) the team beat Fergus Falls and upset Red Wing to advance to the state Class A title game, before losing to Eveleth-Gilbert.
The video also paid tribute to Jeremy Byrnes, who passed away from leukemia after the 1999 state tournament berth. His No. 15 jersey is on display at the ice arena.
Highlights from the state championship last March certainly brought back a lot of memories for fans, players and coaches at the event. Ryan Schmidt scoring in the empty Duluth Marshall net to seal the victory still brings goose bumps to many Hawk fans.
Plante, who started coaching the Hawks in 1983 and has been with the program for 18 seasons (he took a few years off to become an NHL scout), told the crowd that watching the video brought back a lot of great memories. He thanked the Hermantown community for allowing him to coach some great young men over the years. He also was thankful for the organizers who put on a wonderful event Saturday night.
In a fitting way to end the event, the Hermantown cheerleaders and band led those in attendance with performing the Hawk dance, a staple at many high school sporting events.
Many local businesses stepped up and helped make the fundraiser a success through donations and in-kind services. There were both a silent and live auction, along with drawings for prizes for those who purchased a ticket to the event.
There are more photos of this event in the April 24 issue of the Hermantown Star. E-mail news@hermantownstar.com or call 218-727-0419 to order copies.
Those outside the sport do not understand it and even those deeply involved have a hard time explaining it. But for some reason, hockey is life for many people in Minnesota. In Hermantown, that has certainly been the case.
The sport has never been so popular in Hawk country since the high school program won its first state title during the 2006-07 season. It sparked even more interest in the community as the Hermantown Amateur Hockey Association (HAHA) saw a record number of youths in the program this past season.
Hockey is a commitment in time, energy and money. Parents buy equipment, haul their sons and daughters back and forth to the ice rink and spend countless hours in cold arenas all over the state. Most would not have it any other way.
It is not uncommon for those in the hockey community to get their kids on skates before they can walk. It is not unusual to see those same youngsters stay on those skates and play the sport well into their senior years.
Ice time at the Hermantown Ice Arena is constantly being used by those in the community — young and old. During the winter months, the outdoor rinks are a flurry of activity as future stars work on their skills to one day show them off at the high school level.
Saturday’s celebration of the history of Hermantown hockey is more than honoring past players and coaches for helping create a top-notch program. It is a reunion of sorts for the community of countless people who either have been heavily involved in the sport or causal observers.
“A lot of people are excited about this event,” Hermantown coach Bruce Plante said. “Students are excited, the band is excited. This really is going to be a reunion for many people in the community.”
Last week, parents and community volunteers were finalizing details for Saturday’s event at the Golf Skydome in Hermantown. Many local businesses and individuals have donated items to be raffled off and made available for the live and silent auctions.
The spaghetti dinner starts at 6 p.m. and the program will start at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for children 14 and under.
After the program, there will be a dance at the Skydome to complete the evening.
Randy Bannor has put in countless hours gathering photos, video footage and producing a video that will be shown at the event. He said they have been collecting several hundred photos to be shown during the program and dinner.
Josh Zenner of WDIO TV will be the emcee of the program.
All four varsity coaches have been invited and plan to say a few words during the program, too.
Dave Kolquist attended Monday’s school board meeting to invite the board members and the entire community. He said it will be an overview of the past, present and future of Hermantown hockey. The goal is to cele-brate the success of hockey in the community.
“We have a state championship program,” Kolquist said.
The overall goal of the fundraiser is to generate revenue that can be used for the hockey program in the years to come. With many districts having to make cutbacks, Kolquist said the money will be used to assist the hockey team in future years.
One example Kolquist used was the fact that the team did not have the funds to stay Saturday night in the Twin Cities after winning the state title in 2007. He said local business owners and individuals helped pay for the team to stay one more night and enjoy their championship title.
Winning the state title certainly has elevated Hermantown hockey in the state and around the region. More and more players are going on to play junior hockey and eventually playing college hockey. The Hawks had three players on UMD’s squad this past year. Freshman Chad Huttel went right from a state championship team to the Division I level, and he received the Mike Sertich Award (Most Improved Player) this season, collecting one goal and one assist in 16 games while finishing a plus-5 on the year.
Kyle Schmidt, who played two years in junior hockey, also was a freshman this season. Nick Kemp played his third season for the Bulldogs.
Drew LeBlanc, who spent his senior year playing for Chicago in the USHL, has committed to playing for St. Cloud State University next year.
Organizers of the event are quick to point out that this event is not just for those who are directly related with the hockey program. While hockey is the theme, it is a chance to catch up with old friends and reflect on a rich history that the sport has developed in Hermantown.
Hockey in Hermantown has always been about carrying on a tradition that started back in the 1940s. Moments after winning the state title last March, Huttel told a group of young hockey players from Hermantown that they could achieve the same success if they work hard and stick with it.
The first-ever Hermantown hockey history event Saturday will be a way for the entire community to catch up with some familiar faces and help celebrate a successful program that has been decades in the making.
