Hermantown Star

Hermantown hockey celebration

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.

Hockey celebration Saturday

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.

April blizzard

Hermantown schools are closed today (Friday) with just about every other school in the area. Blizzard conditions, including high winds, are expected to last through Saturday morning. While snow has been light through Friday morning, high winds have made it nearly impossible to see for motorists.

There also have been reports of power outages in Hermantown, along with Piedmont and Duluth Heights neighborhoods in Duluth.

Skydome to come down April 20

by Wade Petrich
Editor

After 10 years of being a landmark in the community, the Golf Skydome will be coming down for good on April 20.

Owner David Kolquist said a variety of issues led the decision with the biggest one coming down to costs.
“Energy costs have tripled since we started,” Kolquist said Monday. The cost to heat the dome per month has jumped to $15,000, up from around $2,000 to $3,000 a month when it first opened.

At $7 per bucket of golf balls, Kolquist said raising the price any higher would not be a sound business decision. He added that golf was bigger, especially with the youth, when Tiger Woods starting playing on the PGA Tour. Like all sports, golf has seen its popularity come and go over the years, and right now golf is not as popular.

While the dome has been a hot issue in recent years regarding its status as a temporary or permanent structure, Kolquist said the dome was not coming down with hard feelings. He had disagreements with city officials and the fire department with regards to the dome, but the biggest problem was finding answers and solutions.

“This is an unique business and completely new around here,” Kolquist said. “No one has one in northern Minnesota, and that was part of the struggle with finding answers.”

Read the complete story in the April 3 issue of the Hermantown Star, along with details of what Kolquist plans to put in place of the dome.

Hermantown Hockey: The Early Years

by Wade Petrich
Editor

Bill Rouleau recalled several members of the Hermantown boys’ basketball team were skating around with the hockey team on the outdoor rink by the high school (which is now the middle school building) when the head coach of the basketball team, Dick Veech, came outside.

“All the guys hid from coach Veech because he did not want them playing hockey and getting hurt,” Rouleau recalled.

Back in the early 1960s, basketball was the big winter sport and hockey was still a novelty.

Rouleau was a member of the Hawks’ hockey program from 1964-66. He was a sophomore when Hermantown re-started the program after more than a 10-year hiatus. Bernard Cousineau was the coach and the team practiced on two outdoor rinks by the high school.

“We very seldom skated inside,” Rouleau said. If they did get a chance to practice at the Duluth Curling Club, it was normally at five in the morning.

Rouleau said the outdoor rinks had good, hard ice because they came up with a Zamboni-type machine to resurface the ice from time to time. They used hot water and the device was rolled along the ice manually. All the home games were played on the outdoor ice.

“Most teams played outdoors back then,” Rouleau said. “Few schools had their own indoor rink. We used to have to shovel the rink before games if it snowed. A lot of the parents helped too. I remember us being out there when it was 20 below.”

Having an outdoor rink of any kind was a luxury the 1949 team never had. For one year, Hermantown offered a hockey program to students.

Lyle Carlson was on that team and he remembers having practices on ponds in the neighborhood, including Mud Lake. On a rare occasion the team would take an old bus, driven by Coach Mickolajak to the Duluth city rinks.

“We were not real skilled hockey players back then, but we had fun,” Carlson recalled.
Carlson remembers beating Floodwood, who had a team that year. Other teams in the Polar League were Duluth Denfeld, Two Harbors and Duluth Cathedral.

The team did not have enough players for even two lines and Carlson said he played center and wing. He said players stayed on the ice until they were nearly too tired to stand.

Duane Shaw played goalie, which took a lot of courage back in those days.

“We did have helmets back then, but they were made of cardboard,” Carlson said. “We used football jerseys in games and some of the guys used magazines for shin pads. We did have regular hockey gloves and skates.”

With no youth program, Rouleau said many of the players learned while skating for the varsity team.
“I was the last one cut from the basketball team my sophomore year so I decided to try and play hockey,” Rouleau said.

Those teams in the early 1960s still had three lines (Rouleau played defense). He remembers teammates Tommy Helmer, Steve Gibson, Dan Kuklis, Johnny Gamache, Lenny Green, Dale Perkins and Robbie Olson.
“They were a great bunch of guys,” Rouleau said. “We had a lot of fun playing back then.”

Since hockey still was in its infancy stage, basketball was the big draw. The fan base was modest for home hockey games and Rouleau said that during home basketball games the outdoor rinks were closed.

After his high school playing days, Rouleau volunteered to help with the newly formed youth program in Hermantown, helping coach at a variety of levels. His son, Brett, got to play in the indoor arena when that was finally built.

“There is a great commitment from this community with the hockey program,” Rouleau said. “So many people are willing to give back and that is how we have been able to produce Division I hockey players over the years.”

While the teams in the early days of Hermantown hockey did not enjoy the same success in terms of victories that today’s squads have enjoyed, these young men laid a solid foundation for hockey in the community, and had lots of fun in the process.