The photograph has been seen hundreds of thousands of times online. On the MSHSL Facebook page the photo had nearly 600,000 views by late afternoon Saturday. On my Twitter account alone it had been seen more than 200,000 times.
There’s nothing else like it, because the photo
of two people shaking hands, an 88-yard-old man and a teenage boy, encompasses both
the history of high school hockey in Minnesota and the reverence for the game’s
stars. And the smile on the young man’s face is absolutely priceless.
The whole thing began when Prior Lake defeated Cretin-Derham
Hall 6-0 in Thursday’s Class 2A state quarterfinals at Xcel Energy Center. The
game’s star was Prior Lake senior Alex Bump, who had five goals and one assist.
Watching from the stands was John Mayasich, who
is probably the biggest name in the history of high school hockey in the state.
In the 1951 state tournament he set records that still stand for goals in one
game (seven), goals in one period (four), most goals in one tournament (15),
most career goals at state (36 from 1948-51), as well as records for most
points in a period (5), points in a game (8), in one tournament (18) and during
a tournament career (46).
Yes, THAT John
Mayasich.
John and his son Dan came to the Prior Lake
locker room after the game. Dan introduced his dad to Lakers coach Joe
Pankratz. John asked, “Is that number 19 around?”
The answer was yes. Alex was introduced to Mr.
Mayasich, who told him with a grin, ‘You almost bumped my record.”
Dan Mayasich took the photo.
Pankratz
said, “It was a pretty cool moment that Alex probably will not appreciate for
years.”
None of the
Lakers players knew who John was. After John and Dan left, the coaches gave the
kids a quick history lesson. They told the players to find the state tournament
records because “You'll see his name everywhere,” Pankratz said.
Pankratz and assistant
coaches Matt Sartor and Matt Crist also stood with Mr. Mayasich for a photo,
which they treasure.
It’s pretty incredible
when you look at that photo of two high school hockey stars who set the
tournament on fire … 71 years apart.
The Hat That Came Back
There was a special exchange between a player
and young fan during Friday’s semifinal game Maple Grove and Prior Lake. Maple
Grove senior Joshua Giuliani scored two goals in the first period that got the
Crimson started in their 6-2 victory.
Maple Grove was ahead 5-2 when the players went
to the bench during a TV timeout in the second period. Crimson senior Sawyer
Skanson nudged Giuliani and said a little kid sitting in the front row, on the
other side of the glass, wanted to have a word.
The boy knew
that Joshua already had two goals, and he wanted to make a promise. He voiced
his message through a narrow gap between panels of plexiglass.
Skanson told
Joshua, “He wants you to get that third goal, and he's going to throw his hat
for you.”
Joshua said,
“I turned around, and I said, ‘You want that third goal?’ He's like, ‘Yeah, I
do. I'll throw my hat.’ So I went out there about two shifts later, I think, and
I ended up scoring.
“I looked over
and I saw the kid throw his hat. I saw that I made his day, and it made my day
to pick up the hat and give it back to him. I love playing the game for the
kids, too. It's not just a team thing. It's about the community.
“I'm not
sure if he's from Maple Grove or not. But he's out here supporting us. So I
love it.”
Great
Year For Northern Hockey
The
championship matches in the Class 1A girls and boys hockey tournaments were
very similar this year, with Warroad defeating Proctor/Hermantown 6-1 for the
girls crown on Feb. 26 and Hermantown beating Warroad 3-2 Saturday in the boys
final.
“I think both
our boys and girls programs are in a real good spot right now,” said Warroad
boys coach Jay Hardwick. “And Warroad’s obviously a special place. We take
hockey very seriously, and we do things to help kids make trips down to the
state tournament and do things like this. And it's just a testament our
community and all the people involved there.”
The Warroad
boys had not played in a state championship game for 13 years.
“It's huge,”
Hardwick said. “It’s been a while and I'm hoping it's not another 13 years
before we're back in this game again. I'm planning on being back here and doing
it again and having a better result, but it's good for our kids to see everything.”
Hermantown
won its fourth boys title and the first under fifth-year head coach Patrick Andrews.
Having grown up in Hermantown, he became emotional after Saturday’s game.
“I’m
speechless, and it means the world to me,” he said. “People in Hermantown have
been so gracious to me, phenomenally tremendous support.”
Boys State Hockey Tournament
CLASS 1A
Championship: Hermantown 3, Warroad 2
Third place: Mahtomedi 4, Alexandria 2
Fifth place: Minneapolis 4, Monticello 1
CLASS 2A
Championship: Maple Grove vs. Andover
Third place: Hill-Murray 3, Prior Lake 2 (OT)
Fifth place: Edina 3, Moorhead 2 (OT)
--MSHSL media specialist John Millea has been the leading voice of
Minnesota high school activities for decades. Follow him on Twitter @MSHSLjohn
and listen to "Preps Today with John Millea” wherever you get podcasts.
Contact John at jmillea@mshsl.org
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