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State of Hockey Spotlight: Grand Rapids

By Ryan Williamson, Minnesota Hockey Journal, 10/07/17, 4:15PM CDT

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Get to know a classic and unique Minnesota hockey community

Why They’re Awesome

As the Grand Rapids boys’ high school hockey team loaded up the bus for their trip to the state tournament in Saint Paul last March, community members arrived to give them a proper sendoff. And when the bus came back with the state tournament championship trophy, they held a welcome home party. It doesn’t get much more Minnesotan than that.

During away games, hundreds, sometimes thousands of fans hit the road to support their local squad. And when Grand Rapids makes it to the Class 2A

Section 7 final at Amsoil Arena in Duluth, it’s normal to see the Thunderhawks and their opponent fill up the college arena. At the younger levels, it’s common to see community members show up, regardless of who is playing.

“We have a fan base that is equal to no other school in the state,” said Chris Marinucci, the new boys’ high school hockey coach and Grand Rapids Amateur Hockey Association board member. “Hockey up here is more like a religion than a sport.”

This year, the Thunderhawks’ rabid fan base was rewarded as Grand Rapids made a miraculous run to the Minnesota State High School Hockey Tournament at Xcel Energy Center and won the school’s first state championship in 37 years, defeating fellow northerners from Moorhead.

“For these guys to pull that off was really something,” said Marinucci, who was an assistant on the 2016-17 state championship team. “It was a deserved accomplishment for a deserving community.”

The trickle-down effect to the association’s youth players is just as impressive.

Developing at home

As a town with a population of just more than 10,000, Grand Rapids does not have the talent pool that metro-area competitors boast. During the 2016-17 season, the association had 411 youth players register. It’s a large number and especially impressive given the city’s small population.

Marinucci thinks this unique circumstance is something that makes the program special.

“We develop our players and we live and die with the players we develop. I think as a community we are proud of that,” said Marinucci, who grew up in Grand Rapids and won the Hobey Baker Award in 1994 as a member of the UMD Bulldogs.

While these players are developing individually, they also get the chance to develop chemistry with their teammates. Most players start with the same teammates at 8U and continue with them all the way up to the high school level.

Once these players reach the high school level, they are quick to give back to the community that helped make them the hockey players they are today. Older players are often seen helping the younger players on the ice. They let young skaters out onto the ice after certain varsity home games. The giving-back nature of Grand Rapids is something that is seen throughout the community.

“A lot of coaches and people running it are people that have been through the organization and had that experience,” said Chris Henrichsen, association treasurer and youth coach. “We are able to get everybody in the right mindset because of the experience of those within our program.”

Producing top-end talent

Grand Rapids has continued to push out some of the State of Hockey’s top talent. The list of successful alumni is astounding and includes the likes of Alex Goligoski, Jon Casey and Marinucci himself. These three alumni are among 12 Grand Rapids natives who have made it to the big leagues.

Last season, a new group of young stars emerged. Gavin Hain, Blake McLaughlin and Micah Miller played together on the same line for much of the season and were key to Grand Rapids’ title run. The trio had been together since they were 12 and had won the Minnesota Hockey State Tournament Bantam AA title back in 2014.

Recently, Hain and McLaughlin’s accomplishments were rewarded as the two high school stars got to represent Team USA at the 2017 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Cup. They also got to represent their country at the 2016 Under-17 Five Nations Tournament.

Marinucci also stressed that, after hockey season, Grand Rapids prides itself on hanging up the skates. Playing multiple sports is a point of emphasis for the Thunderhawks, and key to their overall success. That philosophy won’t change.

“We live and die with what we’ve produced over the years,” Marinucci said.

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