Boys State Hockey Tournament Kicks Off

ST. PAUL, Minn. (WCCO) - The biggest event in Minnesota high school sports returned Wednesday.

The state hockey tournament kicked off at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, one year after crowds were severely limited because of the pandemic. Usually the games bring in around 20,000 fans.

"It's a really big deal," said August Beltz from Mankato. "Like half of my school's going to be here."

"When we were growing up, I had three brothers, so we grew up with hockey," said Joleen Sandstrom from Mankato. "It's in our blood, and my son plays hockey."

Brandon Fite was part of the large Mankato contingent there to root for Mankato East High School.

"I'm here to watch Caelin Brueske get his ninth shutout of the season," Fite said. "Here to watch the Cougars kick some butt."

Mankato East gave students the day off school so they could attend the game.

It turned into a three-generation family affair for the Sandstroms.

"It's nice to be with the family because [my daughter, Joleen, and her daughter, Halee] are in Mankato so she picked me up and brought me here and I was like, 'Thank you so much,' because I was looking forward to this. It's going to be so much fun," said Eileen Sandstrom from Stillwater.

The players on New Prague's team showed up sporting mullets.

"It's just a part of the tournament," said John Schmidt, one of the athletes. "Hockey hair's a big thing in Minnesota so we all went out and got a mullet."

The state tournament normally generates about $2 million of business in St. Paul.