John's Journal: Memories In The Making For East Grand Forks

Ten years from now, sometime during the winter of 2034-35, a group of former high school hockey players from East Grand Forks, Minnesota, will gather to celebrate and catch up. The event will be filled with smiles and laughs and stories.

“Remember when Schmiedeberg broke his skate and a repair shop in St. Paul got it fixed in time for the second period?”

“Remember the feeling on the bench going into overtime against St. Cloud Cathedral?”

“Remember getting those gold medals and posing for photos with the championship trophy?”

The Green Wave created all sorts of memories this weekend at the Class A boys state tournament at Xcel Energy Center. It was the most storybookish of storybook endings … after a 10-13-2 regular season, they started rolling in the Section 8 tournament, won three games and headed to state as the No. 4 seed.

All they did in downtown St. Paul was beat fifth seed Northern Lakes 3-0 in the quarterfinals, shocked top-seeded Hibbing/Chisholm 7-5 in the semifinals, and then stunned second-seeded and defending state champ St. Cloud Cathedral 2-1 in overtime on Saturday.

Senior Jace Van Eps, who scored the winning goal, summed everything up nicely when he said, “It was something I’ll never forget for the rest of my life.”

East Grand Forks has a strong hockey tradition. The Green Wave played at state for the 14^th time this week and won previous championships in 2014 and 2015. Earlier this season the players from those two title teams were invited to a reunion and celebration of their accomplishments.

“Our guys got to see those 27-, 28-year-olds come back and they interacted with each other,” said East Grand Forks coach Tyler Palmiscno. “These guys saw how fun it was for them to come back, tell stories and be honored on the ice. And now in 10 years these guys will get to do it.”

Not long ago, few people – if any – looked at the Green Wave and thought “state champs in the making.” Who could blame them?

“We had an extremely difficult season, but we never lost sight of what our end goal was, and that was to win a section championship and then win a state title,” Palmiscno said. “And I would say around January 15 there were very few people in Minnesota who thought we'd have that trophy right now. And I'm not even saying that we really believed it, but I know that what we believed was if we kept showing up and kept going to work, good things happen when you commit to those principles.

“And I think that once the puck dropped for the section playoffs, all of a sudden we had a group of 20 led by a senior class that was very driven.”

Events, on and off the ice, just seemed to work in the Green Wave’s favor this weekend When Cole Schmiedeberg was sidelined by a broken skate before the semifinals -- see the previous John’s Journal story for those details – everything came together to get him on the ice.

When Cathedral freshman Bo Schmidt scored late in regulation to make it a 1-1 game, the Green Wave coaches and players gathered in a tight knot on the bench as overtime loomed.

There was some history in play. In the 2015 championship game, East Grand Forks trailed Hermantown before rallying to win 5-4 in overtime.

“We were up by two goals with 30 seconds left in that game, standing on the same bench,” the coach said. “The message today was almost identical to that message. I mean, when you're on that bench, if you're going to overtime, like I told them, ‘If we would have said at the first meeting of the season that you are headed to overtime with an opportunity for a championship, would you take it? Darn right you would.’

“And that's what we had. We had an opportunity to win a title. You can't look in the past. You've got to face what’s directly in front of you. One of our keys of the game all week and through the section tournament was a next-shift mentality, and the next shift was the first shift of overtime. We can't control the refs calls or the bounce of the puck, but we can control our effort in overtime. I like the way we responded. I'm just so happy for this group of kids.

“All we had to was win three games (in section play), then win three more games.”

Moorhead Remembers Ethan

As the teams were being introduced prior to Thursday night’s Class 2A quarterfinal game between Moorhead and Lakeville South, the team managers from Moorhead stood out. Jake Franklin and Graden Quade wore identical suits that looked like something out of a Las Vegas wedding, but what they held in their hands was the most important message.

Graden held up a Spuds jersey with the name MONSHAUGEN on the back and Jake held a hand-made sign that read, “Ethan this one is for you.”

Ethan Monshaugen died suddenly almost a year ago from a spontaneous aortic dissection. He was 16 years old and a manager for the Moorhead hockey team. The team has kept him in their hearts.

“We dedicated this whole season to Ethan,” said senior Mason Kraft after the Spuds beat South 7-4. “He was a really big part of our team. He was just such a good kid and it’s really sad. But Ethan was pulling some strings today for us, and I truly believe that.”

After Ethan’s death, hats and other apparel were made with a heart logo and the words “Ethan’s Heart.”

“We support him every day and we play for him,” said junior Tyden Bergeson.

Senior Brooks Cullen said, “I personally believe he's watching over us and helping us every day. We believe that he's right here with us every day, pulling strings for us, like Krafty said.”

After the Spuds defeated Stillwater 7-6 in the championship game Saturday night, the in-arena cameras showed the jersey carrying his name. That brought a rousing chorus of cheers from the Moorhead fans.

Ethan’s obituary was wonderfully written, including these passages …

“He found immense joy in his role as the team manager of the MHS Spuds varsity hockey team and actively participated on the golf team, cherishing being with his friends/teammates.

“How can someone even begin to describe Ethan? He was kind to everyone. From the time he was a baby he had the biggest smile and is still known for his big smile. Ethan was so witty and funny, he could come up with the best one-liners and comebacks and he was able to connect with everyone and anyone, from an infant to any adult. Ethan excelled in school, he was excited to embark on college courses next school year and was contemplating his post-graduation endeavors. His profound love for his friends was evident and they are a major reason he loved and thrived in life. From his classmates, the varsity hockey team, and golf team, he loved them all. They all meant so much to him, and he would light up just talking about them.”

A visitation for Ethan was held in the Moorhead High School gymnasium.

Shakopee Coach Makes History

Shakopee defeated Lakeville South 4-0 on Saturday to finish in fifth place at the Class 2A state tournament. From the moment the Sabers qualified for state by winning the Section 2 title, it was historic.

Shakopee coach Calvin Simon, 37, a Shakopee alum who is in his seventh year as head coach, became the first African-American head coach in tournament history. That meant less to him than the team’s accomplishments.

“I guess it’s a thing,” he said. “I try not to think about it or focus on it. I'm really proud of our team, our school, and I’m really proud of our community. To be able to coach in the community that raised me is really special. So I've always felt embraced by the Shakopee community, supported and loved. To me, it's more about that than anything.”

He is a 2006 Shakopee graduate who participated in hockey, football, track and golf in high school before playing football at Concordia University in St. Paul.

--The average attendance for NHL games this season is 17,448. The attendance for Saturday night's Class 2A boys state championship game was 20,491.

--MSHSL staff member John Millea has been the leading voice of Minnesota high school activities for decades. Follow him on Bluesky at johnmilleamn and listen to "Preps Today with John Millea” wherever you get podcasts. Contact John at [email protected] or [email protected]