Hill-Murray's Jack Erickson selected 2023 Class AA Herb Brooks Award recipient

Hill-Murray senior goalie Jack Erickson was selected the recipient of the Class AA Herb Brooks Award on Saturday, March 11 during the Minnesota State High School League’s Boys Hockey State Tournament at the Xcel Energy Center in downtown St. Paul.

The annual award is presented to a state tournament participant that strongly represents the values, characteristics and traits that defined Herb Brooks, a St. Paul native that gained international fame as a hockey coach. The award commemorates the unending influence that Brooks had on the sport of hockey, not just in Minnesota, but throughout the world.

Erickson helped backstop the Pioneers to a state tournament berth, which culminated with a fifth-place finish in the Class AA field. He made 41 saves in Hill-Murray’s 5-3 victory over Maple Grove in the consolation final to conclude the season.

“Since he could barely walk, he put on the goalie equipment and tried to emulate the high school, college and professional goalies that were in his youth years in the area and Minnesota,” said Hill-Murray head coach Bill Lechner.

Lechner says Erickson continually shows leadership qualities.

“Jack is a senior captain and, and 100 percent, leads by example,” he said. “But when you least expect it, in a positive manner, when he sees that correction with his teammates needs to be made, he is on it ASAP. He really helps our coaching staff as a positive go-between with us and the players. Jack has told me on numerous occasions how his choice of Hill-Murray as a student-athlete never wavered. He says it was the best thing he and his family ever decided. He is such a visible role model for everyone around him. In school, on the ice, with youth programs, and around the community, he is “That Kid!”