Community of East Grand Forks Sends Off State Hockey Team in Style
The school gets together for a pep rally celebrating the teams seed in the state tournament
EAST GRAND FORKS, Minn. — If you’re a member of the East Grand Forks community, then you can bet you’ve got some style.
Students took a break from class to show their Green Wave spirit.
It’s a road trip the East Grand Forks Hockey Team looks forward to.
“It gets us excited to go down and play…seeing everyone here,” said Nick Derrick, captain of the EGF hockey team.
Some will take time out of class to head to the Excel Energy Center for the Minnesota Class A State Hockey Tournament.
“Oh yeah! Wednesday through Friday,” said student James Egeland, who is headed to St.Paul to watch his home team.
Derrick hopes to not let anyone down. “Just got to play our game and hopefully make it to the next round,” he said.
This is the fourth state tournament appearance for the hockey team in the last five years.
Some on the roster said this time around feels a little different.
“Senior year, you want to finish out strong,” added Derrick. “Going to the X is pretty exciting.”
The team is expecting to see a lot of familiar faces in St.Paul.
“It’s bright. You see all your friends and family there. It’s exciting,” Derrick said. “Skating on the ice of the Wild’s home arena is pretty cool.”
Students, athletes, teachers and parents are anxious to hit the road.
“I’ve gone down two out of the last three times we’ve went,” said student Logan Dietrich.
“We got to go down and support our team and support our city and win the championship,” said student Ethan McGaughey. “Show that we are the best in Minnesota.”
Although the whole school is rooting for a new state championship banner to put up…
“I think it’s pretty cool when you’re in the rink and you see how many people are showing up to see this,” said Dietrich.
…the support goes well beyond the walls of the high school gym or a hockey arena.
We asked the Derrick who has been his biggest supporter this season.
“My mom,” he said, giving her a smile.
This is the 11th state tournament appearance in East Grand Forks Senior High School’s history.
They took home the trophy in both 2014 and 2015.
