Spuds Hockey Stars Breaking Records in Lacrosse

MOORHEAD, Minn. (KVRR) – For Moorhead Spuds junior Evan Wanner, the last few months have felt like something out of a dream.

Back in March, Wanner etched his name into Moorhead sports history when he scored the game-winning goal in double overtime to lift the Spuds past the Minnetonka Skippers in the Minnesota Boys Hockey Class 2A state championship game. The goal secured back-to-back state hockey titles for Moorhead and instantly made Wanner a hometown hero.

But the memorable moments did not stop there.

After hockey season, Wanner headed to junior hockey, skating for the Tri-City Storm in the United States Hockey League (USHL). Once that season wrapped up, he swapped his skates for cleats and returned to the lacrosse field for the Spuds.

Now, he is making history again.

“Definitely fun to score some goals when you play,” Wanner said. “Just really build some character and it’s really fun to play and score goals.”

Wanner has done plenty of that during his lacrosse career. This season, the junior became Moorhead’s all-time leading goal scorer with 123 career goals and counting.

He is not the only dual-sport athlete rewriting the record books either.

Starting goalie Zak Devig, another standout from the Spuds hockey team, owns the school record with 31 career wins in net for the lacrosse program.

“It’s not just goalie wins,” Devig said. “That’s kind of a record that’s just for me, I guess, but it should just be like a team kind of thing. It doesn’t just reflect on how I’m playing, it reflects on the whole team.”

The connection between hockey and lacrosse has become a major strength for Moorhead. Wanner, Devig and several other players split time between both sports, helping create a culture built around winning.

That mentality has translated directly onto the lacrosse field, where the Spuds have captured five consecutive section championships.

“I think it’s more we just know how to win,” Wanner said. “We know how to be in those high-pressure situations and we’ve always been used to winning the section. Just knowing how to win, what you need to do, and how to prepare for the game is probably the biggest part. If you’re ready for the game, you’ll be ready in the game.”

Head coach Logan Wiemken says the transition from hockey season to lacrosse season has consistently paid off for the program.

“You know, the team transitions very naturally into lacrosse just with how we operate,” Wiemken said. “We’ve had a lot of success with that. That’s why we’re always a better team when it comes to the end of May and June — just kind of getting out of hockey mode, getting a little bit more into lacrosse mode, and getting that feel for space and time and the chemistry that we have.”

Now, the Spuds are aiming for yet another postseason run.

Despite entering sections as the No. 3 seed, Moorhead believes its championship experience can once again make the difference.

“I like coming into the section where maybe we don’t feel like we’re underdogs, but if everybody else thinks that we’re underdogs, fantastic,” Wiemken said. “I think it puts a little bit of a fire under us to do all the little things correctly. Hopefully that’s what we do here at the end of the week.”

Moorhead opens the Section 8A tournament on Thursday, May 28. They will play the winner of Becker/Monticello.