Wadena Celebrates 5 Decades of Hockey with Reunion of 2004 Boys’ State Team

The Wadena community had plenty to celebrate this past weekend. In addition to commemorating 50 years of hockey in the town, the 2004 Wadena Deer-Creek boys’ hockey team gathered for the 20th anniversary of their state tournament run.

For the Wadena Hockey Club, nearby towns, and the entire state of Minnesota, hockey is the number one pastime.

“Being we are the Land of 10,000 lakes, and besides this winter, every other winter seems to be cold, we are Minnesota State of Hockey,” said Amanda Schmidt, a 2006 Wadena High School graduate. “So in our small town, it’s a really big deal for our surrounding towns to have this space to play hockey.”

Wadena Hockey’s endured hardship over its 50-year history, from low turnout nixing its junior varsity team to a tornado wiping out its hockey rink. But such events made the boys’ state tournament run in 2004 all the more sweeter.

“It moved our whole town. It was amazing to have such underdogs make it to something like that,” added Schmidt. “It just gave us a lot of pride, especially a lot of pride in our hockey program.”

And for a team to only lose one game all season outside of the state tournament, everything has to go your way.

“We didn’t deal with a lot of injuries, adversity, kids getting in trouble, what have you,” explained Scott Woods, head coach of the 2004 team. “And I think just a lot of that made it such a good experience, that there just weren’t a lot of headaches that way, and it showed on the ice. We played well as a team, we competed. And again, that competition brought out the best in them because we had guys that [were] on the so-called third line that were good enough to be on the first line most years. It was just a great overall experience.”

Members of the former boys’ team took a trip down memory lane, running a couple games out on the rink. But their favorite part about the event was simply getting the band back together to collectively enjoy some afternoon hockey.

“To me, the biggest piece is just, it’s not even so much on the ice. We talk about that all the time through the years is that so much of what guys remember is the bus, the locker room. It’s not even the wins and losses always,” said Woods. “So to me, it’s just great to see a lot of these guys. I’ve kept in touch with a lot of them and then a lot of players over the years. But I think for me, just to get out there, joke around, have some fun, a few guys will probably hurt themselves. You know, we’re all we’re all getting up there, but I’m going to try and give it a go and play again, too. And I think just being around each other and having some fun, you know, reminiscing, it’ll be a great time.”

Amidst the festivities, the Wadena Hockey Club also held a fundraiser to replace its Zamboni. So far, they’ve raised $8,700.