This makes me miss high school hockey soooo much. Minnesota high school hockey is unmatched I love the energy

Total attendance for the 3 days was over 111,000 people. Amazing.

The skate across the ice goal celebrations are actually to celebrate with your own fan section. There is actually a penalty if you jump into the glass of the opposing teams fans. It happened in the first round.

I'm from Minnesota! Always my favorite time of the year. It's always a celebration here. This is why we are called The State of Hockey! Mark your calendar for next year. Super fun to watch and be a part of this tradition.

Grew up in, and played my whole life in Minnesota. Always a great time. Interesting to see how high-school players change over the years.

Being from Minnesota I can assure you this is true, this time of year and just high school hockey all around is more loved than any other sport in the state of hockey. Girls high school hockey is televised and just as great to watch.

mahtomedi student here. love the tournament. also, just a note, mahtomedi is pronounced Ma-toe-me-die. extremely hyped rn, love hockey.

Got my first experience of watching this tournament live in person today, both big games had absolutely incredible atmospheres and the quality of play was really high on the ice too, couldn't have asked for a better tournament this year

Minnesota HS hockey goes crazy

From MN, the tourney is amazing and is honestly one of the best hockey atmospheres I’ve ever been a part of and home to some of the most insane games of hockey I’ve ever seen

Yeah man I’m from Minnesota and every year whenever our team makes state we have a massive school-wide celebration to send them off and a lot of students skip school on the 2-3 days they play to go watch, it’s crazy the environment is like the NHL playoffs

From MN. Used to play hockey too. It is an awesome culture. This fans reaction is awesome too. Its almost everyones dream to get play in the state tournament. My team went 2 years ago and lost first round. Still fun tho. Winning the tourny has to be great as well

Watching this game live from my home in Minnesota, was amazing. I absolutely loved it, being hype af especially because I have some friends that moved to Mahtomedi, and they told me that they were hyped the entire time, watching the highschool team for their city, win a second time within 4 years.

I'm from Manitoba, and we used to make trips to Minnesota for hockey tournaments, and they were always amazing.

Born and raised in Minnesota and attended many tournaments. I've lived in The Philippines the past 8 years but thankfully KSTP streams all the games for free. So I got see my Skippers win the AA title even though games started around 9 a.m. for me locally. Love this tournament. About the only thing that compares for me is college hockey. Look for clips of the Minnesota Gophers hosting the Michigan Wolverines this Saturday for the B1G championship. 10,000 plus fans are going to rock 3M Arena. Thanks for this video it was fun to watch.

I grew up playing MN high school hockey and played against warroad twice a season plus playoffs. It was a wonderful way to grow up in America. The state high school tournament is worth traveling to see. So much tradition and the spirit and love of the game is what matters most at this level.

Growing up in Minnesota you were allowed to skip school to go to the Xcel to watch the hockey games.

Arena: You're banned for 2 years Highschool kid: Bro I can't even afford to put my gas in my 20 year old Honda, you think I care?!

Love the coverage of the Minnesota high school hockey tournament, I as well as most kids in MN play hockey up until the end of high school. My dad and I go to the tournament every year

From San Francisco! I support Minnesota high school hockey! I’ve been playing adult league hockey for 8 years! Always interesting to see this for a state game!

My dad is from Minnesota and I am in North Dakota and watching local hockey is always absolutely bananas with the talent

Always proud of our boys, as a college student growing up as a rival school to hermantown (if you’re from Minnesota, you know their notorious reputation) and the love of hockey and competitive spirit is absolutely real and a highlight of the winter

I’m from Minnesota and I play hockey so this is one if not my favorite time of the year. It doesn’t matter what class I’m in every teacher gives us 3 free days to watch the high school tournament.

Minnesotan here 🙋‍♀️ this tournament really is so amazing. My brothers, our dad, and I have been going since elementary school-- we’d skip school on that Friday and go to the semi finals. We still do this every year! And now we bring our kids…. Tradition lives on!

The State High School tournament is the most incredible experience, and would highly recommend it. There's essentially a season ticket list for the tournament, and if you're not on that list, it's extremely difficult to get to the Saturday games (Championships). Schools get the day off if their team makes it to state, and they haul kids to the X on school buses and have a whole section for the students to be there to cheer on their school. The student section chirps to each other are hilarious, and the random sections of other schools chirping the schools playing is a fun time too. Some of the best hockey being played in the country, and always a blast with upsets and so much energy. P.S. - If you want to sound like a Minnesotan, it's pronounce "Mah-ta-me-die". Our cities are weird as hell.

From northern Minnesota, these tournaments in person as a student are an experience you'll never forget. Every schools Tv is playing the tournament through out the day, its truly a holiday every year

Can confirm. Hockey is bigger than everything in MN--even football. I went to tons of games at the energy center in highschool. It was a blast.

Lmao. That atmosphere looked absolutely nuts. The quality of the hockey is incredible, too. 😁👍🏼

I like this format of covering HS hockey. Keep going with it, I think viewers would like the NHL/QMJHL and now high school coverage.

I graduated from highschool in 05' in Minnesota and the hockey tourney was the best. They sent out letters at school asking if your child would be riding a school provided bus, arranging their own transportation, staying home or if they didn't want to go and couldn't stay home they could sit in the library all day. This was also the same for the Girls Volley Ball tourney at my school.

you want a real treat last year AA championship went triple OT this tournament is the definition of tight contest.

Eck you should absolutely make a trip to Minnesota for the tournament or hockey day in Minnesota. You’ll love it

Man that is cool to see so many people loving this. Wish we had high school hockey teams in PA

We love our hockey in Minnesota. The crowds are always insane for the high school tourney. Everyone should go if they have a chance, it’s a blast! definitely one of the better non-pro sporting events in the world

From MN. Play Bantam for a team in northeastern MN ( North Shore ) and I can tell you personally, it gets pretty rowdy even at PeeWee and Bantam levels. But Varsity/ High School is pretty insane. You have people from LITERALLY all over the state come to Xcel for High school games. Easily one of my favorite things to watch on TV

Former Philadelphia Flyers coach, Bill Dineen once told me that Minnesota High School Hockey is the purest version of the sport.

Dude, I'm so jealous of Minnesota. I live in Texas, and the only hockey I get is from the AHL and NHL. I've always wanted to play hockey and even high school hockey, but seeing as that's impossible, I get to just watch people play.

I play for Carleton college in Northfield and we practice after the HS team games sometimes. The rink's always packed when we arrive and then completely empty when we get on the ice lol

I’m from Minnesota, and I I have to say, high school hockey is really really fun to watch out here, one of my friends told me they played the tourney on his school tvs(lucky)

Moments like these are the best memories of these young men’s lives and they don’t know it yet 🥲

I played in the state tourney back in 2017 and can 100% say it was the most surreal experience of my life. A moment you dream of your whole life growing up around the game in Minnesota

I’m a Minnesotan and we do love high school hockey here! It’s just so amazing with the celys the goals the hair and the hair

As a Bantam player in the Wayzata hockey association, I LOVE the Minnesota state hockey tourney!! School is a little less full on those days because everyone is at the games, I have heard!! We are the state of hockey, after all! , also Mahtomedi is pronounced Mot-o-meed-eye

Crazy to think of all the bigger populated areas in Minnesota, it's two small towns that send the best pretty frequently. Warroad is well known in the Hockey circle but it's size and location are crazy if you don't know about it. And Mahtomedi is a suburb of St. Paul really that you could drive through and completely miss if you aren't paying attention. Minnesota is probably the most crazed state for Highschool sports that I have ever known, having lived in Michigan, Wisconsin, and next to MN (work in MN) my whole life.

As a transplant to Minnesota, I had no clue high school hockey went this hard until I got here. Or just hockey in general

Nice. Grew up in Southern Alberta (Calgary Metro Area). We never had a hockey team. Late 90s. This was awesome to see.

its crazy that 2 of the states most well known hockey teams, Warroad and Roseau, are both at most 15 minutes from Canada. Small town hockey culture here is amazing.

Congratulations on 80k, almost to 100k🎊

High school hockey in Minnesota is huge. That and Hockey in New England especially at the college level are the two major hubs of hockey in America outside of the NHL.

It's true it is the biggest thing for a lot of hockey fans in Minnesota

Minnesota is the State of Hockey for a reason.

That was a great OT goal and the fan in the costume jumping over the glass like spiderman was priceless lool

I loved it when Roseau, Mn. With a graduating class of 30 beat a Twin Cities team that had 30 players in the last unified state title. The underdog effect.

As a Canadian I could only wish to see that energy at the college level here. Awesome to see, what a game!

Besides the stanley cup this is by far my favorite event in the year. I'm so lucky to be living in the twin cities. Those games give so many memories and even though I wasnt at that game (bc it sold out again), the maht comeback was one of the greatest things to see

The Xcel Energy Center is the greatest venue for this sport. Love the MN HS hockey tourney! The energy is unbeatable!

From Minnesota and having some free time, I watched the entire tourney on tv the last 4 days, love it every year. I was a band kid in high school, my team went to the tourney at least once when I was there so the band went, watching live is pretty awesome. The girls had their tourney a couple weeks back and it’s the same deal, at the Xcel and everything. One minor correction for you, they games have 17 minute periods, and first overtime is actually an 8 minute period where the don’t resurface the ice, but then double overtime is a resurface and full 17 minute.

Not gonna lie, those kids are showing pro-level stick control. Wild AF

You should try to get more into the tourney as it’s called here. Passion is like nothing else. Also the section he celebrated to was the Mahtomedi student section.

those hard core fan sections r actually student sections and it gets crazy with the teams chanting back and forth

This is an example of what sports should be. For both the players and the fans alike.....THE LOVE OF THE GAME!

Gotta love all the city names in Minnesota that no one else in the country can pronounce properly. Mah-do-me-die for correct pronunciation. But yes this is always a crazy week in Minnesota

Reminded me when like 20 years ago we flooded the ice after our team won series deciding relegation from Czech top league. We stayed there for a good while, playing football with empty cans etc. Good times. One of my regrets is not attending much games in later years.

And as a Minnesota that plays hockey we are crazy about it and will do anything to watch and play

Minnesotan here. Yes. The high school hockey scene is huge here. We gathered the neighborhood kids, laced up our skates, hit the frozen lakes, ponds, outdoor rinks and played for hours when we were kids. Even kids who didn’t join leagues would lace up. Tournament weekend is a big to do. The Xcel Energy Center (where the Wild play) sells out every year. It’s so popular that there’s a 12 yr waitlist just for the chance at 2 season tickets. My family has had ours since 1970…4 generations have attended the tourney. Also, the name of the team that won in this video is pronounced “Mah dough me die”.

Minnesota state tournament rules... just wish they would bring back Wally Shaver on the commentary like they had in the 90s

The rivalry of high schools is comedy gold. The town I grew up in had 2 high schools, they got into some shenanigan's pretty hard, kidnapping the mascot costumes and pissing on them kind of shenanigan's and running over the costumes with cars.

Born and raised in MN. Yeah that tournament is absolutely nuts and a lot of fun to watch. Never got a chance to play in it though.

This made my night homie really just hoped right over lmaoooo 😂

Every year I wake up to my pops shouting shoooooot!!! And I know it's High-school hockey play off season

This is real. How refreshing. Good stuff young men.

My parents showed me when I was younger, VHS tapes of the Islanders dynasty cup run and then the first one you can see fans just hanging out with the whole team on the ice with the cup. It’s hilarious..

The reason for the cross-ice celebration is that's where that team's student section is. Often it's the JV and lower teams from the same school so the kids all know each other. I played HS hockey in Minnesota (never made it to the tourney) back in the late 80's before the Xcel existed, and in the same spot was the St Paul Civic Center, which had...wait for it... CLEAR BOARDS. All you had to do is be on a high school hockey team and you got free tickets AND a day off of school to attend the entire (at the time) 3-day event (Fri/Sat/Sun), One of my buddies on my beer league team went to the tourney to play in '92, but sprained his ankle a week before, so he didn't actually get to play.

Went to my first Minnesota high school hockey tournament in 1969. Greenway of Coleraine was my parents alma mater and my folks got tickets from the college hockey coach at Gustavus Adolphus who lived across the street.

Minnesota high school hockey is the best! Such a great atmosphere. Crazy to think it can almost sell out NHL arenas 😳

I remember playing Basketball on high school. But not in front of 20 000 fans, but in front of 200... I cant even imagine how much of a blast this tournament must be for the entire region!!!

Ha that’s my home town. Love to see it 😂 me and all my buds were texting “haha you all see that kid jump the glass” go zephyrs! Also everyone watch out for shaugabay from warroad he will be coming the the NHL in the near future. 4 years at UMD and then the big show.

Yesssir played for saint Louis park we never had a chance but it was fun playing and watching these great teams !!

Mawh-toe-medi, MN native here as well. Best time of the year!

I was the runner up of this tournament in 2017. I think about it almost daily. The tourney is truly special.

I would have loved to play ice hockey in High School, but my small Colorado school didn't have it. Great sport! My only gripe about the sport is when you are watching on tv, it can be really hard to follow the puck. Half the time I just watch the players reactions to know where it is.

In Minnesota your high school going to the state is more important then a Stanley cup to most schools

I'm from Minnesota... you almost said Mahtomedi right. You got close a couple time. :-) The State Tourney is an experience. Always a blast.

I used to work in downtown St Paul. High School Hockey tournaments were especially a boon in business and excitement.

As a Minnesotan I appreciate you pronouncing Mahtomedi correctly (At least half of the time lol). Hockey is more than a sport here, it's a full on culture. Our high school tourney brings in NHL attendance numbers and it's just crazy to me

If only the OHL had this kind of excitement. Amazing.

The security guard trying to keep them under control lol

Its wild, I was a vendor at the Expo coinciding with the tournament. Absolutely electric here! Every single screen you see in bars etc has the tournament on it

That goal by Mahtomedi to end it was disgusting. What an ending. Definitely thought Warroad was gonna win it going into that game. Also, pumped Tonka won the AA game!!! Since you mentioned it, the fan that jumped the glass was escorted off the ice and reportedly got a 2-year ban from the Xcel, which, as a Minnesotan, is incredibly soft by Xcel. Hopefully, Billy G rectifies it lol.

Lifelong MN resident in their 40s. People here lose their shit over the state hockey tourney. I didn't become a hockey fan until my 20s (my HS had no hockey program, probably why), but definitely enjoy watching it. Dudes are very skilled.

That’s awesome I wish I grew up there, my small town on the East coast only had hockey for us up through middle school, if you wanted to play high school hockey you had to go to a town about 5 miles off to play which isn’t a big deal but I didn’t have anyone to bring me out there because both my parents worked so I had to give it up. I don’t think I ever would have made a career out of hockey or anything but it would have been great to have four more years of it

My high school team played in a little public arena that seated maybe two hundred people. The games were fun, but zero atmosphere. I went because my best friend played, and I was the only kid from my school at those games who wasn't playing. The atmosphere at these games in Minnesota looks incredible, the quality of play is fantastic, the energy level is super-high. It has to be a blast to go to one of those games.

As a current high schooler in minnesota, its pretty cool id say

1:31 the kid on the top right 😂 Good on him to stay on his feet lol

I am from Minnesota and it’s very hyped. They’re like crazy.

That was the Mahtomedi student section. The kid ended up getting a 2 year ban from the X-Cel Energy Center (totally worth it). As someone who is from minnesota, high school hockey is everything here. The high school I graduated from was a game away from making state for the first time this year. When they did presale tickets for that game they sold out of the 900 allotted tickets in under half a day. The student body of the school is 1600. So it's everything to the people here.

that energy equals the love of soccer across the water

Went to college in North Dakota… the MN state high school hockey tourney was broadcast on local tv… its a huge deal!

The MN High School Hockey tournament is the BEST week of hockey on the planet bar absolutely none. It’s a 4 day celebration of hockey in Minnesota where we pack 20,000+ fans into the Xcel Energy Center and many more pack the bars along west seventh. It’s on every TV you come across and it is the one thing many people look forward to each and every year. A season ticket holder wait list of over a decade, lines that go the entire length of the neighboring convention center just to get a standing room only ticket (you’ll wait upwards of 4 hours in total in this line just for a CHANCE at a ticket). Little kids in Minnesota don’t dream of the NHL, or DI hockey (although both of which many have played in/at), they dream of The Tourney. One day playing for their hometown at the X. It’s pure electricity. Whatever you think it is, it’s more. Words do NOT do it justice.

Growing up in Minnesota, The state hockey tourney is like a holiday