Chanhassen's Chase: Today's story is the 10th in an occasional Star Tribune series that has followed the Chanhassen Storm as they pursued and landed the program's first trip to the boys hockey state tournament. To read the entire series, tap here.
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Chanhassen boys hockey coach Sean Bloomfield remembers apologizing to family and excusing himself from the dinner table to take a call he was certain would spoil the festive mood.
Tanya Hendrickson was calling to let Bloomfield know her son, Kam, the Storm's standout goaltender as a junior, had decided where he would play as a senior. Bloomfield knew the time for persuasion had passed, so he turned to radical acceptance. Tanya cut the concession speech short by saying Kam's No. 1 jersey better be clean.
Still in view of his wife, Sarah, both sons and two sets of parents celebrating younger son Paul's seventh birthday at the Crooked Pint in Chaska, Bloomfield jumped up and down and beamed. Who cared that his dinner, a barbecue chicken flatbread, was getting cold? Chanhassen had just gone from promising to prime for a state tournament run.
Wavering sons all announced their commitment to Chanhassen in the final days before the season's start date in mid-November. Players with options, such as speedy forward Gavin Uhlenkamp and solid defenseman Owen Buesgens -- even Hendrickson, already in Chicago with the Steel of the United States Hockey League -- would play one final season with the Storm. One last chance to be on the first team to reach a state tournament.
Bloomfield reflected on the rampant optimism, and his team's remarkable journey, within days after Chanhassen fell 2-1 to Edina in Saturday's Class 2A state championship game.
"People have been offering their condolences," Bloomfield said Monday. "They say, 'Great team, great run,' with a tone in their voices that conveyed sadness and put a damper on the season. But these kids achieved their dream to play in the state tournament. This is a season none of them will forget."
Chanhassen's schedule and results
Chanhassen's player statistics
Three of the team's 17 seniors, captains Jack Christ, Gavin Uhlenkamp and Jake Risch, addressed the media after Saturday's loss. They spoke of soaking in the moment, accomplishing a goal few puck chasers get to experience -- and leaving a legacy.
"I think we've set a pretty good example for the younger kids," Uhlenkamp said. "Hopefully they got to see what it's like to play in these games and learn from it so they can go do it, hopefully next year."
Hendrickson won the Frank Brimsek/Senior Goalie of the Year award Sunday, giving the whole team another reason to smile.
"My teammates were huge in all this," Hendrickson said. "I'm glad my boys nagged me to come back. We all stuck to our promises and made the most of it."
Chanhassen's gameday program asks, "Are you ready to weather the storm?" The text is placed above a photo from space of a hurricane. Throughout the 2023-24 season, highlighted by a 12-game winning streak, a playoff upset of undefeated Minnetonka and a state tournament championship game appearance, players collectively announced, "We are the storm."
