East Grand Forks, tucked up in Minnesota’s northwest corner, is about a five-hour drive from the Twin Cities. But an outsider at Saturday’s Class 1A boys hockey championship game might have thought it was just down the road.
A large student section, a full band and a legion of fans made the trek to Xcel Energy Center to wear matching green and watch their team vie for the state championship — so large, in fact, that boos from the Green Wave cheering section often drowned out any applause for St. Cloud Cathedral, which the Green Wave defeated 2-1 in overtime.
It was indicative of the community support the newly crowned state champions say has been the lifeblood of their program for decades.
“It’s everything,” defenseman Cole Bies said. “We love to see them all come together.”
Added coach Tyler Palmiscno: “That’s the difference. Don’t take this the wrong way, but we’re a community-based public school compared to a private school. We have a community around us, and our community loves coming to St. Paul and watching us play.”
In that community, they keep it in the Green Wave family. Palmiscno once laced up for East Grand Forks, scoring 23 goals his senior year before starting his college career at North Dakota.
After retiring from the sport, he found his way back to where it all started — and he’s not the only alumni who has returned. Players from the school’s 2014 and ’15 teams, which won back-to-back state titles under Palmiscno, came to East Grand Forks in December to reunite for their 10-year title anniversaries. They wanted to help prepare the next generation.
“These [current] guys got to see those 25-, 26-, 27-, 28-year-olds come back and got to interact with each other. [They got to see] how fun it was for them to come back, tell stories, be honored on the ice,” Palmiscno said. “And now in 10 years, these guys will get to do it. I think it’s so unbelievable for the school, our community, our youth hockey program.”
