DULUTH –Dale “Hoagie” Haagenson was firmly planted within Minnesota Duluth’s hockey program by 2000, when longtime head coach Mike Sertich resigned and current coach Scott Sandelin was hired.
It’s an oft-told tale: Haagenson, a volunteer assistant equipment manager, seemed nervous about whether he would still have a spot with the Bulldogs under new leadership. He made a phone call, alongside Bill Watson, a UMD star and Hobey Baker Award winner from the late 1980s, to check in with the new head coach.
Sandelin had no intention of letting Haagenson go — and in fact offered a level of volunteer job security that Haagenson would bring up in conversation for the rest of his life.
“I go, ‘Buddy, you have a lifetime contract as far as I’m concerned,’ ” Sandelin shared at a memorial for Haagenson held ice-level at Amsoil Arena the afternoon of Tuesday, Feb. 24. “It was probably the easiest and the best decision I could probably make, to have Hoagie be a part of our program and continue to be a part of our program.”
Haagenson, described by countless people with ties to Duluth athletics as their best friend, died Feb. 17, months after he was sidelined by a stroke. The memorial streamed live on YouTube, in addition to drawing hundreds of current and former hockey players and fans to the arena where Haagenson spent many of his days.
Haagenson, 65, of Babbitt, landed at UMD by way of a high school counselor who connected him with then-coach Gus Hendrickson, a fellow Iron Ranger.
Since then, he’s been a constant on the bench and in life, rallying the teams, offering fist bumps, yelling his signature cry of “Let’s go!”
In a video shown at the memorial, Haagenson announces the starting lineups with great gusto to the players in the locker room. It was another of his roles. He’s been along for countless former players’ major life milestones: He’s been in their weddings and held their newborn babies.
