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24 | Saturday, November 22, 2025 Elk River Star News
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the game. It’ s a great way to show off what the state of hockey is all about.”
Jacqueline Nowakowski of Lino Lakes was named the 2026 Hockey Mom of the Year. As the winner, Nowakowski will be invited to select 2026 World Junior Championship games at Grand Casino Arena to be recognized as Hockey Mom of the Year. She also will receive other
prizes, including a $ 500 Mall of America gift card, two dozen Original Hockey Mom brownies, the official Hockey Mom Hockey Stick trophy, and a HEDi-PACK EXPLORER backback from Minnesota native Bret Hedican, a two-time U. S. Olympian and 2006 Stanley Cup champion with the Carolina Hurricanes.
For more info about the 2026 World Juniors, visit the IIHF website, www. iihf. com.
SUBMITTED PHOTO
Deanna Hernandez of Elk River( in red) and her family attended the Hockey Mom All-Star Challenge awards ceremony on Saturday, Nov. 13, at Mall of America in Bloomington. Hernandez’ s two sons, Rylan and Rocco, both play hockey in the Elk River youth hockey association.
SUBMITTED PHOTO
Deanna Hernandez of Elk River is the mother of two boys who play in the Elk River youth hockey system. Hernandez was nominated for the 2026 Hockey Mom All-Star Challenge. While she didn’ t win, she said it was an honor to be nominated.
Rogers boys hockey will be hard to play against this season
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The Royals made their Class 2A state tournament debut in 2025
ERIK NELSON Sports Reporter
In 2025, the Rogers boys hockey team qualified for
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Winter Sports Preview 2025-26
the Class 2A state tournament for the first time in the program’ s 22-year history. The Royals made their Grand Casino Arena debut on Thursday, March 6 against Edina but lost 2-1 in overtime despite scoring first.
Brown said having the 2026 IIHF Men’ s World Junior Championship to celebrate 50 years of the tournament( started in 1976) as well as the upcoming 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy will help grow high school and youth hockey
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in Minnesota.“ The World Juniors coming to Minnesota this winter is huge for the State of Hockey,” Brown said.“ To see that talent on display is a good opportunity for our region to set its sights on the Olympic level again. Minnesota should be at the forefront |
for developing Olympic-level talent. Having the World Juniors here and the Winter Olympics this year, you hope Minnesota gets inspired to play at every level and achieve that level again that we did years ago.”
Head coach: Dave Brown( seventh season)
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2024-25 record: 23-5-2( 11-1-0 in NWSC, 2024- 25 NWSC regular-season champs)
Key returning players: Defensemen Jayden Kurtz and Matthew Hauser will anchor Rogers blue line.
See ROGERS BOYS HOCKEY PREVIEW | PAGE 25
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