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Photos / Courtesy of NCHC; MHJ Archives D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 9 | M H J ON L I N E . C O M 17 ATRICK ANDREWS and the Miracle on Ice share a date of birth: February 22, 1980. It's a day, a moment, which lives on in hockey lore, and one whose success saw the boost of the sport throughout the country. Intertwined with America's vic- tory over the Soviet Union is the start of Andrews' hockey story, coming from a family that never played hockey. "My dad told my mom, 'I think I have a hockey player,' and it took off from there," said Andrews, a Hermantown native and now the head coach of the boys' high school program. These days, the Duluth area is no stranger to success when it comes to hockey. Anyone growing up there in the last decade has been surrounded by some of the top teams in the state. Hermantown has played in the Class A boys MSHSL Tournament championship game eight of the past 10 seasons, winning twice. Class AA Duluth East has finished runner-up three times since 2011, most recently in 2018. Duluth Marshall was fourth in Class A in 2013. Down the hill from Hermantown, the University of Minnesota Duluth men's and women's teams have collected a total of eight national championships. The men have been making banner-rais- ing night an annual tradition, becoming the first team to defend its crown in 14 years with 2018 and 2019 titles. Among the 17 Minnesotans on last season's roster are several whose path to success began in the same community where they are inspiring the next generation. Dylan Samberg is one of those players, who's captured four con- secutive titles—two at Hermantown and two immediately following his high school career at UMD. "I couldn't have asked for a better outcome," the junior defen- seman said. IT BEGINS OUTSIDE Not far away from the championship banners and accolades are the outdoor rinks which remain the backbone of the sport in the Duluth area. Inside the city, the Duluth Amateur Hockey Association is home to more than 750 kids and 100 coaches in what is believed to be the only outdoor hockey association in North America. Ten sub-associ- ations are under the DAHA umbrella. Seven neighborhood rinks are maintained by hockey clubs throughout the town. Up until Squirts, games are held outside in the elements. The unique setup, entrenched in the fabric of the Duluth commu- nity, helps keep costs down and spark creativity. "We feel that when kids can get outdoor ice…our kids have unlim- ited ice to go out there to grow up and be rink rats and get creative and play pickup games," DAHA Executive Director Jason Watt said. "We feel that with modern USA Hockey techniques and 'rink rat- ting ' that we got the best of both worlds." At its core, young players are experiencing similar opportunities to those their parents grew up with, some- thing Minnesota Duluth men's hockey head coach Scott Sandelin appreciates. "It's great for most kids to get (outdoors) and prac- tice, but there is a lot of free time for them. Just going out there and just not hav- ing a lot of structure, playing hockey," he said. "Whether it's making up games or little scrimmages or whatever they want to do without coaches, I think it's really healthy for kids to continue to develop." When Andrews, who began skating at 3 or 4, was a young child, Hermantown did not have an indoor rink. He spent his days out- doors and says they are some of his best memories. They knew the combination for the lights and were able to skate as long as they wanted. Even Samberg played his earliest days outdoors in nearby Twig for four years before moving on to Hermantown for Squirts. While Hermantown eventually embraced modernity by building an indoor sheet of ice, the link to the outdoors remains. There are five outdoor rinks at the arena for the community to use. Memories and opportunities are made on them each winter. "I think that's the emphasis of our program," said Blake Biondi, a senior at Hermantown committed to play hockey for Sandelin at Minnesota Duluth. "Our youth program, it's the reason it has been so good. Outdoor hockey, obviously not everyone can be able to always skate indoors. When you have the opportunity to play out- doors, it's the same thing and probably better. Because there's cre- ativity and no coaches. Just you out with your best friends, playing the game you love and I guess being grateful for it because you love it. You love the game. "We have so many different opportunities and different rinks in the area to do that." IT TAKES A VILLAGE A happy side effect of giving young hockey players in the Duluth area opportunities is bringing the community together. It takes an effort to keep the outdoor rinks and system going. "All of our dads had schedules where they would go out on the outdoor rinks at certain times," said Samberg. "They would be out there early in the morning or late at night, flooding the rink for us. That was nice." "The volunteers run it. I can't say that enough," Watt added. "Volunteers, hockey people giving back and then our parents run- ning the arenas and putting time in—that's really what it's about.