The final bell rings, and senior Sophia Blew walks to her car in the cold to go to hockey practice all the way in Hopkins. At the same time, sophomore AJ Ridenour and juniors Axel Stayko and Brady Glenn drive to practice at SPA. They are the Minnehaha Academy boys who play on the team. Sophia is the sole girls’ hockey player from Minnehaha in the 2025-2026 season. The girls’ team is in a co-op led by Blake.
Emily Kennett also played girls’ hockey at Minnehaha from 1999 to 2003. When Kennett played, both JV and varsity were made up of only Minnehaha Academy players. Kennett’s team played in the arena at the south campus.
“I loved it so much, and I’m sad I can’t skate there anymore. It was a great place to play.” said Kenett
Minnehaha bought the lower campus, including the arena, from Breck in 1981.
Minnehaha Academy’s hockey history dates back to 1949 for boys and 1995 for girls. From 1949-1964, the boys played in the Minnesota Prep School Tournament and earned second place three times. Minnehaha was known as a “hockey school”. Today, both the boys and girls play on co-op teams, and there are far fewer players than in past years.
According to Vintage Hockey Minnesota, Girls’ hockey in Minnesota started in 1994. Before this, they had a sport called ringette that is also played on ice with sticks. Minnesota was the first state to have high school hockey for girls. Minnehaha joined one year after the inaugural season.
Blew said she thinks the team will do very well this year despite being eliminated by South Saint Paul last year. She said they have many highly ranked players, and the team was successful last year.
The girls’ team was at its all-time peak in the early 2000s. In 2003, there were 13 senior girls who graduated, including Emily Kennett.
“A lot of my favorite high school memories come from playing hockey here at Minnehaha,” said Kennet.
After 2003, we see a declining interest in girls’ hockey start to happen. This year, there is only one Minnehaha player on the girls’ team. Most players are from Blake. This declining interest in girls’ hockey could come from many different factors. One reason is that basketball and soccer are prioritized at Minnehaha, making the hockey culture not as strong. The arena at the lower school, being unused, also created less interest in the sport. “The future of the arena is still being discussed, and we have no definitive plans in place at this time,” said Chief Financial and Operating Officer Mike Huray.
The arena will stay as a field house for the foreseeable future. CBS News said that “(The) state is struggling to keep girls interested in skating. As numbers drop, high schools are merging to stay alive.”
Minnehaha is not the only high school that has seen a drop-off in interest for girls’ hockey in Minnesota.
“In a lot of private schools, hockey culture has changed because not many girls play hockey anymore, especially at private schools. I think even public schools are starting to co-op, said Blew.
It is not just the private schools that have seen a decline in girls’ hockey; it is also public schools.
Private school hockey for boys started in 1949. Vintage Hockey Minnesota said; The top 4 teams from the Central Catholic conference played the top 4 teams from the Minnesota Independent School League. This end-of-season tournament was played from 1949-1964. The Minnehaha boys’ team historically competed very well in this tournament.
In 2022, Minnehaha joined a co-op team hosted by St. Paul Academy. The co-op is also with St. Agnes High School, Nova Classical Academy, Great River School, and Twin Cities Academy. Junior Axel Stayko said that the team lost a lot of its players last year, and they are working on rebuilding in the next couple of years.
Hockey culture at Minnehaha Academy used to be very strong, and there were many students on the team. In recent years, both the girls and boys teams had to co-op with other schools to stay alive. Many good hockey players decide not to leave or not come to Minnehaha because the hockey culture is not strong, and other sports, like basketball and soccer, are more of a focus.
