Feb. 17—EAST GRAND FORKS — Warroad players stormed the ice Thursday night in East Grand Forks Civic Center to celebrate an 11th-straight Section 8A title.
Senior captain Emmie Hardwick has been part of five of them.
But this was a little different.
The first person she hugged was her younger sister, Elle, an eighth-grader playing varsity for the first time. Later, she shared a moment with her older sister, Abbey, a first-year assistant coach with the program.
The three sisters, together for the first time and maybe for the last time, are savoring every bit of this season.
"It's really fun to have my little sister on the ice," Emmie said. "It's fun to teach her the ropes and see her progress as a player. It's fun to have my older sister be there to give me pointers and be my coach. I've never had that before. It's pretty cool."
Warroad is now off to the state tournament at St. Paul's Grand Casino Arena, home of the NHL's Minnesota Wild. The top-seeded Warriors (21-5-1) play Luverne (19-9) in a quarterfinal game at 11 a.m.
"It's so special," said Emmie, who has played in four consecutive state championship games, winning three of them. "It's the best week of our life. It's so fun to play there with all our fans and the crowd. To play on that ice, it's hard to explain."
The Hardwicks have played a big role in getting the Warriors back to state.
Emmie scored a goal and tallied three points in Warroad's 5-0 win over East Grand Forks Senior High in the section final. She's Warroad's fifth-leading scorer this season with eight goals and 27 points.
"The Hardwick kids are team-first," Warroad coach Izzy Marvin said. "She's a senior captain who went from centering the top line to playing right wing on the third line. There was zero complaining. Their mom and dad are really good hockey parents. They're cut from an older cloth. Their kids are all great students, great kids. Emmie is a coach's dream. No matter where you put her, you don't have to worry about how she'll deal with it."
Emmie, who is committed to play college hockey at Division-I Post University in Shelton, Conn., was the only Hardwick on Warroad's team last season.
Abbey was a senior playing at Concordia in Moorhead. She expressed interest in helping coach the Warriors after her playing career ended.
"That was a no-brainer when she said she was coming home and would like to help," Marvin said.
Warroad moved Elle, an eighth-grade defenseman, up to varsity, which brought the sisters together. Elle has eight assists this season.
"I think she started off with no confidence," Emmie said. "As we've gone on, she's really stepped into a role as a top-six defenseman. She's making good plays for us."
Abbey played varsity from 2017-21, reaching five state tournaments and two state championship games. But she never won one. The Warriors lost one of those state title games in overtime.
The year after Abbey moved to college, Emmie started playing varsity. She has won state titles in 2022, 2023 and 2024.
This year, there's an opportunity for the three to win one together.
"We have a few new girls," Emmie said. "We have a young team, but we have a few who have been there a few times. It's going to be fun to corral the girls and let them know this is super fun, but to play your game. It's cool to be the person they can turn to."