Four generations of Gundersons cheer on Wildcats at state tourney

The Minnesota Girls High School State Hockey tournament has been good to the Gunderson family.

During last year’s Class A championship game, Dodge County Wildcats Head Coach Jeremy Gunderson learned he would be a grandpa.

His oldest child, Emily Wendt, made the surprise announcement during the game.

She retold the story recently at the Xcel Energy Center, holding her son James.

Also in attendance was Gunderson’s mom Heidi Holthe, who flew in from Naples, Fla., for the tournament.

The Wildcats won their first-ever state championship this year, something not many people ever thought would happen.

In fact, not many people thought the team would ever make a state tournament.

But Wendt always thought it was possible.

”Yes, I did; I think a lot of people did not,” she said.

Always
the goal

Both of Gunderson’s daughters, Emily and her sister Ally, played on teams he coached.

For all those years, there was one goal: Win a section championship game.

“That was our only career goal…make it to the state tournament,” Wendt said.

Every year, the Wildcats lost in the 1AA Section Championship game to one of the teams from Lakeville.

More than a decade removed from high school, Wendt said she still has nightmares about those championship games.

Love of the game

Well before his daughters were born, Gunderson was teaching his mom about hockey.

“I didn’t know the first thing about it,” Holthe said.

All the families in the neighborhood who played hockey would carpool to far-away places for hockey, and Holthe went to all her son’s practices and games “because that was his love.”

“Once you’re introduced to something, you fall in love with it,” she said.

Different kind of suspense

The Gunderson sisters played in a lot of hockey games growing up, but it’s different, watching someone else play.

“I would say it’s a different kind of suspense,” Ally Gunderson said. “As a player, it was more like I was anticipating trying to win for myself or my team; now it’s all for my dad.”

Wendt had the same opinion: “Now, as a spectator, I have no control over this game.”

But she also noted some of the girls playing for her dad are players she coached when they were playing U12.

In fact, she got so excited during one goal she accidentally woke up her baby, who, in Gunderson family fashion, made it to his first state championship game at less than a year old.

“Don’t get me wrong; I’m excited for Dad,” Wendt said. “I’m here for Dad, but half of this team is who I coached when they were 12.”