State of Hockey Spotlight: Prior Lake-Savage

Get to know one of the state’s thriving hockey communities

By: Elizabeth Boger

When young skaters in Prior Lake-Savage hit the ice, it’s common for high school players to tag along and help with drills or skill development.

From special events throughout the year or regular days at the rink, the unique opportunity to regularly connect with older skaters has been an enjoyable experience for kids within the association.

“We work hard to have both the high school boys’ and girls’ teams come out and interact with the younger kids,” said David Lavigne, president of the PriorLake-Savage Hockey Association. “They love it.”

High school players also have the opportunity to serve as mentors to some of the younger teams each season.

“They help the younger skaters with skills and drills,” Lavigne said. “It’s just kind of a way for them to see the high school involvement and aspire to hopefully try and make that team someday down the road. Our high school coaches have been working hard to get those players involved.”

Those interactions have fostered a strong relationship between the two programs—helping Prior Lake-Savage’s hockey culture to flourish.

PITCHING IN

For members of the Prior Lake-Savage Hockey Association, lending a helping hand is second nature.

“This is going to sound cliché, but it’s a family,” Lavigne said. “We work hard to support each other on just about everything.”

Whether that’s offering a ride to practice, helping lace skates or offering a fellow skate ran extra stick when one breaks—the Prior Lake-Savage community knows even those small acts fuel a great association.

“We’re volunteer-based, so we’re lucky in the sense that we have a lot of local businesses, and also people within the Prior Lake-Savage area, that come out and make everything happen—whether it’s helping with registration, coaches or team managers ,local businesses that are sponsoring various teams, or activities throughout the summer, ”Lavigne said. “Everyone comes together to make this happen, and it’s a way for people to get to know each other.”

Prior Lake-Savage is especially grateful for the opportunity to skate at Dakotah! Ice Center, which is owned and operated by the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community. The facility originally contained one sheet of ice in 2004, but has since expanded in 2008 to two sheets of ice.

“It goes back to the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community,” Lavigne said. “We have the luxury as Prior Lake-Savage hockey to utilize the facility they built. When Prior Lake-Savage hockey was looking to add a second sheet, they stepped up and said, ‘You know, we’ll add the second sheet.’”

That support has allowed Prior Lake-Savage hockey to spend more time skating, and less time looking for ice.

“Before that, we were going all over the place to get ice time throughout the Twin Cities metro,” Lavigne said. “It’s just been that community-type atmosphere that has allowed usto be successful and continue to grow.”

GROWING THE GAME

The Prior Lake-Savage Hockey Association has witnessed steady growth throughout the last handful of years, thanks in part to its strong partnership with high school teams and coaches.

“We’re seeing an increase in our girls’ program, which is great because we’ve been working to increase those numbers, especially for the last handful of years,” Lavigne said. “The high school girls’ coach, coach Kiersten Nelson, and several coaching staff and team members have been working to get the girls more involved—working to help keep them engaged and help grow our numbers.

”One way of getting more skaters involved is through the program’s Give Hockey a Shot clinics. This free initiative is designed to introduce individuals to the game, and has been successful in helping players and families try the sport. The Laker Skate has also become a favorite event for many within the community.

“In the past, we’ve done the Laker Skate out on Prior Lake in front of some of the local establishments,” Lavigne said. “It’s just an opportunity for the community to come out and skate and have fun. It’s a community bonding opportunity is what it is. It’s a fun afternoon. When we get to do it out on Prior Lake, it’s typically in front of Charlie’s on Prior. They board off some areas where kids can go and play shinny hockey and just have some fun.”

MORE THAN HOCKEY

Prior Lake-Savage’s community-based mind-set runs strongly throughout the association.

“One thing we’ve really worked hard on the last couple years is trying to establish what our overall mission statement is,” Lavigne said. “Our primary objective is to teach our players respect and help develop them to not only be student athletes, but contributors to the community—and not only for the time that they’re here, but also down the road.”

Wherever that road takes them, Lavigne hopes their time within the Prior Lake-Savage Hockey Association helped illustrate what it truly means to be successful.

“We want them to understand how and what it means to contribute to the community, because the only way this can be successful is for all of us pitching in.”