PeeWee AAs win the Founders Cup for Smitty

Players on the Cloquet AA Team (pictured) skated for “Team Smitty” and won the Founders Cup Tournament championship game against St. Louis Park with a score of 6-5. Players for Cloquet AA include Samuel Panger, Hudson Snesrud, Grady Knutson, Niko Gentilini, Grayson Hayes, Preston Strang, Joey Antonutti, Karson Young, Ethan Kilichowski, Cooper Ellena, Kyle Lahti, Declan Sullivan, Isaak Sertich, Bobby Thornton, Keagan Hall, Anders Gunelson. Coaches are Kyle Young, Patrick Ellena, Mat Snesrud and Nate Knutson. There were eight teams in the Jan. 25-27 tournament, including Cloquet, Coon Rapids, Elk River, Escanaba, Farmington, Northfield, South St. Paul and St. Louis Park.

The Cloquet Amateur Hockey Association honored Lynn Smith as one of the founders of the association. Smitty was raised in White Bear Lake, Minn., and played hockey at Bemidji State University where he was captain and won a National Championship. After he settled in Cloquet, Smitty was involved in hockey as a Bantam A and PeeWee A coach, a hockey referee and a tireless CAHA volunteer.