Celebrating Road to State in '88

January 26, 2018

The 1988 Cretin-Derham Hall Varsity Hockey team celebrated 30 years since their “Road to State in '88.” The team gathered to watch their former coach and the Raiders take on White Bear Lake at Highland Arena on January 20, 2018. The Raiders prevailed over the Bears 5-4.

The ’88 team turned a 0-2 start into a 21-6 season that included a 15-game winning streak, culminating in a 4-3 overtime victory against South Saint Paul. The victory over South Saint Paul gave the newly-merged school its first State High School Hockey Tournament (single class) appearance. That team featured six All-Conference players, two All-Metro players, one All-Tournament player, and a future Heisman Trophy winner.  

Members of the team also toured the Ryan'07 and Kaylee Keys McDonagh'08 locker rooms.

Goalie Finbar Murphy, who spearheaded the alumni get-together, said, "That ’87-’88 team was special in many ways. I think our team reflected a little of what the school was going through at the same time. We had some St. Paul neighborhood kids with a few suburban kids, so we didn’t have a long history of playing together." 

The former teammates enjoyed reconnecting at the rink. "Meeting up with the guys was special. It brought back a lot of memories and it is amazing how quickly we can pick up where we left off after 30 years."   Murphy noted that there is already talk about getting the team back together to watch the upcoming high school tournament.