LA CRESCENT, Minn. — Wyatt Farrell loops around the right side of the Austin High zone, skates around one defender, creates space between himself and another defender, and then runs into the back of the Packers' net. I scored the puck.
Farrell spun around, without fist-bumping or celebrating, and quickly returned to center ice to prepare for the next faceoff.
The La Crescent Hoca senior just scored his second goal of the game, his 24th of the season and 168th of his high school career, giving his Lancers a 5-0 lead and an 8-1 lead. He achieved victory. Dec. 28 at the Kiwanis Festival in Rochester.
His modest response was that of a veteran leader who knows the game is at stake. He didn't have to force his opponent to appear.
It was a “act like you've been there before” moment.
he had. More than 160 times.
It's the maturity and poise that Farrell carried through his record-setting senior season.
“Wyatt always understands the crowd and knows the situation,” Lancers head coach Elia Hayes said. “He loves to score big goals, but when he scores when we're up 5-1 or 6-1, he's not going to give anything away. He just plays the game and does the right thing. I just want to play the way I want to.”
Farrell scored 28 more goals this season and finished his final year of high school hockey with 52 goals and 40 assists for 92 points. More importantly for him, he helped the Lancers break new ground for his program, posting a program-best 24 wins and earning a berth in the Section 1, Class 1A semifinals.
He scored his last high school goal in the sectional semifinal, where the Lancers lost 4-3 to Dodge County on Feb. 24 at the Rochester Recreation Center. This goal marked his 196th point in five seasons in high school. career. This ties him with former Little Falls star Ben Hanowski for the most career goals by a Minnesota men's hockey player.
Three weeks later, Farrell was named to the Associated Press All-State Second Team, a rare honor for an out-of-state player, especially one from a Class 1A school in southeastern Minnesota.
“I think it goes to show that no matter where you're from in Minnesota, you can come out of a small town and make a name for yourself,” said Hayes, who grew up in the same La Crescent neighborhood as Farrell. Told. Plays in Division I and his NHL level. “It's very special to see Wyatt's name at the top of that list, especially given Hanowski's career playing pro hockey and appearing in the NHL.”
In addition to his 196 goals, Farrell finished his tenure with La Crescent Hoca with 88 assists for 284 career points.
In fact, the 5-foot-8, 175-pound scoring dynamo was replaced by head coach (Mr. Hayes played in Division I Minnesota State University, Mankato, and then with the San Jose Sharks), and the Lancers' It has topped almost every statistical category in history.
For all these reasons and more, Farrell was named the 2024 Post-Breaking All-Area Player of the Year. He is the first player in La Crescent Hoca's 14-year history to win this award and the second from outside of Rochester, joining Dodge County's Brody Lamb (2021).
“Wyatt is a quiet but intense person,” Hayes said. “His work ethic…his work ethic on the ice is exactly the same off the ice. In the classroom, in the weight room, on the golf course, he's intense and wants to win, and when you're around him You can see that in the situation.”
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Photo of breaking news file
When Hanowski was chasing the state scoring record as a senior in 2008-09, he often tried to put space between himself and the hype of that pursuit.
Hanowski allowed himself to forget about it as much as possible so that people who track such things become obsessed with it. Not only did he set the state scoring record, he also broke Red Wing native Johnny Paul's career scoring record. Paul had 378. Hanowski finished with a 404.
“I wasn't tracking the numbers,” Hanowski told the St. Paul Pioneer Press after leading Little Falls to a 30-1 record that season and a third-place finish in the state. “I was asked a lot of times about when I was going to break it, so I let other people do it. I wanted to focus on winning the match as much as possible.”
Farrell echoed that very sentiment throughout his record-setting run this winter.
After scoring 13 points in 19 games in the Upper Midwest Elite League (a prep league for the state's top seniors) last fall, his focus is on what it will take to lead the Lancers to their first championship. I was just concentrating on whether it was necessary. State tournament.
Although they fell just short of qualifying for state, Farrell and his teammates brought an energy and excitement to La Crescent Hoka hockey not seen in Minnesota's Apple capital.
“It's been really great. We've gotten a lot of recognition from a lot of places this year,” he told the Post in early February. “We've never had anything like that before with La Crescent hockey, so it was pretty cool. A lot of people are excited about this group.”
As the season progressed, the more the Lancers won, the more packed La Crescent Community Ice Arena became.
“I opened it yesterday, minnesota hockey journal Look at the hockey story from La Crescent, Minnesota,” Hayes said. “I don't think I've ever seen the excitement surrounding hockey in our town. When Wyatt Farrell's name was called at this year's national game, the loudest cheers came from the little kids screaming from the stands. It was something.
“It's a testament to what Wyatt has done for our program. The little ticks here look at him like a hockey god. That's what you want in your community. .Little kids go completely nuts when they see Wyatt Farrell's name announced.
“Every time we did a 'Skate with the Mights' night, he participated. It's a testament to the player and the person he is.”
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Jason Feldman/Post Breaking News File Photo
Farrell's career as a Lancer ended on February 24th.
That night, he spent nearly an hour in the lower level of the Rochester Rec Center consoling his teammates, exchanging hugs and pats on the back, preparing for the inevitable moment when he would have to hang up No. 2. I postponed the pain. Finally, a green and white sweater.
When he woke up three days later, packed his car and headed north from his destination in St. Cloud, La Crescent, the pain was still there but tinged with a bit of nervous anticipation.
The rotation of the hockey world never stops.
Farrell's next hockey stop was with the St. Cloud Norseman of the North American Hockey League. He played in his first junior hockey game four days after arriving in St. Cloud, losing to the Norse 2-1 to the Austin Bruins.
“He said it would take some getting used to,” Hayes said of Farrell’s adjustment to the NAHL. “He was referring to the Elite League, where he had a slow start, but once he got a feel for the size of the players and the pace of play, it was different. He adapted to the environment and found a way to be successful. .”
Farrell is still in St. Cloud, training with the Norseman, and is excited about whatever the 2024-25 season holds for him, whether it's a full season with the Norseman or a chance in the USHL, the highest level of junior hockey in the country. I'm still preparing. Or an option that doesn't exist yet.
Whatever the answer to that question, where will Wyatt Farrell play hockey next season? — there's no doubt he's ready to beat everyone of the opposite color, as well as his own color. There's no room for that.
“I think what was most impressive about Wyatt was that when teams focused on him or put some players on him, he tried to find a way to beat it.” Hayes said. “The way he watches video, practices, and has his players chase him in practice, it's just a process of, 'What are they trying to do to me, how can I beat it?' It was very impressive.
“He will never be rejected. He will find a way to succeed.”
Let's take a look at La Crescent Hoca's Wyatt Farrell's historic high school hockey career by the numbers.
| 284 | career points |
| 196 | Career Objective |
| 92 | '23-'24 points |
| 88 | career assist |
| 56 | LH won the last 3 years |
| 52 | Goal for '23-'24 |
| 40 | Assisted in 2023-24 |
