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ROCHESTER — Dan and Jen O’Hara had scarcely a minute to put their feet up after a busy Hockey Day Minnesota weekend in Shakopee two weeks ago.
Their rest didn’t last long.
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After the Shannon O’Hara Foundation awarded 18 scholarships to high school hockey-playing seniors from the teams involved in this year’s HDM, the O’Haras regrouped and prepared to award seven more scholarships — for as much total money as the foundation has ever presented — to senior hockey players in Rochester.
They did that Thursday night during the Mayo vs. Century/John Marshall boys hockey game, handing out seven $3,000 scholarships to players from all four hockey-playing schools in town.
This year’s recipients included four athletes from Century — Caydence Hanson, Megan Gamble, Kasey Morrissey and Austin Gibson — and one each from John Marshall (Ole Fevold), Mayo (Tommy Verdick) and Lourdes (Jack Roe).
The Shannon O’Hara Foundation was created in early 2012 after Dan and Jen O’Hara’s daughter, light-heartedly nicknamed Shannon the Cannon because of her not-so-booming slapshot, died at age 12 after a nine-month battle with a brainstem glioma tumor.
Shannon’s legacy of a positive attitude and her love for sports, particularly hockey, lives on through the foundation that carries her name and through the annual Shannon Cup youth hockey tournament held in Rochester each winter.
Though most of Thursday’s honorees didn’t play with or know Shannon, many of them played in the Shannon Cup and all of them have seen the shadow box hanging in the Graham Arena lobby. That display includes photos of Shannon, who would have turned 25 this year, from her hockey playing days, as well as a pair of her skates. Adjacent to that display is another with names and photos of past winners of SOF scholarships.
The scholarship recipients had to go through an extensive application process that included writing an essay about their time playing in the Rochester Youth Hockey Association. The Foundation board then selects winners who exemplify the values Shannon lived by: determination, grace, a positive attitude and being a good teammate.
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The Foundation has now awarded 103 scholarships, totaling $196,000. The majority of those scholarships, totaling $151,000, have been awarded to 58 Rochester student-athletes over the past 13 years.
Hanson had two goals and two assists this season, including one power-play goal, for the Century/JM Panthers girls, who finished their season with a 13-11-2 record.
Gamble was the second-leading scorer for the Century/JM girls this winter, with 10 goals and 15 assists. She had five power-play points and scored the Panthers’ lone goal in a Section 1-2A quarterfinal game at Lakeville South on Wednesday.
Gibson is a senior forward for the Century/JM boys hockey team, who has three goals and three assists this season. Gibson recently was given the “all clear” by doctors at Mayo Clinic after battling cancer for close to nine months.
Fevold is tied for the lead in points for the Century/JM boys team, with 18 goals and 19 assists. One of the Panthers’ captains, Fevold had 19 goals and 36 points last year in helping the team reach the Class 2A state tournament.
Verdick, a senior defenseman, is Mayo’s captain and a three-year varsity regular. He’s fourth on the team in scoring this season (6-4–10), including a pair of power-play goals.
Roe is a senior captain for a Lourdes team that took an 11-7-1 record into Thursday’s game at Dodge County. A fourth-year varsity regular, the standout forward is fourth on the team in points (7-9–16) and tied for the team lead in power-play goals.
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The girls winners of $1,000 Hockey Day Minnesota scholarships are Maddie Forsyth (Orono), Sydney Kashmark (Prior Lake), Natalie McNeil (Eden Prairie), Paige Hillman (Shakopee), Aubrey Hansen (Rosemount), Alexa Ruppert (Lakeville North), Olivia Rasmussen (Northfield) and Ericah Folden (Brainerd/Little Falls).
The boys winners included Levi Eiter (Prior Lake), Mason Gillis (Eastview), Christian Garrity (Rosemount), Luke Johnson (Lakeville South), Jace Kampsula (Hibbing/Chisholm), Markus Kangas (Delano), Chase Klute (Eden Prairie), Jack Moe (Shakopee), Zach Price (Maple Grove) and Evan Schmidt (Orono).
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