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          Photos: Marjory Stoneman Douglas at USA Hockey Nationals

          Matthew Horowitz and the Marjory Stoneman Douglas hockey team made quite an impression at the USA Hockey Nationals in Plymouth, Minnesota. Andrew Kaufman for ESPN
          • Steve Wulf, ESPN Senior WriterMar 23, 2018, 07:24 PM
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            • Senior writer for ESPN.com and ESPN The Magazine
            • Around long enough to have written about athletes from Hank Aaron to Ben Zobrist and Super Bowls from VII to XLVI.
            • Joined ESPN The Magazine as a founding editor in 1998.
            • Also wrote for Time, Sports Illustrated, the Fort Lauderdale News and The Evening Sun in Norwich, NY.

          Minnesota is the heart of American hockey. Of the 20 members of the 1980 Miracle On Ice team, 12 hailed from the state, as did coach Herb Brooks. Maddie Rooney, the goalie and heroine of the USA team that won the 2018 gold medal in Pyeongchang, is from Duluth. Sidney Crosby went to Shattuck-St. Mary's prep school in Faribault. The Land of 10,000 Lakes is also the land of 54,000 players registered by USA Hockey, the largest number of any state.

          But it was a team from Florida that touched the hearts of many at the recent USA Hockey Nationals in Plymouth, Minnesota. The Eagles from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High in Parkland had earned the right to play in the tournament by virtue of winning their state tournament against all odds just 11 days after the massacre at the school.

          When the story of their resilience, and their decision to place their 17 medals on the memorials to the 17 victims, became known, they were embraced by the Florida Panthers and the NHL, which shipped the Stanley Cup to one of their practices.

          The Eagles flew to Minneapolis on a Swift Air jet chartered for them by the Panthers. After they boarded, former NHL enforcer Shawn Thornton, now the Panthers' VP for business operations, told them, "We're very proud of you. We're going to get you there in style. Whatever happens, win, lose, whatever, we just want you to have fun and enjoy it."

          They weren't quite prepared, though, for the reception they would receive, or the 30-degree weather. A few members walked down the steps from the plane in shorts. Photographer Andrew Kaufman met them there to chronicle their stay: six days, three games, the March For Our Lives protest in St. Paul, a moment in the spotlight at the Minnesota Wild game and countless expressions of support and appreciation.