The NHL is grieving the death of reporter Jessi Pierce and her three children from a house fire in Minnesota.
Pierce, 37, covered the Wild as a correspondent for NHL.com for the past decade and was a prominent podcaster among several other roles she held in sports media in the Twin Cities area.
Having learned of the news before their game on Saturday against the Dallas Stars, the Wild returned to the ice for practice on Monday with their hearts and minds still heavy from the tragedy.
“We’re just at a loss for words. She was a special person who brought a lot of light to this room,” Wild captain Jared Spurgeon said. “She was always smiling, joking around. When I first heard, it’s something that you really don’t believe that could happen, and it’s still hard to really wrap your mind around it. Obviously everyone here, our hearts and prayers are out to her family.”
Firefighters responded to 911 calls early Saturday morning from neighbors reporting flames coming through the roof of a single-family home in White Bear Lake, a suburb about 10 miles northeast of where the Wild play in downtown St. Paul.
An adult, three children and a dog inside the house were all found deceased, the White Bear Lake Fire Department said. The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
“Out hearts ache for those involved in this tragedy. We ask for the opportunity to allow our community to come together and support one another during this difficult time,” Fire Chief Greg Peterson said.
Pierce’s husband, Mike Hinrichs, was out of town on a work trip at the time of the fire, The Athletic reported. A GoFundMe site set up to help cover funeral expenses and provide financial support had raised more than $125,000 by Monday afternoon. Their children, Hudson, Cayden and Avery, were 8, 6 and 4 years old.
After the NHL and the Wild announced the deaths along with their condolences on Sunday, an outpouring of tributes to Pierce began from the tight-knit community around the sport and especially in Minnesota, long known as the “State of Hockey.” After the North Stars moved to Dallas in 1993, the Wild joined the NHL in 2000 as an expansion club and consistently have had one of the league’s strongest fan bases.
“Jessi’s love of her family and hockey was evident in the energy and passion she brought to her work for us. She was an absolute joy to talk to and work with. She will be deeply missed,” said Bill Price, vice president and editor-in-chief of NHL.com.
Wild general manager Bill Guerin made a point to visit the media workroom at the team’s practice rink on Monday to check on Pierce’s colleagues and friends and voice the team’s sadness in her absence.
“Words just can’t express how devastated we all are. It doesn’t matter if you’re in the media, if you’re a player, if you’re in management, if you’re a coach — we are all in this sports world, this hockey world, and we’re all in it together,” Guerin said, adding: “She was a ray of sunshine.”
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AP Sports Writer Dave Campbell in St. Paul, Minnesota, and AP Hockey Writer Stephen Whyno in New York contributed to this report.
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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/NHL
