Who will play goalkeeper next year?
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The Lumberjacks should have had a loaded group of returning skaters, with players like Bailey Rupp, Millie Knott, Megan Berg, Emma Greiner, Naomi Johnson, Mali McLean, Taylor Bjerke and more returning. However, in each of the last two seasons, BHS saw its senior goalkeepers depart.
Two years ago, standout Payton Weidemann handed over to Ava Myhre, who played every varsity minute for the Lumberjacks the following season. Like Weidemann, Myhre starred for Bemidji, but stopped playing in the high school ranks, leaving a vacancy in goal.
BHS head coach Mike Johnson had limited options. With the lone junior varsity goalie on the 2024-25 team choosing not to play hockey this season, the short pool of goaltenders became even smaller.
However, for a team talented enough to make its first state tournament since 2007, with a huge vacancy at the crease as this season drew ever closer, a stroke of luck favored the Lumberjacks.
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Lily Lauer enrolled at Bemidji High School.
“Goaltending was probably the biggest unknown heading into this year,” Johnson said. “Lily just fell into our lap and was an absolute gift.”
Lauer, a junior, spent his tenth grade season in Bridgewater, New Jersey. Before that, he played most of his youth hockey in Colorado at the club level.
While Lauer said youth hockey was similar to Minnesota in his previous state stops, one aspect of his on-ice education was much different than his BHS teammates.
Lauer grew up playing kids’ hockey.
“I have two older brothers,” he said. “They played hockey too. Growing up, I always followed their example. At the time, playing men’s hockey seemed like the right thing for my development.”
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That’s how it is. Not only is this Lauer’s first season playing hockey in Minnesota, but it is also the first time she has played on a women’s hockey team for a full season.
In his first game, Lauer made 17 saves in an 8-2 road win over East Grand Forks. That’s the last time he’s allowed more than one goal in any of his seven starts this season, leading the Jacks to an unblemished 7-0 record thus far.
“We introduced her to everyone and showed her our team culture,” said Berg, a senior forward. “She’s a great fit. She’s definitely a key part of what we do. With Lily, we can go very far this season. She’s part of the reason we’re 7-0. It’s because of her.”
Lauer’s emergence at BHS comes with opportunity. But as he continues to draw attention across the state, he has found solace in his new team.
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“I think it helps when people are just good people, when they are genuinely themselves,” Lauer said. “No one has been disrespectful. We have a great group of girls here that welcomed me. They’ve been amazing on and off the ice. We have a hard-working group that really cares about hockey.”
When Lauer was “about 10 or 11” years old, he approached his parents with a proposal.
He grew up in a hockey family, following in the footsteps of his older brothers. One of them was a goalkeeper and wanted to try it.
“Of course, my parents told me, ‘No, don’t do that. You don’t want to be a goalie,'” Lauer said, laughing. “But I wanted to try it anyway.”
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Lauer always played with kids growing up, and that didn’t change when he tried his hand at goal. Using his older brother’s hand-me-down equipment, he fell in love with the position.
The Aspen, Colorado native played club hockey with the Colorado Thunderbirds and the Okanagan Hockey Academy. Last year, he moved to Bridgewater “for hockey,” and was still looking for a spot on a men’s team on the other side of the country.
He found a temporary home on the New Jersey Rockets club team during his sophomore year of high school. But with the move came the added pressure of proving he could play with kids in a new community.
“It’s always been that way for me, but I think that’s the case for any goalkeeper, even a goalkeeper who plays on a women’s team,” Lauer said. “You have to handle that pressure. But sure, there was a little more when I played men’s hockey.
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“I think it might have been a shock to other people. For me, just because I did it and I was in it, it wasn’t much different for me.”
When Lauer moved to Bemidji in the fall, he had his sights set on joining the BHS boys team. However, there was no lane for her to get adequate playing time.
The Bemidji boys have two senior goalkeepers on the roster, including captain Christian Hill. Jack Norgaard, a junior, has also received some playing time at the varsity level this season.
Meanwhile, the BHS girls were about to have to find a goalie in the junior ranks to prematurely move up to the varsity level, dress a skater as a goalie, or find another goalie outside the box.
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But after Lauer had some conversations with Bemidji’s captains, they convinced her to play girls’ hockey for the first time.
“At first I wasn’t in favor of it,” Lauer said. “After learning what the situation was and how people are (all the different logistics), I realized I was in the right place.”
Rupp was one of the captains who pushed to add Lauer to the women’s team. Through seven games, he does not regret his approach.
“We didn’t know she would be so good and able to carry our team so much,” Rupp said. “She’s so amazing. She’s so solid. She’s ready for every shot. Every goalie lets in a weak one here or there, but Lily is ready for every shot. Even when you give up a breakaway, it’s okay because you have Lily.”
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To say Lauer is a good goalie would be an understatement.
In her first seven games at BHS, the 5-foot-6 junior has a .955 save percentage and a 1.00 goals-against average. According to MN Girls Hockey Hub statistics, Lauer is the seventh-best goalie in the state in both statistical categories, regardless of class.
Even more important for Bemidji is that the Lumberjacks are undefeated. They are also the sixth-ranked team in Class AA and one of four undefeated teams remaining in the top 20.
“He has a blue-collar mentality that you always love to see,” Johnson said. “We have so many kids that have that and come here to do a job, and she fits in. I know the forwards and (defenders) really appreciate her being the last line of defense, because when they know she’s there, it allows them to play more aggressively and take more chances.”
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Lauer also has a shutout, a 37-save win over Class A rival Warroad on the road on Nov. 25. An equalizing goal from Rupp was all Lauer needed to capture an iconic moment.
“That one felt good, yeah,” he said with a smile. “That was a game we knew we needed to win. We worked for it. It feels so good to win games like that.”
From the beginning, Lauer had to adapt to the speed of women’s hockey. Unlike other players who made the jump to the college level, she had to slow down the pace of her game after playing a faster-paced style with the boys.
“It’s a different game in a lot of ways,” Lauer said. “Some of the things that carry over are just the similarities between the two games. One is a little faster and has control. The other is not as fast but has more skill.
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“It felt like a big adjustment. As the game went on (against EGF), I started to feel more comfortable, more used to it. Sometimes I had to tell myself to slow down and relax. The pace changes from game to game.”
After graduating in 2027, Lauer hopes he’s done enough to have a chance to play at the Division I level. He said he’s already had some conversations with college hockey coaches.
Rupp, a member of Minnesota Duluth and a member of the USA Hockey Under-18 Women’s National Team, has seen the highest level of play for her age across the country. From his perspective, Lauer has what it takes to extend his career beyond high school.
“She’s right there with all the other goalies,” Rupp said. “It’s not just that she’s good, but she has the will to get better every day. That’s huge. If you want it, anything can happen, and Lily has that. She comes to the court every day to get better.”
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Johnson has seen it too.
“We played some of these top teams with these DI goalies committed when they were young, but Lily wasn’t on anyone’s radar,” he said. “I think that will change. The first thing I noticed was how good a skater she is. You see how she competes and it makes sense. She has such a big, good glove. She reduces her angles very well. She’s had fantastic goalie training.
“Seeing her come out with her attitude and her energy and her competitive level, I feel like I’m repeating these things to all kinds of people, but they’re true. It’s fun to see her compete in practices and games. She’s been an absolute blessing and everything we could have hoped for.”