 On April 6th, the small town of Humboldt's Saskatchewan was changed forever when a bus carrying the Humboldt Broncos junior hockey team was struck by a semi-truck killing 16 people and injuring 13 others. Donations, tributes and support poured in from throughout the hockey community, including right here in Bemidji that is creating a memorable experience for the town's Pee Wee hockey team this weekend. Everybody was was looking forward to having Christmas come and go and get ready to get on the bus and come down here and play some hockey. The Humboldt Pee Wee hockey team is in Bemidji playing in the Paul Bunyan International Hockey Tournament thanks to the help Humboldt heal group and the post-14 American Legion who raised over $18,000 to bring the team here. The idea just came to me what could we do and I thought the best thing is our Pee Wee tournament because it's the best tournament put on in Bemidji. We are so excited we are so thankful to Jim Haskell and the help Humboldt heal committee that he put together to raise the money to bring the teams to bring the team here it's really exciting. Head coach Maurice Simineau is grateful for the support Bemidji has shown and says this week will be an experience that they'll never forget. We really can't put into words how thankful we are to the Bemidji Legion and all of the the citizens of Bemidji who got behind this cause and supported us coming down here. The week's festivities started today with a meet and greet between the Bemidji and Humboldt teams to welcome them to the tournament and learn about each other's homes. Sometimes the kids have to get the idea that the other teams are not your enemy they're the ones that make you better players and you realize on something like this they're just kids just like you. Humboldt will be playing for more than just a trophy and hope to make their hometown proud this weekend. This has been a challenging year and one that I know that is is hard for so many that were directly impacted and if we can come down here and represent our community in a positive way in the legacy that that last year's team had we will we will certainly try our best to do that. The tournament kicks off tomorrow at 10 with the opening ceremony at the Sanford Center with a championship game played on Sunday. If you enjoyed this segment of Lakeland news please consider making a tax-deductible contribution to Lakeland PBS.