Making the jump from Pee Wee to high school varsity hockey is like, using board games as an analogy, asking a grade-schooler adept at Candy Land to instantly master chess.

Alex Benson was an undersized but fearless eighth-grade goalie up for anything back in November of 2016. Varsity hockey? Sure, he was willing to give it a try. Benson remembers not only his first game but the first shot he faced.

“The guy came down the wall right here,” Benson said, pointing toward the boards just inside one of the blue lines at Winona’s Bud King Ice Arena. “He took a slapshot. I went down, and it went straight over my head and over the net. I was like, ‘Wow. That’s crazy.’ ”

“You’re not in Pee Wees anymore,” Winona coach Fran McDevitt said with a laugh about Benson’s memory of his introduction to big-boy hockey.

And so began Benson’s five-year career as Winona’s varsity goaltender, an 84-game journey that has taken him to dozens of rinks throughout southern Minnesota and southwestern Wisconsin, seen him face more than 3,000 shots and allowed him to build countless friendships.

Benson played his final home game Friday night against La Crescent, and after the 8-1 victory he and fellow senior Matt Thesing lingered on the snow-covered ice long after their teammates had departed for the locker room. Benson and Thesing exchanged a few words, shared some laughs and shed a few tears as they knelt on the ice and soaked in the atmosphere, reluctant to leave knowing they’d never play another varsity game in the rink that spawned so many of their greatest memories.

“We didn’t say a lot,” said Thesing, a four-year varsity player who scored four goals in the victory over the Lancers. “He’s been here five years and I’ve been here four. Just a bunch of emotions kick in.

"He’s an amazing kid on and off the ice. I love him to death. He’s like a brother to me.”

Benson’s 84 games played, 3,098 shots faced and 2,684 saves are Winona records, blowing away the totals set by Garrett Welle, who faced 1,785 shots and made 1,574 saves from 2007-10. The Minnesota High School League website lists some boys’ hockey records, and there’s a Most Career Stops category. But there are no entries under the heading. It’s likely that the highest totals have come in the modern era because of its longer games (51 minutes compared to decades of 45 or less) and longer seasons (25 games compared to decades of 20 or less).

Benson’s games played, shots faced and saves totals likely place him near the top of the all-time lists in all three categories. In recent history, Tony Bruns of Morris/Benson faced 4,135 shots and made 3,616 saves in 2013-17. Jack Branby of St. Paul Highland Park made 3,408 saves on 3,775 shots in 2014-2018 while playing an astounding 103 games.

“He’s worked his (butt) off for five years,” Thesing said about Benson. “He lives in this rink. He deserves every game he’s played and every save he’s made.”

McDevitt, in his 20th year leading the Winhawks, had never previously started an eighth-grader as a goalie. Never even entertained the thought of it. But the departure of seniors Matt Schoh and Cassidy Cyert after the 2015-16 season left a void, and Benson was deemed as one of the best options to help fill it. McDevitt’s decision to insert an eighth-grader into the hockey team’s most important role came with some consternation from outsiders. At the time, Benson couldn’t be described as model student.

A middle school health and physical education teacher, McDevitt saw what he described as a “little bit rebellious” Benson every day in school. He wouldn’t go so far as to say Benson was the class clown, but. …

“I think he liked to have fun,” McDevitt said. “I think he liked to have fun in the classroom. You know, he was a typical middle school kid. Probably talked back a little too much to the teachers.

“So, actually, some teachers were questioning why we were doing that, putting Alex on the varsity, and we just told them hockey is going to be good for him.”

Benson thrived under the structure that comes with regularly scheduled daily practices. Requirements to achieve minimum grade levels to play varsity sports forced him to buckle down in class. McDevitt gave Benson four Winona Winhawks stickers, and told him to put them on each of his folders. 

“And I told, him, ‘When you sit in classroom, you look at that decal to decide what's more important, ‘ “ McDevitt said, “being on the high school team or, you know, being the class clown.”

When talking about his career highlights, Benson doesn’t mention a particular save, victory or season. Instead, he talks about the camaraderie he’s shared, the friendships he’s made and the life lessons he’s learned. He talks about how those 2016-17 seniors were such a great group and how accepting they were of their little eighth-grade 'tender.

“Yeah, hockey shaped me to who I am,” Benson said. “I mean, I played it for 13 years, so that's a good majority of my life. You make friends, you learn how to interact with all sorts of different people.”

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