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Youth hockey player 'scores' twice when her dad comes home from Iraq
Lauren Galeazzi of Mahtomedi didn't plan it for her trip to the airport, but the front tooth the seven-year-old just lost left her with a perfect hockey smile.
It was one of the first things Scott Galeazzi, a sgt. 1st class with the Minnesota National Guard, noticed when he wrapped his arms around his four children upon his return from Iraq. "You're looking like a real hockey player," Scott laughed to his oldest daughter.
His wife Amy wasn't surprised by Scott's observation. "We consider ourselves a hockey family."
So where else would you expect to find the Galeazzi family on Sunday -- two days after Scott's homecoming - but a Minnesota Wild Game?
But this outing to the Xcel Energy Center was about more than the game. On Sunday Lauren was introduced on the ice between periods as a "No Name Hockey Kid of the Year."
"Just to be home and be with her and the family and watch a little hockey, it's good," said Scott, who nominated his daughter in an essay he wrote from Iraq after reading about the contest on the Wild's website. Lauren was selected from more than 400 entries as one of six finalists, before being chosen as one of two winners in a random drawing.
Scott's military superiors allowed him to move up a scheduled two-week leave to join his daughter for the event. He isn't just Lauren's dad, for the past two seasons has also been one of her hockey coaches in the Mahtomedi youth hockey program.
Next season - after Scott's tour is complete - he will join Lauren on an all-expense-paid trip to a Wild road game. As for the next two weeks, you can bet Lauren will be putting that hockey smile to good use.
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