Before Cal Conway changed a hockey season, he suffered through ‘nerve-rattling’ transfer process

TRANSFERRING IN MINNESOTA | This is part of an exclusive Strib Varsity series.

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Cal Conway singlehandedly changed the boys hockey season last school year after transferring from Andover to Stillwater.

But the star goalie’s ride to the 2025 state championship game was anything but smooth, exemplifying the difficulties some transfer students face under Minnesota State High School League (MSHSL) rules.

“The most nerve-rattling part was honestly just the uncertainty of it all,” said Conway, whose family nicknamed him “Moose” for his big head and 6-foot-3 frame. “When you go through a transfer, there are a lot of unknowns.”

Or as his father, Ryan, put it: “They don’t make it easy by any stretch of the imagination. There is hoop after hoop after hoop that you need to jump through.”

Conway, now 18, decided to transfer during the summer of 2024. He knew if he stayed in Andover, he would be competing for playing time with Cash Cruitt. Both are ranked among the top goalies in the nation for their respective age groups.

“Doing the math and crunching the numbers, that season was a split any way you looked at it,” Ryan said. “Cash is a year younger, but those two are splitting time. You’re gonna tick somebody off either way.”

That summer, Conway played AAA hockey with some of Stillwater’s top players, forming some deep friendships. This all played into his decision to transfer to Stillwater before last school year.

Twists and turns

Ryan said the process began that August, three months before varsity hockey tryouts started Nov. 10. Under MSHSL rules, a transfer student is ineligible for varsity competition for one year unless they meet one of several conditions.

Two conditions that applied to Conway’s case were a family residence change and a parental separation. A student can switch MSHSL schools and stay eligible if his or her parents divorce or separate, a provision available only once between grades 9-12.

“Most families can’t do this,” Ryan said. “We’re in a unique situation where we legally separated.”

As for the change of address, “You’ve got to change your driver’s license, you’ve got to find a place to live, you’ve got to move in,” Ryan said. “And so we did everything to the letter.

“We were given the green light [by the MSHSL]: ‘Guys, you’re all good to go. You did everything you needed to do. You enrolled in school, you went to the district center, you got a house.’”

Then things kept turning. A review of Conway’s transfer case left him ineligible for Stillwater’s first two games. He was reinstated for two games — and was in net for wins over Maple Grove and Eden Prairie — but then he was deemed ineligible again. Stillwater forfeited both victories.

“He was Johnny on the spot, eligible,” Ryan said. “Then he was ineligible, then back to eligible. Five times this played out, and it was vicious for a 17-year-old goalie’s psyche.”

This hoop-jumping, conducted any time of year, is by design. The MSHSL’s transfer policy is built “to restrict student movement between schools [and] to prevent athletic transfers,” it says in the league’s handbook.

“I think there are a lot of ADs,” MSHSL vice president Keith Cornell said, speaking generally, “who spend a lot of time trying to verify that you’re meeting the policies and the rules that allow for a legitimate transfer.”

Long, hard wait

Conway missed more than two months of games as the case crawled through the MSHSL eligibility review process.

“He rode the bus to every game,” Ryan said. “After moving and uprooting our lives, I sat with my kid in the stands and watched.”

A key moment came in mid-January when Conway’s case went before the MSHSL Executive Committee. A final step in the process, win or lose.

“Your kid’s future comes down to a closed-door hearing,” Ryan said. “I couldn’t attend, my kid couldn’t attend. None of the coaches could attend.”

The Executive Committee eventually upheld the MSHSL’s earlier decision that Conway was indeed eligible.

The payoff

Once he took over in Stillwater’s net, the Ponies reeled off nine consecutive wins, getting past White Bear Lake and Hill Murray in the sections.

“When you come into a new community, you never really know how people are going to respond,” Cal Conway said. “But the support from the Stillwater community was incredible right away.”

When the state tournament matchups were unveiled, Conway learned he would be facing his former team. Stillwater and Conway vs. Andover and Cruitt.

“My focus was on preparing with my team and doing whatever I could to help Stillwater win,” Conway said. “Once you’re on the ice, you’re not really thinking about the story lines. You’re just focused in on the game.”

Final score: Stillwater 5, Andover 0.

Conway spent extended time on the ice afterward, giving hugs to his old Andover teammates.

He also blanked St. Thomas Academy 4-0 in the semifinals, but Stillwater’s dream ride ended with a 7-6 loss to Moorhead in the 2025 Class 2A state championship game.

Moorhead’s Mason Kraft scored four of those goals off Conway, and this season those two and former Stillwater standout Blake Vanek were teammates for the Wenatchee (Wash.) Wild in the Western Hockey League.

Looking back on the transfer and that long winter of two years ago, Conway has no regrets.

“Going through changes and facing some adversity teaches you a lot about yourself,” he said. “… You learn how to stay focused, how to handle pressure, and how to lean on the people around you. In the end, it helped me mature not just as a goalie but as a person too.”

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Transferring in Minnesota

This story is part of a Strib Varsity exclusive series focused on student-athletes transferring high schools in Minnesota. Other stories to read include our main story on why athletes transfer and our FAQ on transfer athlete rules in Minnesota. Click on the links below to read more:

• Learn how a transfer happens in Minnesota high school sports
• Scoggins: Transferring runs against what we love about high school sports
• Why do athletes transfer high schools in Minnesota? Here are some answers
• Only the champions might be happy with Minnesota’s student-athlete transfer system
• Minnesota high school sports transfer rules: Everything you need to know