Beloved NHL reporter Jessi Pierce was a dedicated wife and mother before her tragic death in a house fire.
Pierce and her three kids — sons Hudson, 8, and Cayden, 6, and daughter Avery, 4 — were all killed when their single-family home caught on fire in White Bear Lake, Minnesota, on Saturday, March 21. The family’s dog also died in the fire.
Pierce’s husband, Mike Hinrichs, was out of town on a work trip at the time of the fire, according to The Athletic.
Pierce and Hinrichs got married in September 2016.
The couple celebrated St. Patrick’s Day together on Tuesday, March 17. Pierce shared a photo of the couple toasting the holiday via X.
Pierce and Hinrichs also celebrated Valentine’s Day together in February, which she shared a glimpse of on social media.
“❤️ you,” Pierce captioned a photo via Instagram.
A GoFundMe was set up on Sunday, March 22, to support Hinrichs during “an unimaginably difficult time.”
“We are raising funds to cover funeral expenses and to provide financial support for the family during this period of grief,” the fundraiser said. “Any contribution is appreciated.”
Pierce routinely shared photos of her three children on social media, including pictures from a trip to get ice cream on Friday, March 20, just hours before the fire.
The NHL’s Minnesota Wild, which Pierce covered tirelessly for years, said the franchise was “heartbroken” by her death.
“Jessi was a kind, compassionate person that cared deeply about her family and those around her,” the organization said in a statement. “She served as a dedicated ambassador for the game of hockey during her time covering the Wild and the NHL. Jessi and her children will be greatly missed. Our thoughts and deepest condolences go out to their family, friends, and all who knew and loved them.”
Wild emergency goaltender Connor Beaupre, who sat next to Pierce during every home game, remarked on the “legacy she left behind.”
“She was always so grateful that she got to work the jobs she did, even the tiniest one-off stories that sometimes didn’t pay anything, but she put everything she had into them,” Beaupre, 32, told The Athletic. “She made such an incredible impact on so many people, whether she worked with them forever or just interacted with them once on Twitter. We lost such a good one.”
According to White Bear Lake Fire Department chief Greg Peterson, the investigation into the fire remains “ongoing.”
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