NHL hockey reporter, Iowa State graduate Jessi Pierce remembered for her passion after fatal fire

AMES, Iowa (KCCI) – The hockey world is mourning the loss of Jessi Pierce, a longtime Minnesota Wild reporter. She died alongside her three children in a house fire on Saturday, according to authorities and the NHL.

Pierce, 37, covered the Wild as an NHL correspondent for the past decade. As KCCI reports, before she was a widespread voice in Minnesota hockey media, she honed her skills in Iowa.

Before graduating from Iowa State University, Pierce joined the student media coverage for the Cyclones’ club hockey program.

“She had been a team manager at her high school,” said Chris Peters, a friend and colleague who first worked with her at ISU. “You could just tell she was super passionate about it.”

She quickly took on a major role to promote the ISU hockey program.

“She was impossible to miss,” Peters told KCCI. “She was everywhere. She would do anything.”

Firefighters responded to 911 calls Saturday morning about a house fire in White Bear Lake, Minnesota. Neighbors reported seeing flames coming through the roof.

Fire crews found Pierce, her three children and the family dog dead in the home. The cause of the fire is under investigation.

Pierce’s husband and father of her children, Mike Hinrichs, was reported out of town during the fire. Her children, Hudson, Cayden and Avery, were 8, 6 and 4 years old. A GoFundMe to help cover funeral expenses and provide financial support has raised nearly $172,000 as of Tuesday morning.

The Minnesota Wild mourned her loss on social media Sunday.

“Jessi was a kind, compassionate person that cared deeply about her family and those around her. She served as an ambassador for the game of hockey during her time covering the Wild and the NHL,” the social media post said.

Peters said Pierce put a lot of energy and creativity to finding new ways to platform players and their programs.

In a statement, the Iowa State men’s hockey club said Pierce “played an important role in supporting our program and showcasing the athletes.”

You can read Pierce’s writing for the Iowa State Daily here.

Even as her profile grew, Peters said Pierce never lost the warmth that made people gravitate toward her.

“Everyone that met her loved her immediately,” he said. “She was such a gregarious figure, but also so welcoming and encouraging.”

He said Pierce also set an example for others in the industry, especially when balancing journalism and motherhood.

“She covered practice in the morning, and she was with her kids getting ice cream at night,” he said. “That was her in a nutshell.”

The NHL called her “a fixture at Minnesota Wild games.”

“The entire NHL.com team is devastated and heartbroken by the loss of Jessi and her children,” said Bill Price, vice president and editor-in-chief of NHL.com, in a statement. “Jessi’s love of her family and hockey was evident in the energy and passion she brought to her work for us. She was an absolute joy to talk to and work with. She will be deeply missed.”

For those who knew her in Iowa, Pierce’s legacy is built on a relentless love for the game and a passion for her career.

“She carved a path that was completely her own,” Peters said. “She was one of a kind.”

Information from the Associated Press was used in this article.

A well-known National Hockey League reporter died in a house fire, along with her three children in Minnesota, according to multiple reports.(Source: Jessi Pierce X account)