Hockey media personality Jessi Pierce and children identified as victims found in White Bear Lake fire – Twin Cities
A woman who was found dead with her three children in a White Bear Lake house fire Saturday morning has been identified as a media personality who covered the Minnesota Wild for NHL.com and hosted a popular hockey podcast.
Jessi Pierce, right, interviewing Wild defenseman Jack Johnson. Pierce, a Minnesota-based hockey reporter for NHL.com, died in a house fire on Saturday, March 21, 2026. (Jess Myers / Pioneer Press)
Jessi Pierce, 38, and her two sons and daughter were found dead after a blaze broke out at their home.
Pierce, also known as Jessica Hinrichs, wrote about the Wild and NHL and co-hosted the Bardown Beauties: A Minnesota Wild & hockey podcast.
Online tributes from friends and colleagues expressed condolences to her husband Mike Hinrichs for the loss of his wife and their three children, Hudson, Cayden and Avery.
“We are heartbroken and join the State of Hockey in mourning the tragic loss of Jessi and her children. May they rest in peace,” the Wild posted on the team’s X account.
“Jessi was a kind, compassionate person that cared deeply about her family and those around her,” the post said. “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.”
The NHL also posted a tribute on X, saying they are mourning the loss of Pierce and her children.
A career covering hockey across the U.S.
Pierce was a Mahtomedi High School grad and studied at Iowa State. Jess Myers, Pioneer Press sports writer, said he first met Pierce in 2011 when she was an intern at USA Hockey in Colorado. She worked for a newspaper in upstate New York for a time, then moved home and had covered the Wild for NHL.com for roughly 10 years.
“In addition to her skills writing, interviewing and podcasting, Jessi brought a smile to the rink every day and absolutely loved what she did. She was a respected journalist second and an amazing mother first,” Myers said.
When her oldest was a baby, she would often come to Wild practice with an infant in a carrier on her chest, doing interviews with players as they fawned over her son, Myers said. She had family in International Falls and would often spend time with her family on Rainy Lake. She was the emcee for the championship celebration when the Minnesota Frost won their first PWHL title in 2024.
Pierce also co-hosted a hockey podcast called “Bardown Beauties” with Kirsten Krull and she was a regular on SKOR North radio podcasts covering the Wild and the Vikings.
“She had a confidence and a way of being able to talk to anyone that I envied,” Krull posted on X. “She had an unmatched work ethic and a huge heart. Any time I needed help, needed to rant, or needed someone she was there without hesitation. Most importantly, she was the best mom and loved her kids and family fiercely.”
Fellow hockey writer Mike Russo called Pierce the “life of the party” in a post on X.
“Jessi simply loved covering the Wild and hockey throughout Minnesota and had a way of brightening everyone’s day with her upbeat, bubbly personality,” he wrote. “I have literally (never) met anybody that had a way of being (everybody’s) friend. More than anything, she absolutely loved Hudson, Cayden and Avery and was the greatest mother who did everything she could to bring joy to her sweetest kids. Even at Friday’s practice in her beloved Iowa State sweatshirt, she was so excited to take them to the seasonal opening of Cup and Cone in (White Bear Lake.)”
“The entire NHL.com team is devastated and heartbroken by the loss of Jessi and her children,” said Bill Price, VP, Editor-in-Chief of NHL.com on its website. “Jessi’s love of her family and hockey was evident in the energy and passion she brought to her work for us.”
Pierce was “unafraid of sharing her opinion about the game before her and the men playing it,” the NHL.com article said, and she “delivered those offerings with a bit of humor and informed by the institutional knowledge she had after more than a decade of covering her hometown team.”
She would tell anyone who listened about her journey to become an NHL writer, a dream she first articulated when she was 18.
“She was an absolute joy to talk to and work with. She will be deeply missed,” Price said.
Fire early Saturday morning
Firefighters were called to a fire at about 5:30 a.m. in the 2100 block of Richard Avenue. Neighbors reported seeing flames coming from the roof of a house and said there were likely people inside the home, according to the White Bear Lake Fire Department.
Crews began fighting the fire and then found three children, an adult and a dog deceased in the home, the fire department said in a statement.
“It’s heartbreaking,” neighbor Tony Wright said. The three children played outside often and would come play with his dog and other neighborhood children, he said. He estimated the boys were between 8 and 10 years old and the girl was a few years younger than that.
White Bear Lake Fire Chief Greg Peterson spoke briefly to reporters at the scene Saturday morning. He said the Minnesota State Fire Marshal’s Office had the lead on the investigation and that his department would be assisting. He noted that it would be a while before there were any answers.
When asked if there were working smoke detectors in the house, he said, “I could hear smoke detectors. You could hear smoke detectors activated, so they were working.”
Nick Ferraro contributed to this article.
