It'll be a miracle to see that one day, just one day, Stillwater will be taking home the Kellogg Cup.

More Pioneer Press predictions

Eveleth over Sioux Falls
The Redbirds barely scrape past the only team left from another state.

Fort Frances over Inver Grove Heights
The last Canadian team beats IGH in a blowout.

St Cloud over Stillwater
A historic season for the city of Stillwater comes to end at the hands of the Bearcats.

Austin over Mankato
The Mavericks look to become the first Southern team to win 2 titles.

1979 Kellogg Cup Super Series Playdowns


Austin Mavericks vs Mankato Moose
The two highest ranked teams in the South region were pitted against one another in the opening game of the 1979 Super Series at the St. Paul Civic Center. Mankato got on the board first, converting on a powerplay around the midway point of the period. Austin would answer with a powerplay goal of their own, but two Moose goals early in the second flipped the game on its head. It was all Mankato in the second after taking a 3-1 lead. The momentum was all in their favor as they swarmed the Maverick zone. A grade A shot was denied but the rebound was put home to put the Moose up 4-1 heading into the third. Austin seemed to have calmed themselves down between periods, being more cautious with the puck to prevent coughing it up. The Mavs were throwing pucks on goal from all over and sending bodies in front to screen, tip, and dig for rebounds. It wasn't pretty, but it was effective as Austin scored twice in the first 10 minutes of the third to make it a one goal game with Mankato up 4-3. It was back and forth hockey for the est of the period as the clock ticked down against the Mavericks. Austin was forced to start taking some risks in order to create chances, leading to a defensive lapse that left a Moose player wide open in the offensive zone for a one timer that put Mankato back up by 2. The insurance goal really took the wind out of Austins sails. The final horn sounded to send Mankato to the Great Eight with a 5-3 victory over Austin.

Eveleth Redbirds vs Sioux Falls Packers
The second game of the day was all about Sioux Falls goaltender Byron Knutson who was having the game of his career as he denied chance after chance after chance from Eveleth. The Redbirds were far and away the better team in this one, outshooting the Packers in every period; 12-3 in the first, 17-5, and 11-2 for a final shot total of 40-10 in favor of the Redbirds. But the fact of the matter is that none of those 40 shots mean anything because Knutson did his best impression of a brick wall, stopping all 40 shots on target to shut out Eveleth. The Packer goaltender got all the help he needed when the Hogs converted on one of the few odd man rushes they got in the game late in the second. This will likely go down as one of the single greatest performances in Super Series history for Knutson, leading the 12 seeded Sioux Falls Packers past the Iron Range juggernaut Redbirds from Eveleth by a score of 1-0.

Stillwater Volunteers vs St. Cloud Bearcats
St. Cloud came in with the same game plan that got them here, play very cautiously and strike when an opening presents itself. Unfortunately for the Cats, Stillwater was on top of their game in their first Super Series game, never really giving the Bearcats anything to work with. The one positive is that the defensive method did its job of keeping the Vols off the board so nothing was really lost. That was until Stillwater ripped a shot past the St. Cloud goaltender to take a 1-0 lead a couple minutes into the second. After the go ahead goal, the Bearcats were forced to be more aggressive, but they just didn't change their game plan. The Cats kept dumping the puck in every time they crossed center ice, hoping the Volunteers would make a mistake that never came. It was only a matter of time that the Vols would get another with almost all of the play taking place in the Bearcat zone. A shot was denied by the St. Cloud goalie along with a few rebound chances as well, but a Vol picked it up and pulled it back a bit before shooting it, hitting the twine to make it 2-0 Stillwater. The score remained until the final horn sounded, keeping Stillwater's dream season alive with a 2-0 shut out over St. Cloud.

Fort Frances Trappers vs Inver Grove Heights Lions
The final game of the night was also the longest as the Trappers and Lions battled in what turned out to be a much closer game that most had anticipated with the heavily favored Trappers having a little bit of trouble with the newcomers from IGH. The first was a bit of a feeling out process with shots rare and no goals scored in the first 20. Inver Grove broke first blood in the opening minute of the second off of a turnover in center ice leading to a 3 on 1 chance to put the Lions in front 1-0. The Pride pushed their lead to two with 8:48 left in the second after the Trapper goalie denied the 3 prior shots, getting hung out to dry by his defense. We went to the third and it seemed like Fort Frances finally woke up and started playing like the 6th ranked team in the MAHL, out skating the Lions and holding sustained pressure for long periods of time. The Trappers began the climb back with a shot off a defenseman's skate that took a lucky bounce to get Fort Frances on the board. This seemed to give the Trappers the extra jump they needed as the next couple minutes were complete domination by Fort Frances, tying the game 2-2. Fort Frances kept it going and took their first lead of the game on a breakaway with just over 5 minutes left to play. It was looking like the Trappers had completed the comeback, but just then the Lions entered the offensive zone and got a shot on goal that the Trapper goalie seemed to have trouble seeing, completely missing the puck with his glove to tie the game at 3 and force overtime. Despite the late game tying goal being a punch in the gut, the Trappers started overtime as they had played the third, controlling play and out skating Inver Grove. A handful of minutes passed and Fort Frances carried the puck into the Lion zone. The forwards went towards the front of the net as the puck was passed back to the point for a one timer into the mob in front of goal. A Trapper player in front was able to get a stick on the shot, deflecting it into the bottom corner of the net, sending Fort Frances to the Great Eight with a thrilling 4-3 overtime win.

Moose are unstoppable. Cut the head off and another will grow back... but then it will insist it’s from Mankato instead of the Rapids.

Yet another round of predictions

Virginia over Mankato
The defending champs thoroughly dominate the Moose.

Stillwater over Edina
The Vols continue their historic run and say "Let them eat cake" as the Cake Eaters choke, once again.

Highland Park over Fort Frances
The new kids on the block win a close one over the Trappers.

Sioux Falls over West St Paul
The Packers upset the Waves to keep the Cinderella run alive.