1966/67 MAHL Off-Season

The Winnipeg Monarchs and Steinbach Barbarians announced a rivalry trophy.

MAHL 50th Anniversary patches were removed from the remaining Original 10's uniforms.

One team made adjustments to their identity.

2 Expansion teams are set to join the Lake Superior Hockey League.

.6.5.0

Last edited by Section30 (1/18/2020 1:31 am)

The Sauk Rapids Bulldogs decided to finally ditch the "sloppy dog" logo in favor of something much cleaner and simpler, after 4 years using the logo. The Bulldogs also promoted a second shade of purple to be used on the uniforms, as well as a third, lighter purple only used on the logo.


The Bulldogs decided to add a little bit more to their uniforms, adding a lighter purple in the striping and changing the simple block striping they used previously.

New

Old

Silver Bay is a town a little smaller than Two Harbors with over 3,500 people. The town was built to transport Taconite from Babbitt and was originally called Beaver Bay. The city is barely over ten years old at the moment, but locals have come from places such as the Iron Range who have grown up with hockey being a big part of life in the winter, so it was only a matter of time before Silver Bay got a team.

The team will be called the "Beavers" referring to the original name of the town. Their colors are Taconite and orange. The dark grey, is named taconite and is the color of the ore of the same name which essentially created the city. The orange is taken from the orange moss that clings to the dark grey rocks on the shores of Lake Superior in Silver Bay. Their logo is a script Beavers (I will admit that this is the same script that my current college used on their football helmets years ago) and it is used on the home jersey. They also have a wordmark which is used on their away jersey, it is "Silver Bay" stacked diagonally across the front.

Finally! Grand Marais gets a team! They're going to be my new auto-favorite team every season. 

Now... next stop... Lutsen! 

1966/67 Regular Season


Blue Earth Hockey League
In the BEHL's third season they had their third champion. This year it was the Bavarians who finally got over the hump and claimed their first league title, battling with Sioux Falls for the top spot for most season long, but besting the Packers 4-1-1 in their regular season meetings. Mankato dropped a bit after last years surprising run, finishing in third and beginning to pick up play near the end of the season. St. Peter improved from years past, but still finishing below 500. The Dragoons finished in the basement for the third year in a row.

Granite Hockey League
Surprise, the Lumberjacks won the Granite again! Shocked? Me neither. Fergus Falls improved to second with another impressive campaign. The Cloudies finished in third and fourth with big brother in the higher seed. Little Falls played well like last year, but they still dropped out of the playoffs. Alexandria and Sauk Rapids finished at the bottom of the table.

Twin Cities Hockey League (West)
The Mighty Millers took their Kellogg Cup finals run and built on it, dominating the regular season and claiming their second TCHL title in a row, tying the Saints (8) for the second most league titles in franchise history (Victorias are first with 17) as well as winning the Veterans Cup. Bloomington seems to have found a game plan that works, moving all the way up to second in the west, passing the Vulcans and Cake Eaters. Speaking of Edina, they stayed in third, and Osseo snuck into the final playoff spot, ending the Vulcans 7 year playoff streak. The Vulcans dropped below Burnsville, all the way to 6th. Anoka is continuing to make people question if their great inaugural season was just rookies luck as the Warriors fell to seventh, just ahead of the Bakers. The Muskies struggled this season, winning only 3 games and tying 4.

Twin Cities Hockey League (East)
The V's are back on top, winning the East Division and the Milk Jug, but losing in the TCHL Championship to their rivals from Minneapolis. South St. Paul flew under the radar for most of the season, with most expecting them to just be on a hot streak saying "They'll cool off sooner or later" but they never did, finishing in second and reclaiming the Wood Slab from West St. Paul. The Saints dropped to third, a major disappointment for a team that was favored to win the league at the beginning of the season, but they did manage to win the Holy War Trophy against the Vulcans. Expect an angry Saints team ready to make some noise in the playoffs. WSP claims the last playoff spot, beating out the Vols coming down to the second to last game of the season where the Waves had to cheer for their arch rivals, the Mavericks, to beat the Vols so they could make the playoffs. Roseville moved up to 6th with an under performing White Bear Lake team in 7th and Falcon Heights in a distant last.

Valley Hockey League
The Robins continue to make the 60s their decade, winning their fourth league title since 63. La Crosse continues to improve, but just wasn't quite there this year, having to settle for second. Red Wing was determined to get back into the playoffs after finishing in 5th last year. The Chiefs were bound and determined, outworking their competition and clawing their way to a third place finish. The Mustangs struggled midway through, going through a bit of a lull that hurt their place in the standings, but they managed to get back into fourth and stay there. Northfield was the benefactor of an injured Austin team, and the Wildcats remain everyone's favorite losers.


Iron Range Hockey League
The Moose are Loose! Grand Rapids gets back on top of the Iron Range for the third time in franchise history. Hibbing also appears to be back, although not to the extent of the Polich era Hounds, moving up to second and reclaiming the Quad City Trophy. Virginia stayed in third, they aren't as quick as they once were, but they have a great core group of leaders who have been making excellent plays all season. Ely dropped down, but not out of the playoffs. The Black Bears suffered a considerable loss when 4 players left early on in the season. Pioneer Mine in Ely announced that they would be making cut backs and were closing operations after the 1967 summer, so a lot of people fled to get jobs elsewhere. The Bears were able to get replacements and remain ahead of Eveleth and Chisholm.

Lake Superior Hockey League
Scouts from the NHL's "New 6" were sent across North America to find talent, and a number of MAHL players were looked at, one of these was Brad Millen of the Cloquet Broncos who helped lead his team to their 8th league title. It was all Duluth in the two and three spots, with the Hornets on the higher end of the standings for the first time in what seems like forever, reclaiming Benjamin Beaver for the first time since 1958. Thunder Bay remained in the playoff picture, their defense giving them enough ties to get in despite having less wins than Silver Bay. The Beavers had a surprisingly strong first season, nearly making the playoffs. Superior and Two Harbors both had frustrating seasons, losing lots of 1 or 2 goal games. Grand Marais struggled in their first year. It will take them a year or two to get used to the pace and skill of the bigger cities.

Northland Hockey League
OH-FI-SHE! The Baudette Walleye came out of nowhere to stun the MAHL, finishing off an incredible season by winning what is arguably the most difficult league in the MAHL. Baudette is a small town of just over 1,500, but they are a tight knit community and the Walleye were able to play with, and beat, much bigger and more skilled teams by simply playing a clean team game. The Walleye hired a new head coach for this season, former minor league player Monty Ballard. He instilled a new mantra for his team "OH-FI-SHE" which he claims is Ojibwa for "We Are One", but Ballard was of English descent and didn't speak Ojibwa, so do with that what you will. Well the mantra worked, the Walleye became a well oiled machine, shutting down opponents and opening passing lanes for easy goals. The Monarchs finished in second, 2 games behind the Walleye, and claiming the first ever Maple Leaf Trophy. Warroad had another impressive season, sticking firmly in third and looking lake a dark horse favorite. It was a three team race for the four spot between International Falls, Roseau and Steinbach with the Ice ultimately getting the honor. Fort Frances and Bemidji bother had underwhelming seasons, and the Mallards had another stinker of a year.

Red River Hockey League
For the first time, a team not named the Railers won the Red River Hockey League. The EGF Pointers worked their way into that top spot, dethroning Thief River who has to settle for second. The Jets remained in the top three, well ahead of Crookston who finished 1 above 500. Moorhead and Fargo might not be that great, but the hate is real between those two. So the Huskies finishing in fifth really doesn't mean much, but it means a lot to them to finish higher than the Titans.

Let me know what you think, comments are appreciated!