Haha Edina

love to see it

I'm on team Muskies in this one

What an overtime finish. Can hear the building exploding as the puck hits the mesh. Great write up!

1978 Kellogg Cup Final


1st Period
VIR - 3
MIN - 2

Met Center was filled to capacity as the teams took the ice to decide who will be crowned 1978 Kellogg Cup champions. The puck was dropped and we were underway. Fans of both teams didn't take long to try and one up the other with "Lets Go Royals" and "Tonka Tonka". It became clear early on that this one was going to be an offensive duel as both teams got decent opportunities in the opening minutes of the game. Minnetonka got on the board first, hitting a man up ice who turned on the burners to blow past a Virginia defenseman, tucking it five hole. Virginia came into their own near the middle of the period as they unloaded on offense, getting shot after shot on net until finally the dam broke, flooding the back of the Minnetonka net with 3 straight goals to turn the game on its head. The Muskies did some damage control by making it a one goal game near the end of the period, sending us to the second with Virginia up 3-2 after an action packed first period of play.

2nd Period
VIR - 3
MIN - 3

The second was a much different game than the first. Virginia was playing a bit sloppier than they had in the first, but Minnetonka wasn't able to make them really pay for it. The high flying Muskies picked off a breakout pass in the offensive zone, turning and firing it on net and past the Royals goalie to tie things at 3. That would be the only real action of note in the period, making it a one period game as we go to the third all tied up at 3.

3rd Period
VIR - 5
MIN - 4

The Royals came out for the third looking refocused and ready to go, working very well together early on to swing momentum in their favor early. They worked the puck around the Tonka zone looking for an opening, finally opting to take a shot into a mass of bodies out in front. The puck took a couple deflections but made it through, beating the goalie and putting Virginia back in front. Getting a taste of blood, the Royals only made it harder on the Muskies, continuing to pelt the Tonka net with shots. A shot from the dot was pushed away with the blocker, but the rebound went to a Royal winger who wasted no time slapping it home. Half of the arena was a party while the other was in a stunned silence. Minnetonka called their timeout to try and settle things down and make a game plan. Virginia seemed to have also switched things up as they let up a bit on offense, focusing more on protecting their own net. The plan seemed to work, at least at first, but as the clock began to tick against Minnetonka, the Muskies became more aggressive. A shot was stopped by the Virginia goalie and the rebound was scooped up by a Musky who took it behind the net with speed, beating the goalie to the post with the wrap around to make it a one goal game with just over 6 minutes left in the game. "Lets Go Muskies" chants rang out in support of Tonka, but it was all for not as the Royals played very strong in their own zone, using their bodies to keep everything to the outside. The final horn sounded and Virginia launched their gear in the air as they swarmed their goaltender in celebration.

For the first time in 40 years, the Virginia Royals are Kellogg Cup Champions! This is the Royals fourth Kellogg Cup, it also marks the fourth straight year that a team from the Iron Range Hockey League has taken home the Cup (It's also been 6 years since a team from the Twin Cities has won). This is the first time in MAHL history that a league has kept the Cup for more than 3 years (Grand Rapids, Eveleth, Eveleth, Virginia).

The Tschida Trophy was awarded to Grand Forks Jets right winger Jimmy Potulny. Jim helped the Jets claim a RRHL title, the Giant Fork, the Nodak Cup, and Grand Forks first Super Series birth in 9 years.

Let me know what you think, comments are appreciated!

Last edited by Section30 (7/11/2020 4:48 pm)

1978 Offseason Highlights

- 4 Expansion Teams

- 1 New League

- 6 Identity Changes

- 2 New Arenas
         - Luverne: The Flying Dutchmen will move across the street to newly built Veterans Arena, replacing their longtime home of Veterans Park. Vets Arena holds a seating capacity of 750 people
         - New Brighton: The Polka are coming indoors to 750 seat New Brighton Civic Center

- 4 New Mascots

- 1 New Rivalry Trophy

- 2 Numbers Retired

- The Granite Hockey League makes helmets mandatory for all players
         - Following suit a few days later was the Red River Hockey League who also made helmets mandatory


Other News:

I am happy to announce that the MAHL will now be accepting applications for MAHL Analysts who will be responsible for the final end of season rankings. I will post my write ups for every league as I always do, but there will not be rankings underneath. I will also be posting a new graphic that ranks leagues by power, I will also do a bit more of a write up so you get a better idea of who is really legit. After that it is up to the Analysts to vote for their top 25 and bottom 10 teams of the season.

I'm not really sure what the best way for submissions to be, I'm open to any ideas you all have, but I think that a point system for the rankings would be best where say your number 1 gets 25 points, number 2 gets 24 and so on. If anyone would be willing to help me with this it would be greatly appreciated!

A MAHL Analyst is a newspaper writer from somewhere within the reach of the MAHL, where you choose to be from is up to you. If you are interested in becoming a MAHL Analyst fill out the submission form below

Name:
Age:
Background:
Newspaper/City: