Thehealthiestscratch wrote:

sportsfan7 wrote:

Thehealthiestscratch wrote:

 
Ah yes, how do I forget about the NAHL. To be fair they came about after I had passed through juniors. “Junior hockey, giving small towns with no business having large hockey teams a reason to go out.” Seems like an appropriate tag line when it comes to anything between NA3 and USHL in most cases.

My hometown used to have a team in the USPHL, which is basically the unsanctioned version of the NA3. Since it was in MN, no one gave a *censored* (High School Hockey FTW).

https://boards.sportslogos.net/topic/122031-usphl-overhaul-ogden-added/

Oh I know plenty about the USPHL haha! And hey, that's not true. The spam capital of the world is pretty fond of their NAHL team from what I saw.

 
There isn’t a lot of people that give a rip about the WSHL team here in Wichita.

MAHL Analyst applications must be submitted by midnight tomorrow, after every team has been posted I will make a new graphic for league rankings along with maybe some extra notes. I'll explain it in more detail when the time comes.

1978/79 Regular Season - North


For the first time in their 20+ years as a franchise, the Sauk Rapids Bulldogs will be playing playoff hockey. Not only that, the Bulldogs came out of nowhere this season, taking the top spot in the league over a very good St. Cloud Bearcats team in second. Brainerd was a very streaky team this year, going on crazy winning streaks of 5+ games, then immediately going on a losing streak. They did end the season on a high note though, passing Alec to finish in third. The Norsemen dropped to fourth but came 2 games ahead of last years champions from Little Falls who struggled early on in the season and dropped down to fifth. The Storm were about a .500 team this year, nothing too special. Mora and Fergus Falls were next, the Dalas look to be on the rise, having their best season to date, while the Clones appear to have slowed down considerably having lost a couple key players who moved out of town. Princeton came in last, only winning a handful of games in a season they'd like to soon forget.


The defending champs look as good as ever as they cruise to their second straight Iron Range title, losing only 6 games on the season as they claim the Quad City Trophy for the 9th time. Eveleth had a bounce back year after a disastrous season a year ago. The Redbirds look just as good as the teams that went back to back only a couple years ago, giving Virginia a run for the title. Chisholm continues to improve and slowly work their way up the ladder, having their first sub 10 loss year ever. The Trout remain in the playoff picture sitting pretty in the four spot, holding onto the Axe and beating out Mountain Iron to end the Cougars 3 year playoff streak. The Miners were on fire for a good month and a half during the middle of the season, coming out of nowhere to climb as high as 2nd in the league at one point. Eventually things came back to earth and the Miners began to drop, finishing in 6th place. Grand Rapids and Hibbing are both good hockey teams who just weren't wuite good enough. The talent in the Iron Range is insane, so it only makes sense that playoff caliber teams would wind up in the bottom half of the standings with losing records. The bottom three were quite removed from the rest of the pack, with Keewatin in 9th with Ely and Hoyt Lakes in 10th and 11th.


The big bad Giants from Thunder Bay continue their reign over the Lake Superior Hockey League, winning their 15th LSHL title. Grand Marais came flying back into the playoff picture with their highest finish in team history coming in second and taking back the Agate. Le Bleus kept it going after their deep run in last years playoffs, coming in third and sweeping their rivalry trophies. Cloquet may have dropped to fourth, but it is almost the exact same team as last years who came in second, don't sleep on the Broncos come playoff time. The Beavers and Hornets both had winning seasons despite missing the playoffs. There was a bit of a drop for the final four with Hermantown and Superior followed by Proctor and Two Harbors.


25 years after Fort Frances first won the NLHL, the Trappers are kings of the North once more, coming out and making noise right out of the gate and continuing that fire all season long. Warroad and Winnipeg were also right up among the MAHL's elite, both coming within 4 games of the title. After the longest 3 years in the history of the city of Roseau, the Stars are back in the playoffs. The Green Army made games at Roseau Memorial Arena hell on opponents, giving the Stars the best home record of any team in the MAHL as they finish in 4th. Another unfortunate case of a very good team just missing the cut are the Steinbach Barbarians who drop to fifth after 5 straight playoff births including 2 league titles. The Northland is so stacked with talent that the standings are all relatively close in the bottom half of the league without much separating any given team from the other.


The Fargo Titans are your 1979 Red River Champions, claiming their second league crown in team history as they just barely edge out their rivals from Grand Forks who came one game behind in second. The new look Pointers had a bounce back season as they come in third, making it back into the playoffs. Crookston was the winner of a 3 team battle for the final playoff spot with Detroit Lakes missing the playoffs for the first time as they finish behind both the Kings and Railers. Many in Crookston have taken to their new red helmets calling them their "Lucky Red Crowns". Moorhead wasn't horrible, pulling off a couple big upsets on the year, but they just cant seem to get over that hump as they remain in the bottom three. The Wasps did about as well as was expected of them in their first season as they learn the ropes. Coming in last once again are the Petes who just aren't at the same level as most of the other teams in the league.

Let me know what you think, comments are appreciated!

There must've been some magic in these helmets Sauk Rapids bought.
For when they placed 'em on their heads, they went from nothing to juggernauts!

The Sauk Rapids Bulldogs finished 1st place. I'm letting this one sink in, like totally let this one sink in.

1978/79 Regular Season - Twin Cities


For the first time in a combined 45 MAHL seasons, Stillwater is a champion. The Volunteers built on their impressive season a year ago to complete quite an impressive turnaround after finishing in tenth in the league only three years ago to now winning the EMHL. New Brighton continues to move in the right direction as their core approaches their prime, the Polka just barely edge out perennial powerhouse White Bear Lake who was in the discussion for the top spot all year long, but finished in third. Rounding out the top 4 is Roseville who managed to sneak past Maplewood at the end of the season thanks to a 6 game winning streak. The Rockets will be making their second playoff appearance as a franchise while the Retrievers are left out of the post season for the first time in team history. Both the Hussars and Ramparts improved in their sophomore seasons, finishing in the middle of the pack along with the Gunners and Canucks. My how things can change fast in the MAHL, only 3 years after the Foxes incredible run to the Kellogg Cup Final, Fridley finds themselves in the basement of the league, joined by a lowly Shoreview team who won only 5 games all year.


Anoka makes it two in a row as they remain atop the North Metro, never really in danger of losing that spot. That's not to say that there wasn't talent in the NMHL, with Brooklyn Park, Plymouth, and Coon Rapids all having good seasons as well, just finishing with a bit of a gap between them and the Warriors in first. The North Metro may be one of the most equal leagues in the MAHL in terms of skill, with no teams really standing out as being way better or worse than the others, this led to everyone finishing with pretty average records. Elk River and Golden Valley were the first two to miss the playoffs, followed by an improving Blaine team. Osseo had a year to forget with their 12 year playoff streak coming to a crashing end as the Screaming Eagles fall to 8th. Wayzata got bit by the flu bug in January, winning only 1 game in the month. This caused the Wolverines to take a steep drop in the standings that they were unable to come back from, finishing only ahead of Crystal and New Hope.


The first season in the St. Croix went about as expected with the top four teams all making the playoffs. Hastings championship season was a bit of a surprise though as the Rivermen were coming off a rough 8th place finish in the South Metro a year ago. The Rivermen came out this year and showed why they have only missed the playoffs twice, really emerging as a team to be reckoned with in the St. Croix. Eau Claire and Cottage Grove finished neck and neck in second and third. Lake Elmo rounds out the top four, making their return to the playoffs after missing the previous 2 years. River Falls leaned on their slight experience edge over Menomonie and Chippewa Falls to come in fifth, with the Sawyers and Chippewas still having to adjust to MAHL hockey.


The Aces are flying high atop the Twin Cities Hockey League, bringing the TCHL title to Highland Park. It was a two team race for most of the season with Highland winning out in the end to dethrone their bitter rivals from West St. Paul. The Millers are back as though they never left, picking up the pieces after a disastrous season a year ago to rebound back into second, securing the Veterans Cup from St. Paul in the process. Como gets their revenge at last, stealing the four seed from the Victorias to make the playoffs and redeem their first round loss a year ago. St. Paul did get the consolation prize of keeping the Milk Jug though. Falcon Heights had their best season to date finishing 2 games behind .500 in 6th. Next up were the Mavericks and Saints who both were just about average, St. Paul did manage to win back the Holy War Trophy after 4 straight years of Vulcans control. Speaking of the Vulcans, it was not a good season. Many fans are convinced that the name change from Twin Cities to St. Anthony has cursed the team, going from the top ranked team in all of the MAHL to a second to last place finished in the Twin Cities within a 3 year span. Many locals are demanding that the team change their name back and fire the current coach in favor of team legend Lou Tschida's son Mark Tschida. The only team below the Vulcans this year were the Bakers who seem to always take 2 steps back after a good season.


Despite the Two Headed Dragon being on its last legs with both Hankinson and Nanne getting into their 30's, Edina still found themselves in the all too familiar position of first in a stacked West Metro. The Eaters maintain the Megaphone despite Richfield improving to second place this season. Minnetonka dropped to third, but the Muskies look just as dangerous as the team that reached the Kellogg Cup Final last year. Really any of the top 3 from the WMHL could have the potential to go all the way come playoffs, but it will be interesting to see if they are finally able to overcome their past playoff woes. The rest of the league stayed almost unchanged with Mound remaining in fourth with St. Louis Park and Bloomington West on the outside looking in for what seems like the hundredth time. Bloomington was also in the hunt for part of the season, dropping out later on, but finishing ahead of Hopkins and Eden Prairie.

Let me know what you think, comments are appreciated!