We're halfway through the season, and for the first time the leagues top players will all take the ice at the same time.

The first Minnesota Amateur Hockey League All Star Game is about to take place. The league decided to grant the city of St. Paul the honor of being the first home of the event, and it will travel around from city to city in the years to come. The St. Paul Victorias will be the host team, and because of this the uniforms will be in team colors and follow the general style of the Victorias more or less. Below are the uniforms for the first ever All Star Game. Since St. Paul is hosting, team South will be home and wear the darker uniforms, all players will have matching jerseys and socks, but the breezers will just be whatever they use for their team (so someone from Albert Lea would wear orange pants, and so on). 

  

The first ever MAHL All Star Game is complete, the North All Stars have claimed the victory at the St. Paul Auditorium in front of a packed house of over 5,000 fans from all across the state. 

First Period: Cody Klaus of the hosting St. Paul Victorias netted the first goal of the game just over a minute in, assisted by Ramsey and Trail giving team South an early lead. North was able to respond a few minutes later when Roseau's Boomer Baumgartner broke through the defense and buried a break away goal unassisted. Team North was able to get their first lead of the game thanks to a point shot from Josh Staal of the Thunder Bay Giants, the assist was granted to International Fall's Willy Mason. With 2:34 left in the opening period team south was able to tie things up thanks to the Bear Cat, Kurt Schmidt, assisted by Ramsey and Henderson. After a period with a lot of action, the game remained tied after 1. 

Second Period: Sage Andrusko of the Black Bears had a nice one time finish on a 2 on 1 with Eveleths Mariucci to put team North back in the lead. Halfway through the period both teams switched goaltenders, Niskanen and Olafsson left the ice to an ovation from the crowd on hand as they welcomed Nodl from Little Falls and last years MVP Baker from Grand Rapids to the ice. 

Third Period: International Falls' Willy Mason capitalized on a power play for the North, assisted by Staal and Zach Smith, giving them a 2 goal lead. Team North built on their lead when Hibbing's Polich sniped his first point of the game, assisted by Staal. Team South finally got back on the board when Charlie Finnigan from West St. Paul buried a rebound, the assists went to Pohl and Sauer. The final horn went and the North All Stars were victorious in the first ever All Star Game by a score of 5-3. 

 

Thunder Bay's Joshua Staal was named MVP of the game thanks to his 1 goal and 2 assists on the night for the North All Stars. 

Last edited by Section30 (7/23/2019 11:48 pm)

Ok, so with the increase in playoff teams and therefore series, I am slightly changing the way I post the playoffs. Rather than post all of it at once, I will go round by round, filling in the bracket as we go along. I'm hoping that this way I can be more detailed in my descriptions of series, rather than just trying to get it all done at once. Without further adieu, here is the knockout round of the 1954 Kellogg Cup Playoffs! 
 Thunder Bay Giants v. Bemidji Blue Ox: Thunder Bay and Bemidji played close with each other all game, neither team giving the other anything. These two evenly matched teams forced overtime with still no goals scored. The Blue Ox finally got the break they needed when Thunder Bay was called for too many men on the ice. Bemidji was able to capitalize on the chance when winger Riley Read put the rebound in the back of the net to advance his team. 

Little Falls Pilots v. Cloquet Broncos: The Little Falls Pilots surprised the league this year, doing much better than anyone expected, finishing in second place in their league in their inaugural season. Going up against the Broncos who were in their first playoff game since 1932, the Pilots just managed to get the better of them and will move on the play the Waves. 

Roseau Stars v. St. Paul Saints: The Roseau Stars dropped a bit after winning the Northland League last year, meanwhile the Saints improved, getting back into the playoffs. The Stars were victorious in the end, winning in convincing fashion, 5-1 over the Saints, Baumgartner with a hat trick on the night. 

International Falls Ice v. Alexandria Norsemen: The dark horse favorites from International Falls were set to play the lowest ranked team in the playoffs, the 4 win Alexandria Norsemen. Confident they had no worries in this game, the Ice decided to rest their top players, including their starting goaltender, and star winger Willy Mason. Luckily, their confidence was just, International Falls went on to shut out the Norsemen 4-0. 

Minneapolis Millers v. Fergus Falls Cyclones: Minneapolis and Fergus Falls both play a very physical brand of hockey, and it was on full display in this game. The Millers racked up and impressive 56 combined penalty minutes, and the Cyclones set a new MAHL record with 75 penalty minutes in one game! There were 3 fights and a line brawl in the game, and 7 players were ejected, 3 from Minneapolis and 4 from Fergus Falls. The Millers came out on top in the end, capitalizing on their powerplay opportunities. 

Virginia Royals v. Rochester Robins: The Virginia Royals are another underrated team that could possibly make a run for the cup. They showed this when they upset the 11th seeded Rochester Robins on the road 3-2. 

Eveleth Reds v. Red Wing Chiefs: Although the glory days of the Reds appear to have passed, Eveleth is still a dangerous team. As shown in this game against the Red Wing Chiefs. The Reds came out quick and didn't let up, winning the game 6-2 and advancing to face a familiar rival from Duluth. 

Duluth Voyageurs v. Albert Lea Dragoons: Everyone already knew what was going to happen when the match ups were announced and the Voyageurs were matched up with the Dragoons, so it was no surprise when Le Bleus completely slaughtered Albert Lea. Duluth won the game 9-1 and looked like a serious cup threat, Heaslip finished the game with 6 points (2 goals, 4 assists). 

Last edited by Section30 (7/24/2019 12:04 am)

1954 Kellogg Cup Playoffs, Quarter Finals 


 Hibbing Greyhounds v. West St. Paul Waves: The Waves knew they were in for a tough series, facing off against the top seeded Greyhounds, they adjusted their normally offensive heavy game style for a more defensive approach. West St. Paul was able to take game one, holding Hibbing to only one goal. The Hounds bounced back in game two, tying the series at one apiece. The series then went down to the twin cities and the Waves took full advantage of the home ice advantage. The Waves defensive style frustrated Polich and the Greyhounds, not allowing any chances on goal. West St. Paul capitalized on a couple lucky bounces and odd man rushes to take game three 3-0 and game four 2-0 to take the series, upsetting the top ranked Hibbing Greyhounds. 

Fort Frances Trappers v. International Falls Ice: All eyes were on this series, two bitter rivals who finished neck and neck in the top of the Northland League, fighting it out to keep their Cup hopes alive. Game one was held in Fort Frances, but there wasn't much of a home ice advantage, as the crowd was packed with fans from both cities. Fort Frances scored first, and added 2 more before the Ice could answer back, the game ended 3-1. Game two was when things got ugly, both on and off the ice. It all started when Fort Frances's Ian Lindberg lit up an International Falls player. It was a clean hit, and no penalty was called, but the Ice took exception to the hit. Before you knew it, both benches were cleared and fists were flying. Meanwhile a couple of fans in the crowd got in an argument and began fighting as well. The melee went on for almost 15 minutes before the referees finally were able to get things under control on the ice and the police got those fighting in the crowd escorted from the area. International falls went on the win the game 2-1, but newspapers all over the state wrote about the "Rainy River Rumble", almost forgetting the rest of the game even occurred. Game three was down in International Falls and new security measures were brought, the crowd was split into fans of either team, and there were more police in attendance. Fort Frances took the lead midway through the first, but the Ice answered with two of their own in the second period. The Trappers pulled the goalie with just over a minute left, trailing by one, and it worked. The game was forced into overtime and the tension was thick. Fort Frances took a shot from the point that was blocked, sending the Ice on a 2 on 1 the other way. Willy Mason and John Backus passed back and forth, tick tack toe, until the Trappers goalie commit to Backus, who slid it over to Mason who slipped in in past the downed goalie, into the net, winning the game for the Ice. Game 4 was a close affair, neither team could seem to get anything going on offense, finally the Trappers snuck one past the goalie, this turned out to be the only goal of the game, tying the series and forcing a deciding game 5. The crowd was insane for game 5, it seemed like everyone from both cities was there, with an estimated attendance of 8,100, it crushed the record for highest attendance in MAHL history. International Falls quickly quieted the home crowd, scoring 3 minutes into the game. Willy Mason added on with one for himself to give the Ice a 2-0 lead after one. The second period was scoreless, neither team had any good chances. The third period was much like the second period until about halfway through when International Falls' Backus was sent on a breakaway, he was able to capitalize, going five-hole. The Trappers finally got one of their own with 2 minutes left in the game, but it was too little too late as the International Falls Ice will advance after one of the most memorable series in Kellogg Cup Playoff history. 

Minneapolis Millers v. Grand Rapids Moose: The defending champions faced off with the Millers who are looking for their first cup in 31 years. The series was very tight as both teams had a similar, physical, style of play. Game one went to the Moose on home ice, as did game two. Down 2-0 in the series, the Millers had to give it their all to stay alive. Luckily for them, Grand Rapids' star goaltender Sam Baker got the flu and didn't travel with the team to Minneapolis. Without their star player, the Moose lost consecutive games, forcing a deciding game 5 back in Grand Rapids. Baker was still sick and unavailable to play in the game, so the Moose were concerned about blowing the series. The game began and things weren't looking good for Grand Rapids, Minneapolis's Ramsey got the Millers on the board early in the first, the period would end 1-0. The second period was scoreless. The third began, both teams exchanging chances, but neither capitalizing. The Moose finally caught a break when a seemingly harmless shot on goal was misplayed by the Millers goalie and found its way to the back of the net. Once they finally netted one, the floodgates opened, the Moose were able to score two more within 5 minutes to go up 3-1. The game would end with that score, meaning the Grand Rapids Moose will advance and keep their hopes of defending their championship alive. 

Eveleth Reds v. St. Cloud Bear Cats: The Eveleth Reds have shown in these playoffs that they aren't ready to go away quite yet, but the St. Cloud Bear Cats aren't a team to be messed with either. The Cats showed why they were ranked fifth in the league in game one, beating the Reds 4-0, and dominating the entire time. Game two was more of the same, with St. Cloud putting 38 shots on net, scoring 5 of them, while only allowing one goal against. Up 2-0 in the series, the Bear Cats were feeling very good about their chances of winning the series. Eveleth was trying their hardest to get anything going on offense, but nothing was working. The Bear Cats took game three 3-0, avenging their Cup Finals loss from 3 years ago in decisive fashion. 

Last edited by Section30 (7/24/2019 12:08 am)

1954 Kellogg Cup Final 

Game 1: Game one started out with both teams playing a fairly conservative game, neither team was taking any risks and the first period ended scoreless. The second period picked up the pace, the Ice struck first, Mason sniped one under the goalies glove to give International Falls the lead. They then added to their lead just 3 minutes later, ending the second period up 2-0. The third period was the complete opposite of the first, both teams were taking bold chances to get scoring attempts. St. Cloud was finally able to get on the board with 7 minutes left to bring the score to within one. International Falls answered shortly after though, giving themselves a 2 goal cushion. St. Cloud managed to get one more with under a minute left, but it wasn't enough as they lost game one at home. 

Game 2: The Bear Cats bounced back in game two, flipping the score, winning the game 3-2 after going down 1 goal early in the first. 

Game 3: The series moved to International Falls, but the momentum stayed with St. Cloud. The Bear Cats hushed the intimidating crowd, scoring 3 in the first period and winning the game 4-1. 

Game 4: International Falls was pissed off after being embarrassed on home ice, they came out guns blazing in game four. They scored twice in the first period and once more in the second, whilst shutting out the Bear Cats. The third period was scoreless, giving the Ice the 3-0 win, tying the series at 2 apiece. 

Game 5: Back on Lake George in St. Cloud, the Bear Cats fell behind midway through the first period and didn't look very good. Their passing was sloppy and they couldn't get anything cooking on offense. The second period was more of the same, the Ice capitalized twice more while the Cats were still held off the scoreboard. Down 3-0 halfway through the third, the Bear Cats finally caught a break when International Falls had a major penalty called against them for checking from behind. The Bear Cats took advantage of the 5 minute man advantage, scoring twice. This still wasn't enough however to come back as the Ice took the game 3-2 and lead the series by the same number. 

Game 6: Much like the very first period of the series, game 6 was a very slow paced, defensive battle. Neither team giving the other anything. St. Cloud finally ended the deadlock in the second period. The third period began with the Bear Cats up 1-0, the Ice managed to tie things up less than a minute into the period. Tied at one apiece, with the series on the line, the Bear Cats made a costly error when a defenceman passed the puck through the slot in his own zone, the pass was picked off by Backus who quickly went five hole to give his Ice the lead with only a couple minutes left on the clock. International Falls just killed the clock for the last few minutes, getting the puck to the red line and dumping it in, the final horn rang and the cheers from the locals could be felt it was so loud. The International Falls Ice are your 1954 Kellogg Cup Champions, this is their first cup win in their second finals appearance!

  

Last edited by Section30 (7/24/2019 12:11 am)

JG36 wrote:

You timed your finish of the Minnesota HS Hockey series to return to this pretty well, you seemed to stop in the middle of a large expansion so I’m ready to see some new teams! I think the answer is yes, but does the NHL exist in this timeline? Also, I remember seeing a league map at some point, do you still have that?

Yeah things seem to be timing out a lot better than I expected lol.

Yeah I plan to make a big splash when I return to this, I mean like a complete redo that I think will be really cool. There's also gonna be some big news announced soon about a potential mass expansion in the near future.

Yes I do have the maps with locations on it, I can post that in the OP.