The 1955/56 Off season was a busy one, here are some of the highlights.

• The Granite Hockey League frantically looked around for at least two more teams to join so they would remain eligible for the playoffs, they managed to convince two new cities to join. One other team will also be joining the Twin Cities Hockey League
• Marco Palazzari, the former Eveleth Red won the Stanley Cup with the Detroit Red Wings just after the MAHL season concluded.
• Multiple teams made adjustments to their uniforms
• The Eveleth Reds officially changed their name to the Eveleth Redbirds amidst comparisons to communism.
• Perhaps the biggest news of the off season was when Grand Rapids Moose star Sam Baker signed a professional contract with the Cleveland Barons of the American Hockey League.

Last edited by Section30 (7/30/2019 12:03 pm)

Time for the expansion teams!

First up are the two clubs who will be joining the Granite Hockey League. Brainerd is one of the larger cities in the state, and is one of the hubs of the central region of the state. With a population of over 12,000, the Lumberjacks will come into the league as contenders in the Granite League. The nickname "Lumberjacks" was picked due to the city's lumbering history, as well as being one of the homes of Paul Bunyan, including an amusement park called "Paul Bunyan Land". Their logo is a vertical ax, while the jerseys feature a unique script Lumberjacks, the ax logo can be seen on the shoulders of the jerseys. The team colors are red, black, and white. 

 

Sauk Rapids is a relatively small city for the Granite League with a population under 4,000. A suburb of St. Cloud, residents of Sauk Rapids wanted to form a team so they could represent their city rather than St. Cloud. The nickname "Tornados" was chosen after the tornado of 1886 which destroyed the city. When the team announced their name, Fergus Falls appealed to the Granite League to force them to change their name as they felt it was too similar to their "Cyclones", the League voted in favor of Sauk Rapids, allowing them to keep the name. Their logo is a purple tornado and it can be found on the upper chest of their uniforms, the jerseys feature the city name arched with player numbers in between on the front of the jerseys. The team colors are purple and white.

 

 The final expansion team is from the Twin Cities Hockey League. Hockey is back in Stillwater! 19 years after the Athletics folded, the city of Stillwater has decided to give it another go. With a population close to 8,000 Stillwater should have enough talent within its borders to compete this time around. The nickname "Volunteers" was picked to honor the 1st Minnesota Volunteer Infantry which had many citizens of Stillwater sign up to fight in the Civil War. The Vols logo is a shamrock, based on the pins used by the soldiers. The shamrock is found on the chest of the jerseys, like where the real pin was on the soldiers uniforms. "Volunteers" is spelled out diagonally across the front of the jerseys. The striping and colors were picked as an ode to the old Athletics uniforms. The team colors are blue, gold, and white. 

 

Last edited by Section30 (7/30/2019 12:06 pm)

The 1955/56 Season has concluded, here are the stories. 



Granite: The Granite League expanded to 6 teams this year, but to most people's surprise, the top three spots went to the older teams. Nobody was surprised the Bear Cats finished in first place again, the Cats look very good this year, but many are saying this could be a make or break year as Schmidt and Sauer are nearly past their primes. Little Falls remained in second, the Pilots continue to fly under the radar of most of the league, but could pose a real threat in the playoffs. The biggest surprise of the season was Brainerd, nearly everyone expected them to contend with St. Cloud at the top of the league, and although they did make the playoffs as the 4 seed, they still finished below the Cyclones. Sauk Rapids did about as well as they were expected to do as a smaller town in their first year, missing the playoffs and finishing in fifth. And the Norsemen finished in last place, no longer will they be able to coast into the playoffs though.

Iron Range: Hibbing reclaimed the top spot in the Iron Range, their third league title in four years. An up and coming Virginia team took second, led by winger Elliot Herman. The Redbirds took third, proving the neigh sayers wrong by continuing to compete with the best in the league. Last years league champs from Grand Rapids took a big step back this year after losing Baker to the AHL, without their star goalie, the Moose's defense was exposed and abused. Chisholm stayed in fifth place, only missing the playoffs by 2 wins. Ely had another disappointing season, but managed to keep the Miners hard Hat trophy for the 7th straight year. Soudan again finished in last place.

Lake Superior: It appears that the Hornets death grip on the league may have finally worn off, the Hornets finished in third again this year, and are their age is starting to slow them down. Thunder Bay on the other hand is a team on the rise, the Giants are beginning to look like their team from the late 30s. The Voyageurs dropped one spot from last year, but are still definite threats to win it all. Two Harbors moved up one spot, returning to the playoffs for the first time since the debated Lake Superior League only playoffs of 1944. Cloquet dropped down one spot, and the Lakers stayed in last place.

Northland: International Falls stayed in first place in the league, Captain Willy Mason led the team in points with 41 in 24 games. The Blue Ox continue to rise, Riley Motzko leading one of the best defenses in all of the MAHL, and 20 year old breakout star Tom Eichstadt leading the offense. Fort Frances fell one place, the Trappers weren't quite as tough as they had been the last couple years, but I wouldn't be shocked if they made a nice run in the playoffs. Oshie and the Lakers made the bounce to fourth place, landing a playoff spot and most importantly keeping the Victory Bell over their bitter rivals from Roseau who finished one spot behind them. Thief River finished in last place, the Railers are just in a case of being a good team in a great league.

Twin Cities: After years of being good but not the best, the West St. Paul Waves finally appear to have broken through, winning the Twin Cities League and looking like possible favorites to win it all. Last years champions finished in second place, but the Victorias look like a team that is definitely capable of going back to back. The "Mighty Millers" remained in third place and look to finally put it together in the playoffs. South St. Paul made it back to the playoffs this year, finishing in fourth place and looking like a dark horse possibility for the cup. The Saints continue to look meh, they don't look good enough to contend for a cup in the next year or so, but they're not bad either. White Bear Lake took a step back after making the playoffs for the first time, finishing in sixth place. Are the Bruins finally gonna not be horrible? It's a definite possibility after what they showed us this season, the perennial punching bags actually played somewhat competitive in the first half of the season before the wheels fell off around the all star game. Stillwater finished in 8th in their first season, it definitely wasn't what they had hoped for, but it was their just their first year. The Vulcans really struggled this year, nothing went their way and they only managed to get 3 wins.

Valley: The Robins remained at the top of the league and appear to be the only real contender in the playoffs unless there are some upsets. Speaking of upsets, the Austin Mavericks seemed to have carried the momentum from their huge upset in last playoffs all through the season, the Mavs moved up to second and look like a real team on the rise. The Mustangs dropped to third place, star winger Ryan Pohl was hurt early in the season and isn't set to return until next season. Red Wing finished in fourth place, taking the final playoff spot which means that Albert Lea has finally missed the playoffs as they took fifth. La Crosse and Winona both finished in the bottom of the league again, rumors are that the two teams are going to be putting more effort into recruiting in the off season to try and end the trend of being in the bottom of the league. 

Last edited by Section30 (7/30/2019 12:10 pm)

1956 Kellogg Cup Playoffs; Second Round 
 
St. Cloud Bear Cats v. Rochester Mustangs
The top seeded Bear Cats showed the Mustangs why they earned that top spot. St. Cloud dominated the series, winning 5-1 and 7-2 to sweep Rochester and advance.

Bemidji Blue Ox v. Austin Mavericks
The Bemidji Blue Ox were stunned by the Mavericks from Austin when their seemingly unbeatable defense was picked apart by Bobby Frenz and the Mavs. Without their biggest strength, the Ox were unable to out score Austin. The Mavericks would win the series in three games, winning games one and three.

International Falls Ice v. Fort Frances Trappers
The Ice and Trappers faced off in the playoffs for the first time since the Rainy River Rumble series 2 years ago. Like last time, both games were packed with both home and visiting fans, and tensions were high. International Falls won game one 4-2, but the Trappers bounced back in game two, winning 3-0. Game three was do or die, both teams put it all out on the ice. Hits were a plenty, but the refs swallowed their whistles, letting them play it out. International Falls scored twice in the first to build a 2 goal lead, the Trappers tied things up with one in the second and one in the third, forcing overtime. In an attempt to cheer on their boys International Falls fans took off their scarves, despite the frigid temperatures, and began to wave them in the air. Then, with just under 5 minutes remaining in the overtime period, veteran captain Willy Mason caught a breakaway pass from Backes, Mason faked left then went backhand five-hole to give his Ice the win, sending them to the quarter finals. 

Thunder Bay Giants v. Duluth Voyageurs
A Lake Superior League rivalry series between the Giants and Voyageurs was expected to be one of the closest series in the second round. To most people's surprise however, Thunder Bay looked leagues above Duluth, easily sweeping them.

West St. Paul Waves v. Fergus Falls Cyclones
The Cyclones looked to build on their momentum from upsetting the Hornets, but were just outmatched against the second seeded Waves. West St. Paul won game one 6-1 and game two 4-2, sweeping Fergus Falls and advancing.

St. Paul Victorias v. Virginia Royals
Virginia was a team that many considered a sleeper threat to make a push for the cup, the Victorias didn't care. Virginia won game one on the road, giving them hope that they could pull off the upset, but St. Paul bounced back, winning games 2 and three to knock out the Royals and advance.

Hibbing Greyhounds v. Minneapolis Millers
In the biggest upset of the 1956 playoffs thus far, the 14th seeded Minneapolis Millers knocked out the third overall Hibbing Greyhounds. Many considered Hibbing a serious threat at the Cup this year after winning the Iron Range and only losing 4 games all year, so it was a huge shock to the rest of the league when the Millers knocked them out in the second round.

Rochester Robins v. Little Falls Pilots
Little Falls had a strong season, remaining in second in the granite league, but the Robins look like a real contender this year for the first time. The Robins won game one, then lost game two, but were able to pull it back for game three to keep their Cup hopes alive. 

Last edited by Section30 (7/30/2019 12:14 pm)

1946 Kellogg Cup Playoffs; Semi Finals 
 
Thunder Bay Giants v. Austin Mavericks
Let the upsets continue! The Austin Mavericks continue to shock the league as they knock off the Thunder Bay Giants in 7 games. Games 1-6 were simply won by the home team, forcing a deciding game 7 in Thunder Bay, Ontario. The game was scoreless after one, not to say Thunder Bay didn't have any chances, the Mavericks net minder was just in the zone, stopping all 15 shots on goal in the first. The Mavericks struck first 7:23 into the second period on a point shot from Close that deflected off a Giant and into the net. Thunder Bay responded with 1:47 left in the period to tie it up heading into the third. The third period was a slow paced affair with lots of whistles, there was almost no flow to the game, which was exactly what Austin wanted. The Mavericks held the Giants chances to a minimum and struck when they got the chance. Bobby Frenz broke the tie with just under 5 minutes left in the game. With their season on the line, Thunder Bay pulled the goalie with 2 minutes left. The Mavericks were laying out, diving in front of pucks, doing anything they could to stop the Giants from getting pucks to the net. Finally, the puck was in the corner and a Maverick won the battle and passed it to Frenz who turned and fired the puck down the ice into the empty net, giving the Mavericks the win, and sending them to the finals! 

West St. Paul Waves v. Minneapolis Millers
In another Twin Cities Hockey League match up, the Waves took on the Millers. Being ranked second overall, West St. Paul had high expectations heading into the playoffs. Their campaign has been extended after beating their neighbors 4 games to 1 to head to the finals for the first time in team history. The Waves went up in the series 3-0 thanks to great goaltending by Bienik and 9 points for Finnigan. Minneapolis answered back in game four to prevent the sweep and keep their chances alive, but West St. Paul quickly crushed those dreams in game five when the Waves officially ended the Millers season with a 4-2 victory. 

Last edited by Section30 (7/30/2019 12:16 pm)