1957 Kellogg Cup Playoffs; Semi Finals 


 Hibbing Greyhounds v. Thunder Bay Giants
The Greyhounds took on the Giants at the Hibbing Memorial Center where over 4,000 fans packed the stands. The first period was scoreless, as was the second. The Greyhounds finally got on the board when Polich made a quick move behind the net, wrapping the puck around and into the net just inside the pipe. The Giants tried to comeback by pulling the goalie with 2 minutes left and got some good chances, but were unable to capitalize. The Hibbing Greyhounds advance, winning 1-0. 

International Falls Ice v. West St. Paul Waves
The Waves are coming off one of the bigger upset of the playoffs where they dominated the St. Cloud Bear Cats, but the atmosphere in St. Cloud is much easier than that of International Falls. The rowdy crowd gave the Waves a whole extra level to deal with. The Ice used the initial shock of West St. Paul to their advantage, striking first on a one timer from Mason. International Falls struck once again in the second to build a 2-0 lead. The Waves finally seemed to have adapted to the harsh temperatures and atmosphere and were beginning to own more possession. The second period horn sounded right as the Waves got a breakaway chance, West St. Paul players swear the horn went off a couple seconds too early, ending their chance, but the refs decided the period had come to an end. The Waves finally got on the scoreboard in the third when Finnigan took a shot from the slot that went five hole. The clock wound down to the last minute and the Waves had pulled their goalie. They rained shots on goal, but Brad Nemec of the Ice stood tall in net, stopping all 7 shots in the last minute to help his team hold on and win 2-1. 

Will the Greyhounds get their second Cup, ending the 20 year drought? Or will the Ice claim their 2nd title in 4 years? 

Last edited by Section30 (7/31/2019 2:08 pm)

It was a great day for hockey in International Falls, 12 degrees at puck drop. The makeshift bleachers set up on the frozen lake were packed full, the scene was set for a great game.  

First Period:
Hibbing struck first, quieting the rowdy crowd. International Falls didn't take long to respond though, tying things back up just over a minute later on a Backes one timer that found the back of the net. Hibbing controlled most of the possession for the remainder of the period, but Nemec stood tall in net for the Ice, keeping things tied at 1 apiece at the end of the first.

Second Period:
The second was one of those periods with no real flow. It seemed like every 15-20 seconds there was another whistle. Offsides, icing, pucks out of play, or pucks covered put the game in a crawl as neither team could get anything going.

Third Period:
International Falls was called for slashing just over 5 minutes into the third, putting the Hounds on the powerplay. A shot from the point was saved by Nemec, but the rebound was laying in front of the net, Polich was the first to get to the loose puck and he promptly buried it in the twine to give his team the lead. The game went back and forth for most of the remainder of the period, but neither side had any great chances. International Falls decided to go for broke and pulled the goalie with a minute remaining in the game, down one. Right as Nemec got off the ice the Greyhounds gained possession of the puck, they chipped it up to a player who was wide open on the far side of the ice, no International Falls players were near him as he went down the ice and shot it in the empty net to clinch the victory for the Hibbing Greyhounds! This is Hibbing's second Kellogg Cup, their first in 20 years!

  

Hibbing's Michael Polich was granted the Tschida Trophy as the league's most valuable player, this is his second time receiving this award. 

Last edited by Section30 (7/31/2019 2:10 pm)

Finally! It was worth the wait. I’ll be a regular commenting on this series now, good luck getting back into this project, it’s a large workload but seeing some of your prior series, I know you can get it done.

Section30 wrote:

JG36 wrote:

Finally! It was worth the wait. I’ll be a regular commenting on this series now, good luck getting back into this project, it’s a large workload but seeing some of your prior series, I know you can get it done.

Thank you, looking forward to seeing what your thoughts are on whats to come!

You've finally reached the point where you left of. Now, you have to finish where you started.
I love this series by a mile. Just as close as the PHL series by Ben.

Let's hope for something even bigger. And better, too.

FC Macbeth wrote:

You've finally reached the point where you left of. Now, you have to finish where you started.
I love this series by a mile. Just as close as the PHL series by Ben.

Let's hope for something even bigger. And better, too.

Thank you, hopefully I can live up to those expectations 

Steelman wrote:

Congrats on the milestone man! I guess if the Voyageurs have to lose, it's best to the champs right?

Looking forward to what's next for the series!

Thank you! And yeah it's hard for the Voyageurs lately, but luckily being in Duluth they'll always be a contender at least in their league.

Last edited by Section30 (7/31/2019 10:03 pm)