1979 Kellogg Cup Super Series Great Eight


Virginia Royals vs Mankato Moose
Virginia came out flying in the first, jumping out to a two goal lead in the first 5 minutes of the game. Mankato got one back, but the Royals made it a 2 goal game yet again near the end of the first. The second was a bit slower, but the Royals did pop home a powerplay goal to take a 4-1 lead into the third. Virginia was just the better hockey team, controlling play at will and all but securing a win going up 5-1. Mankato wouldn't go quietly though, capitalizing on an odd man rush to get their second of the game. Virginia would once again nullify the goal by getting one of their own. The Moose scored one last time with just over a minute and a half left to play, but it was far too late as the Royals advance with a 6-3 victory.

West St. Paul Waves vs Sioux Falls Packers
All eyes were on Knutson in this one and whether or not he would be enough against a very good West St. Paul team. He was tested early as the Waves broke in with speed, getting the puck to a forward in a scoring area who found the back of the net on the first shot of the game to put WSP up 1-0. Luckily for the Packers, Byron was able to put the early goal behind him, stopping the next 32 shots until the Waves pounded home a rebound late in the third to take a 2-0 lead. The Packers were forced to pull their goalie with about two and a half minutes left in the game, setting up like they were on a powerplay. A shot from the top of the circle was tipped by a Hog in front past the Wave goalie to make it a one goal game with just under 2 minutes left in the game. West St. Paul won the draw and played a bit of keep away to kill the clock and prevent the Packers from pulling their goalie. The Waves finally dumped it into the Packer zone with under 40 seconds left to play. Sioux Falls took off the other way to get a late push for goal, but a long pass was deflected and picked off by a Wave who fired it in on net but missed. The play ended up being a dump in, but it was all that West St. Paul needed as it prevented the Packers from being able to get back into their zone, holding on to the 2-1 lead to advance to the semi finals.

Edina Cake Eaters vs Stillwater Volunteers
East Metro vs West Metro for a ticket to the semi finals. It was very evenly matched early on with shots and scoring chances being fairly even. Stillwater got on the board first, beating the Cake Eater goalie with a shot just inside the pipe. Edina would come back and tie things in the final minute of the period, carrying that momentum into the second as they make it 2-1 4:11 into the period. The Volunteers made the Eaters pay for putting them on the man advantage, tying the game at 2. The Vols and Eaters were stuck at two apiece for quite some time. Edina got a turnover in the offensive zone that turned into a scoring chance as Nanne was fed a one timer from the dot that blew past the Stillwater goalies ear and into the twine to give the Cake Eaters a 3-2 lead with 6 minutes left in the game. Edina added an insurance goal on the empty net to officially put a stop to Stillwater's dream season, sending the Cake Eaters to the Kellogg Cup Semi Finals for the 5th time in the last 6 years with a 4-2 win.

Highland Park Flying Aces vs Fort Frances Trappers
The final game of the night was a true battle of styles between the Aces skill and speed, and the Trappers physical northern brand of hockey. It was a very evenly matched contest after one with neither side finding the back of the net. The scoring finally started in the back half of the second when Highland Park hit a speedy forward with a pass through the center, blowing past the Trapper D for a breakaway that put the Aces on the board. Fort Frances got off to a nice start in the third, outshooting Highland 6-1 in the first 5 minutes of the period. The Trappers would eventually break through on a shot from the slot to tie the game at 1. Highland Park would get a powerplay chance for a tripping call on the Trappers and although they didn't convert on the powerplay, the momentum they had created from sustained pressure carried over once the Trappers were back to full strength and the Flying Aces were able to bury a rebound to take back the lead. Fort Frances remained undeterred, calling a timeout to settle things down and regroup. It was back and forth for the next few minutes until the Trappers got a pass from the corner into the slot for a one timer that beat the Highland goalie five hole to tie the game at two and force overtime. Fort Frances had some momentum at the start of ot having tied the game late. This led to them outplaying the Aces early, eventually getting a chance when a breakout was held in by the defense and passed to a forward at the top of the circle. He took a couple strides in towards goal, getting a shot off before a defender could get his stick in there. The Aces goalie was unable to get his glove on it as it rippled the twine. Fort Frances swarmed the ice to mob the goal scorer, advancing to the Semi Finals for the first time in team history with a 3-2 overtime win.

Semi Finals Preview


Virginia Royals vs West St. Paul Waves
Virginia's offense is as good as they get, scoring 14 goals in their 3 playoff games thus far (4.6 goals per game), but there are some question marks when it comes to defense having allowed 10 goals in the last 2 games. West St. Paul has been one of the best teams in the MAHL the last 2 seasons and are looking to finally reach the finals. Will the defending champs make it back to the finals for a chance at defending their crown? Or will the Waves roll over the Royals and send them to the ship?

Edina Cake Eaters vs Fort Frances Trappers
Edina is back... again. The Cake Eaters haven't exactly been the best in their semi final appearances, going 2-4 all time, but they are still a very good hockey team, even being considered the best team in the MAHL by some. Fort Frances is in new territory, reaching the semi finals for the first time, but a big overtime win over Highland Park in the Great Eight should give them some momentum heading into this matchup. Will the Cake Eaters make it back to the finals for a chance to finally win it all? Or will Fort Frances feast on cake and give Canada their first finals appearance in a decade?

Let me know what you think, comments are appreciated!

I'll take Virginia and Edina for the Cup.

Another round of predictions

Virginia over West St Paul
The defending champs make quick work of the Waves.

Edina over Fort Frances
The Cake Eaters survive a scare by the Canadians and look to become the first suburban team to lift the Kellogg Cup.
 

1979 Kellogg Cup Semi Finals


Virginia Royals vs West St. Paul Waves
The first period was a bit of a feeling out process as the Royals and Waves both played fairly cautiously and neither side got on the board. WSP got the scoring started late in the third on a great shot that beat the goalie over the shoulder. The Waves pushed their lead to two in the third on the powerplay, really putting the defending champs backs against the wall trailing 2-0 in the final period of play. Virginia called a timeout after the second goal to come up with a new game plan. The Royals became ultra aggressive, often throwing a defenseman up on the attack as almost a fourth forward. The new style seemed to work as the Royals controlled play for the next few minutes. The Waves were caught on the ice for nearly two minutes and were gassed, this opened up a lane for a Royal forward who made a nice move to create space in the slot, ripping a shot into the back of the net to get Virginia back in this with over 10 minutes left to play. The Waves eventually figured out how to stop the Royals attack, sending a winger out to cherry pick by the blue line where the defender used to play. After a couple WSP chances, the Royals were forced to ditch the all out attack approach. West St. Paul would hold on to their one goal lead, taking down the defending champs by a final score of 2-1 to advance to their first ever Kellogg Cup Final.


Edina Cake Eaters vs Fort Frances Trappers
Fort Frances was a team possessed for the opening half of the first, outshooting Edina 9-1 and outscoring them 2-0 before the midway point of the first. It was not looking good for the Cake Eaters with Fort Frances already up by two goals and looking damn near unstoppable. For some odd reason though, the Trapper domination seemed to fade after their second goal. I don't know if they got comfortable or if Edina just woke up, but after the early onslaught, the Trappers only managed to get 13 more shots on goal for a final total of 22 shots on goal in the game. Although the Cake Eaters were still trailing 2-0 at the end of the first, they had ended the period playing much more like their usual selves. It was only a matter of time before the two headed dragon made some noise as Nanne roofed a shot to put the Eaters on the board, opening the floodgates as they scored 3 more unanswered goals in the second and third to come back and defeat Fort Frances by a score of 4-2.